Recently, I got a question from a friend of mine. His son was interested in getting into stand-up paddle boarding, but he wasn’t sure whether they wanted to invest in an SUP right away. Like most teenagers, he would most likely want to do something different next month.. What they had was a pretty decent windsurfing board, so his question to me was “Can I use a windsurf board as a paddle board?
The answer is yes… but, you can only use some windsurfing board as an SUP.
However, the type of board you have may not be suitable for paddle boarding. If you have a windsurfing board with a higher level of buoyancy, this might support your weight while riding, otherwise there’s a high probability that to you will just end up sinking.
In this blog we will teach you everything you need to know about paddleboards and windsurfing boards and how you can use a windsurf board as a paddleboard.
What is Windsurfing?
In 1964 a gentleman by the name of Newman Darby converted a surfboard into what he described as a sail board to create a new activity that was for all intents and purposes a combination of traditional surfing and sailing. So when surfing boards to have a sale fitted as part of the rig loss of a mass and a boom something that is completely alien to a paddle board. Unfortunately, the Darby sale board wasn’t very catchy and because he hadn’t patented the name didn’t stick.
In terms of design the vast majority of windsurfing boards are between 6 and 1/2 and 8 ft long you can get longer ones but they are closer to surfboards than paddle boards in terms of design
What Is A Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP)?
Just in case you stumble across this article and you’re not familiar with stand-up paddle boarding or SUP before we go any further, it’s always a good idea to quickly define the terms. SUP or stand up paddle boarding originated in Hawaii and has some obvious similarities to surfing, but they are different activities.
When operating your SUP you will be upright most of the time, whereas surfers will lie or sit on their board and occasionally stand on it too. Surfers will wait for a wave to come to them. Whereas if you have an SUP you will be in a standing position and you will propel yourself forward using a paddle.
The key difference between paddle boarding and surfing is that you’re not restricted to the ocean, you can paddle board on virtually any surface of water including lakes, rivers and canals.
Apologies in advance – Just to confuse matters a little: there is another activity also referred to as paddle boarding, where you neither have a paddle, nor do you stand up. Instead, you kneel on your board and you use your hands as your paddles. Some people start off of this activity before they graduate to a SUP.
Types of Paddle Boards:
Double-layer SUP board:
Some boarders choose to purchase a more durable SUP and therefore they opt for the double layer board. It usually has twice to PVC and twice the glue: these are tougher, heavier and more stable than most other board types
Single-layer SUP board:
Most single layer SUP boards are made using a drop stitch core and then a letter PVC is attached over them using glue
Inflatable boards:
The vast majority of inflatable SUV boards have PVC reinforced bases for additional durability, meaning we can easily use them in the ocean or even White waters
SUP board core:
this type of border becoming increasingly popular, they’re like a hybrid between a single layer board and an inflatable board offering you the firmness of the drop stitch but also the added benefit of the inflation
Windsurfing vs. Paddle boarding?
These really aren’t comparable sports so it’s hard to say whether you’d enjoy windsurfing or SUP riding more it’ll come down to a matter of preference. If you come from the background of surfing picking up the concept of windsurfing shouldn’t prove too difficult however if you’re a noob to water board sports paddle boarding maybe more threading.
Both men surfing and paddle boarding will have their pros and cons for example when using a paddle board a lot more core body strength to paddle navigate rough orders and stay standing on your board and also spend far less time sitting around waiting where is when windsurfing the addition of a sale to your board makes it very exciting but only when they’re insufficient wind. If you’re operating the windsurfer on a low wind day, expect your speed to be limited, this is not a problem when using an SUP.
Converting a windsurf board into an SUP
Let’s get straight to the point when answering the question can I use a windsurf board as a paddle board the answer is yes but in the vast majority of cases you’ll need to put some time and effort to convert a wind surfing board to a workable SUP board
Sail removal
The first step you’ll need to take when converting a windsurfing board to an SUP is to remove the sail.
Patch the holes
Once you’ve removed the sale from your windsurfing board, you’ll have to deconstruct some parts of it. This will leave you some holes in the board that you’ll need to fill using polyurethane foam. This should be available in any DIY store or you can pick it up online too.
Find the right EVA mat
The next step in the process is to source an Eva mat most sporting goods stores camping stores are even a good online marketplace to provide you with a source of Eva petting. you could get one custom-made, but most people will just buy one and cut it down to size themselves
Balance the board
Your windsurfing board is nearly converted to an SUP, but the most important part of the process is to adjust its rocker. This is the curve at the bottom of the board that runs from its tail to the nose as you mentioned previously windsurfing boards I like the volume and width of a standard paddle board and because of this you’ll have to adjust the rocker to make sure it can be used for paddle boarding. So taking black plastic completely covers the rocker, allowing your board to sit in the sun. Time to work together, allow them to sit for a few minutes. When you released attention and take the plastic off, this should leave you with is the service for that you people.
How popular are windsurf/SUP boards
While standard paddle boarding is a recognized sport as yet there is no recognized subcategory for windsurfing boards that have been converted to paddle boards. This is mainly because the activity differs slightly from traditional paddle boarding as the windsurfing board lacks the thickness of an SUP changing the dynamics of the sport.
Can I just buy a windsurfing/SUP hybrid board?
To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve never actually seen a windsurfing/SUP hybrid board for sale. I don’t see any reason not. But be careful buying any hybrid boards or combo boards as they can vary in build quality and safety.
Best windsurf board that can easily be converted to an SUP
If I was to recommend a windsurf board, you can convert to an SUP I have to tell you to look at the Tamahoo inflatable Windsurf board. The manufacture this board to a standard width of 32 inches and has the volume of 320 liters. Because of its size, it makes it much closer to a paddle board than a traditional windsurfing board. Because of this, it has an extra buoyancy level and holds anything up to 270lbs. it has a built-in tail ring where you can attach a leash, meaning it’s a perfect hybrid board without every meaning to be.
