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Newport Paipo

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:38 am
by monkey
Hello. I recently picked up a couple of boards from a friend. The first was a 9 4 Hansen Light and the other is like nothing ever seen before! It was made by Newport Paipo. I would love to know when, but also, what is it! Is it a paipo for prone riding? Is it a kneeboard. Can you stand on em? I´ve only ever ridden prone on late drops having blown the take off (usually hand slipping off rail) and subsequently copping the lot on the head! However i´m quite keen to "have a go!" Are swim fins essential? Why is the skeg so thick?? Any help would be very much appreciated. Regards from sunny Portugal, John.

Re: Newport Paipo

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 10:18 am
by rodndtube
Hi John,
What are the dimensions of the board (length, width, thickness) and how tall is the skeg?

The Newport Paipo you have is probably early-1970s vintage at which time most of the product line form Newport Paipo had evolved from paipo/bellyboard prone surfing boards to kneeboards, hence the spoon deck with knee wells and also the fish influence which was still relatively new at the time. Many of those fish designs had two skegs and Newport Paipo was a leader in using two skegs in their early paipo boards which had wide squarish tails. Kind of surprising to see a single fin, but that is probably a Greenough influenced decision related to his popular spoon design (albeit a different kind of spoon).

Re: Newport Paipo

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:29 am
by Uncle Grumpy
The rope handles on kneeboards were pretty common back in the 70's and that fin looks like maybe a Brewer wide base or Hynson DolFin, both thick based fins very popular then as well..
https://www.swaylocks.com/forums/three-fins-70s

Re: Newport Paipo

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:54 pm
by monkey
Thanks heaps for the quick replies! The board measures approx. 4´8", 19 7/8" and i´m winging it a bit on thickness but maybe average 2 1/4" and 1 1/2" at the bottom of the spoon if you get my drift!?!? The skeg is 6" and 1" at the base at i´m pretty certain it´s a Hynson. I´ve left the board at a local friendly shaper to fix a couple of dings and he´s already nicked the dims and rocker (not a lot that!!) for his mate who was tripping on it. You don´t see many of these around these parts! Thanks very much for the info and any more would be really appreciated. There are going to be waves the week. If I was to have a go fins or no fins or is it personal? I´m a super featherweight 58kg if that makes a difference!

Re: Newport Paipo

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 6:58 pm
by bgreen
Swim fins aren't essential. It will also depend on how much float your board has and weight distribution. Very thin-nosed and finless boards can be difficult without swim fins.

They have pros and cons.

I f you're not used to wearing them there is a period of conditioning required and finding what suits you is something of an art. You can get cramps etc.
On the positive side, you get an extra boost if you paddle and they leave you free to use your arms to maneouver the board on takeoff etc. They can also act as a fin while riding.

If you have shoulder problems, they are also useful.

As for standing up on them - http://www.ksusa.org/album/displayimage ... &pid=14105