Honu Sorrento

“It's really, really hard to say without having them on hand. What I can tell you is that without a doubt a 4.7" board will be less stiff than a 6" board of the same size, shape and construction. One reason why 4.7" touring boards aren't as common is because narrower boards will also have more flex than wider boards and longer boards experience more overall flex amplitude vs shorter boards. It can be very hard to account for and maintain an acceptable rigidity at the 12'+ length. In my testing I've found the RPC RSS battens to help a small amount (much less than advertised). Generally to the tune of 5-10%. Recently Thurso released a 4.7" version of their 12'6 Expedition board with he same size, shape, and build as their 6" version. I'm currently working on the review for it. But what I've noticed so far as that besides the "raw" flex being larger than the 6" version, I do feel it flexing with greater amplitude on the water. It's not bad, per se, but it's there, and I don't think it will be my first choice when loaded up or in poor conditions. Any flex in a board is also more noticeable when paddling harder/faster. Thurso's 4.7" boards have been consistently 0.1-0.2mph slower on sprints for me than their 6" counterpart. The flex causes the board to push down more in the water and reduced the glide/distance per stroke when paddling hard. Honu's new Sorrento 12'6 is 5.5". I actually didn't even realize this at first. I didn't feel it flex/bend more on the water, but I did note (several times) that I was very impressed with it's stability for its size/shape. Aka, that small change from 6" to 5.5" didn't mess with the rigidity, but did give it a slight stability boost. I have to double check my data, but I do not believe any of the 4.7" boards I've tested have outperformed a 6" touring boards in my bend test. Ultimately, it's just going to come down to whether you want the small stability gain from the thinner profile or the more rigid build of the thicker profile. It's a very hard decision because it's almost entirely subjective and situationally dependent on which is better.”