C4 Paddle Surf Board 10′6″: Airhead Surf Diary
Tonight I had the chance to get out on the C4 Waterman 10′6″ and give it a good paddle….
Standing on the board for the first time it felt more unstable than a lot of the other boards I have paddled and I have paddled nearly all that are available but then it’s shorter and narrower than most…. as I paddled the board I found it was not unstable at all in fact I found it easy to move around on, changing my stance from flat water paddling to surf stance felt comfortable and smooth in fact I enjoyed changing position on the board to see how it would respond….. then came turning….. this baby loves moving round on the water, it turns fast and effortlessly, sink the tail and it turns even quicker.
Tonight was another flat-water session but I could feel that the 10′6″ C4 Waterman SUP wants to play in the surf but is happy on flat water…. I am not saying I would want to paddle this board for endless miles but it is fun and I know it will be great in the waves.
The only down side was that my toes went numb for a bit because the deck grip was not raised at the edge like the Jimmy Lewis grip but to be honest that is only a minor set back… over all this board gets a big thumbs from me and I would recommend giving it a try if you can get me off it first !!!
To give you a bit of info on me… I weigh 13.5st and I am 5ft 10 inches tall…..
For those of you who want more techy info I will try to come back with that soon….. so more from the Airhead in a wee while
September 7th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Looks really good Andy, I just want to get these boards out into the surf !!
September 8th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Here is an Email for James in Devon with his views on his new C4 Waterman 10′
“Hi Andy,
Just thought I’d drop you a little note to let you know how I got on with the new C4 board on Sunday.
First impressions of the board itself were that it really looks the biz! Compared to all the other boards we’ve seen, both Allan and I agreed that it really
looks the most professional SUB we’ve seen so far…great design and really well finished. I’m totally stoked to own it! I really like the fact it comes
with the deck grip already fitted and includes a tail pad as standard. I didn’t really notice the lack of the side pads which the JL pads feature. The
velcro paddle straps are also really handy…especially when there’s a bit of a breeze (as there was at the beach on Sunday). They allow you to have both
hands free to hold it steady when you’ve got the board on your shoulder or to carry the board by the paddle like a handle with the board under your arm.
The only tiny issue I’ve found so far has been that it’s been really hard to find alternative (glass) Futures fins to replace the plastic side bites you get
as standard. I also found that the centre fin was extremely tight in the box… required some grease to get it in. I’m going to sand the fin down for a
more permanent solution. This might be that this specific fin was just a tad too wide. Did you have any similar issues with the fin on the 10′6″?
Searching for waves on Sunday, we were a bit short of choice. However, eventually we managed to find some semi-sheltered knee-high ones at Crantock beach in
This was laughable cos it was obviously an accident and there really
Newquay. There was practically no one in the water at all… a tiny handful of swimmers/bodyboarders and a lone surfer on a Bic. Still Allan managed to get
told off by the lifeguards for accidentally straying just into the swimmers area
was hardly anyone in the water and certainly no one nearby. I guess they were pretty bored and had probably never had the opportunity to reprimand a stand
up paddle surfer
Anyway, the conditions were breezy and a bit choppy, especially in the river mouth where we started. Intially, I fell off about 3 times in quick
Then started to get to grips with it. It’s actually pretty stable for a 10ft SUB! The main difference (to my JL) I
For a 10ft board, the C4 certainly seemed to paddle fairly easily. It seemed a bit harder to get it
succession…laughing all the time
found was that, once it started to tip, eventually you reached a critical point and then it would suddenly go. It’s certainly a fair bit more floaty than
the 10ft JL. The deck of Allan’s JL 10ft was awash at the back. Mine was pretty much clear of the water. Mind you, you have to take into account that
Allan is 2-3st heavier than my ‘welterweight’ 10st
going initially. But once moving, it felt ok. However, it’s a little difficult to be totally objective compared to the 11ft JL because it was choppy &
quite windy and I haven’t really had enough time on the C4 yet in other conditions.
I found that it dropped into the (small) waves pretty easily. Only a couple of stokes needed so long as I was in the right place. It also felt much more
manoeuvrable especially once I got my foot back on/near the tail pad. I caught one wave where it felt like I was surfing it more from the tail and it felt
great. Once you got your foot in the right place, it could be turned on the spot…which could take you buy surprise. But, I soon started to get the hang
of it and managed to spin the board round at the end of the rides…sometimes even without falling in
The bottom line is that I absolutely love this board. I can see that my JL 11ft might easily be side-lined for flat or tiny days only. Anything knee to
Anyway, fingers crossed there’ll be a small wave at least to be found. I’ll let you know how I get on.
waist high and above and I reckon I’ll be out on the C4. I can’t wait to find some quality waves of a decent size to really find out how it goes. Sadly,
there’s nothing much on the horizon for the coming weekend. There should be some about tomorrow on the North coast, but unfortunately I’ll be stuck in the
office
I hope you’re well. Have you been out much? …and have you tried the 10′6″ C4 yet?
Cheers,
James”
September 10th, 2007 at 7:58 am
ok andy , when you geting 9. 6. paddle star in then. hope you and family r well. c ya
September 10th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Hey Alan…..
I am hoping to try all these boards real soon but I know that most will be a Newquay on the 29th Sept for the event…..
Look forward to seeing you and James there
Ride safe
Andy
September 11th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Got out on the C4 10′6″ for a bit of a distance paddle tonight, about 3 miles in choppy wind blown conditions… the board handled really well though my toes did go numb again for a while… I feel I am really starting to get this board dialed just waiting for some waves to give it a propa go….. cant wait
Ride safe
Andy
September 18th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
okedokey, i loooooooooouve that j.l.10fter. out every day, all day. cant get offf it.piks up everything. .had a great time at sennan weekend ,extended the deck pad to the nose, to keep a bit of traction, when hangin my gut over the end, ha ha, seems to work well. looking forward to the 29th, have you got a kinimaka hybrid paddle, and if so ,how much to yer ol mate Al. c ya.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:11 am
I’ve been riding the C4 Waterman 10′6″ board for about 3 weeks and love it. I weigh 210 lbs and am 6′ tall. I feel so comfortable on it that I’ve been riding the C4 10′ board this week. I did a short video comparison between the 10′ and 10′6″ at www.StandUpPaddleSurf.net.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:04 am
Matt from www.SUPUK.org has just put a review up on new C4 10′6″ paddle board…. he has some great tips on this how to get the best from this board.
Matt’s C4 review
Ride safe
Andy