1. I have no commercial relationships with any equipment manufacturers or suppliers, and I buy all my own equipment.
2. I have a left ACL injury for which when kiting I wear a Donjoy Armor custom fitted knee brace, so I no longer jump because one bad landing might mean I'm off the water for months (and perhaps need a new knee).
I'm 81kg/1.8m/grandfather, Ozone Enduro V2 6/8/10/12m, Zephyr V5, big feet. Kite on the south coast of the UK (eastern Solent). Depending on the state of the tides, flat water, chop, waves up to 2m, mainly onshore/side-on wind. Kite throughout the year every day there's wind. Also in Barbados in Jan/Feb (where I used to live part time). Use Duotone NTT/Entity straps (L/XL).
I had a Lieuwe Shotgun 136 x 40.5 which was absolutely the best board I'd ever had - huge grip, very very fast, loads of pop (but see 2. above), great damping in chop, light, very kind on my knees, no spray of course. So why would I want a 138 x 42 Shotgun?
In lighter summer 10-15 knot winds I use a (17m) Zephyr which is a fast kite with a huge wind range but a little too large for the 136 Shotgun in marginal conditions (I use 27m lines in 10-12 knots and 25m lines in 13+ knots).
I figured that I needed just a little more width under my feet to make the Zephyr work but not much change in length because once you're on an edge you don't need the extra length. I figured that a 138 x 42 Shotgun would work nicely for me, and because Lieuwe don't make this as a standard size Shotgun I asked Lieuwe to make a custom board for me. I didn't specify where the extra width should be.
When I received the board, rather it being 10mm wider than their 138 x 41 Shotgun along the full length of the board (which is what I expected) the extra width was put in the centre of the board thus it had more curve in the rails. Oh dear, I thought, this doesn't look promising.
(The bare board weighs 2.64kg which is about the same as the 136).First time out was 28 knots side-on with Enduro 6m in shallow flat water and also 1-1.5m rolling onshore waves, and to say that I was surprised is an understatement! I've been out on 6-12m kites from 15 knots to 30+knots, perhaps 15-20 sessions.
This board may feel slower but is actually just as fast as the 136 but with extra grip because the slightly more curved rails do not catch, so you have more control. It surfs really well without catching an edge (which the 136 Shotgun would sometimes do) due to a little extra width in the centre of the board and a little more curve in the rails. Finally, the small increase in total rocker means less/no nose catches in steep chop. My Zephyr should work nicely with it, and especially the new forthcoming Aluula Zephyr V6 (I hope
).Thank-you Lieuwe.
(Have already sold the 136).
