The fundamentals of a board’s stability / SUP Tech talk
Words by Harry Newton ~
In this video Reuben and Harry explain the fundamentals of a board’s stability. Why is width the biggest factor of stability and why are some boards of the same width more stable than others? What can we do to increase stability? What do people mean when they talk about secondary stability?
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Helen Pullen
1 year ago
Hi – this video is the reason why I re-subscribed to the pro content – brilliant! I will definitely go back to the previous video mentioned and watch it, thank you
As a self confessed geek I absolutely loved this vid. Explains so much regarding relative stability people feel given all their varied dimensions.
Richard Perriss
1 year ago
Super interesting stuff. Sounds like it would be very difficult for the average layman to calculate the meta centre for their board, but I wonder if it would be easier for the manufacturers to calculate from their design files, especially companies like Starboard who obviously put a lot of work into their board designs and shapes. If so, I wonder if publishing the meta centre height of a board as part of its specs would be a useful indication of its potential stability for different sized paddlers? Or maybe it would not really be useful in real world use given… Read more »
Really interesting point Richard. With race and surf shapes it would help for sure.
micheljansens
1 year ago
Hi, thanks for this great video. I really enjoyed it. Please give us more of those 🙂
EddystoneSup
1 year ago
Physics is great, but being “vertically challenged” is just something to remember ….
EddystoneSup
1 year ago
Besides, Science is great … go on
John French
1 year ago
Thanks for the Video. I am really enjoying this series. I did notice the the second moment of area graphic of the equation was wrong. Harry said it correctly as b*d^3/12. This and the hull speed have given me enough terminology that I have then been able to do further research.
Thanks for your feedback John I will pass it on to Harry.
Windsup1
1 year ago
Really enjoyed both videos. Fascinating. Explained why the pro surf shape felt so unstable re pulled in nose and tail, and probably because I tend to stand quite tall. Anyway not an issue now as swapped for a Spice….definitely more stable. Can spend more time riding and less in the water. Just need some waves. Thanks again Craig
Sweet, nice one Craig. Sorry, forgot what board did you have before? Thanks Reuben
gentsch
1 year ago
Math/physics is God! LOL, Glad to know being short would have been a better option than practice practice practice JK. Great content! Maybe we could get a video on determining optimal fin placement in the box!
Woooooow this is really a wonderful video, thanks for this pro content!!! please speak about the shapes of the boards but also the paddle shape and his angles. Thanks!
Great video, I am glad that I subscribed to the magazine. The calculations for a given board / paddler are complex, but I am wondering if they could not be parameterized to provide some basic outcomes. That is, given paddler height and weight, it could provide, let’s say, “beginner width”, “intermediate width”, and so on. Idea being that for a taller individual, 34″ would provide the comparable amount of stability than 32″ for a shorter person. Granted, it does not include all factors, but would provide a good starting point. Shorter person would not gain much stability from going from… Read more »
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Hi – this video is the reason why I re-subscribed to the pro content – brilliant! I will definitely go back to the previous video mentioned and watch it, thank you
Great stuff, happy paddling Helen.
As a self confessed geek I absolutely loved this vid. Explains so much regarding relative stability people feel given all their varied dimensions.
Super interesting stuff. Sounds like it would be very difficult for the average layman to calculate the meta centre for their board, but I wonder if it would be easier for the manufacturers to calculate from their design files, especially companies like Starboard who obviously put a lot of work into their board designs and shapes. If so, I wonder if publishing the meta centre height of a board as part of its specs would be a useful indication of its potential stability for different sized paddlers? Or maybe it would not really be useful in real world use given… Read more »
Really interesting point Richard. With race and surf shapes it would help for sure.
Hi, thanks for this great video. I really enjoyed it. Please give us more of those 🙂
Physics is great, but being “vertically challenged” is just something to remember ….
Besides, Science is great … go on
Thanks for the Video. I am really enjoying this series. I did notice the the second moment of area graphic of the equation was wrong. Harry said it correctly as b*d^3/12. This and the hull speed have given me enough terminology that I have then been able to do further research.
Thanks for your feedback John I will pass it on to Harry.
Really enjoyed both videos. Fascinating.
Explained why the pro surf shape felt so unstable re pulled in nose and tail, and probably because I tend to stand quite tall.
Anyway not an issue now as swapped for a Spice….definitely more stable.
Can spend more time riding and less in the water.
Just need some waves.
Thanks again Craig
Sweet, nice one Craig. Sorry, forgot what board did you have before?
Thanks Reuben
Math/physics is God! LOL, Glad to know being short would have been a better option than practice practice practice JK.
Great content!
Maybe we could get a video on determining optimal fin placement in the box!
Glad you like it. Good idea on the fin placement
Woooooow this is really a wonderful video, thanks for this pro content!!! please speak about the shapes of the boards but also the paddle shape and his angles.
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback and request Andrea.
more of these would be great
We have some more planned! Glad you enjoy them.
Great video, I am glad that I subscribed to the magazine. The calculations for a given board / paddler are complex, but I am wondering if they could not be parameterized to provide some basic outcomes. That is, given paddler height and weight, it could provide, let’s say, “beginner width”, “intermediate width”, and so on. Idea being that for a taller individual, 34″ would provide the comparable amount of stability than 32″ for a shorter person. Granted, it does not include all factors, but would provide a good starting point. Shorter person would not gain much stability from going from… Read more »
We don’t know of any such calculators but its a good idea and something I think we will see introduced in time!