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Surftech's Tuflite technology had given birth to yet another stand up paddle surfboard by one of the greatest of master shapers, Robert August. The 11'0 Wingnut is features a slightly pulled in nose and tail and a 2 + 1 fin setup. Although the waves were non-existent when we took it out, we spent quite a bit of flat water time on the board and this is our report.
First off, a little background on the shaper, Robert August and rider, Wingnut. Raised in Huntington Beach, California, Robert August is one of the most notable American surfboard shapers. His public fame began around the time he appeared along with Mike Hynson in what may be the most famous surf film in history, Endless Summer. August has been surfing since the 1950s and to this day continues to shape and charge the waves.
Robert "Wingnut" Weaver followed in August and Hynson's footsteps of 30 years ago in the filming of Endless Summer II in 1994. Wingnut has been a true longboarder throughout his life and continues to be an active surf consultant and competitor to this day. Having spend much of his life in Santa Cruz, California, Wingnut combines classic style with progressive tail surfing and green room finesse. Now, to the board. The Robert August "Wingnut" stand up paddle surfboard is 11 feet long and 28 inches at it's widest point and 4 3/8 inches thick. It features a 2 + 1 fin setup with Futures side fins. The board has enough volume that it should comfortably float the big boys.
Rocker: The rocker on this board is more pronounced than we expected, however we wer not disappointed in the least. It seemed to have a gradual nose rocker starting in about the top third of the board and a tail rocker about thee same. The smooth rocker lends itself to good flat water glide and at the same time should allow for easy wave entry. The rocker was a bit more that we had anticipated was not a let-down but more of a pleasant surprise.
Nose: The nose is 19 7/8 inched wide and is rather pulled in. Not only does this make for good flat water paddling, but will assist a surfer with late and angled takeoffs. Although pulled in slightly, the nose has plenty of room for soulful noserides. Tail: Rounded pins seem to be a popular tail shape and the Wingnut features such a design. The rounded pin allows for fast down the line speed and smooth turns off the tail. At 17 5/8 inches, the drawn in tail should draw some pretty lines on the face of any wave.
Overall Impression: The Wingut seems to be begging for some waves. Although we didn't have the opportunity this time around, it appears to have the outline and rocker to hold up in bigger Hawaiian size waves. For flat water glide, half of us though the board was one of the fastest paddling boards we've tried, and the other half anticipated slightly more glide. However, in this respect none of us was disappointed. We were able to sink the tail and turn it around 180 degrees in an average of 2 to 3 strokes. The board was fun on flat water and it seems that it'll really shine in the surf. For more information click on the Surftech Banner at the top of this page or go to www.surftech.com.
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June 11, 2008
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