Last Thursday’s cool temperatures and light rain didn’t stop islander Reed Nichelson from taking a group of friends out on paddleboards in Quartermaster Harbor.

As a couple women in wetsuits and lifejackets paddled off on the water, Nichelson — a self-proclaimed paddleboard enthusiast — hung behind to help a new paddleboarder, Cindy Nelson, who was visiting from Alaska.

Before long, Nelson, too, was standing up on her surfboard-like paddleboard and joining the activities on the water. The women tried some yoga poses, and Nichelson did a headstand. Even falling in the water provided an opportunity to swim a little.

“It was a lot of fun,” Nelson later said. “I did fall a few times, but it was easier to balance than I thought it would be.”

As stand-up paddleboarding becomes increasingly popular, Vashon, too, has more opportunities to stand and paddle. Vashon Watersports will open this spring with a fleet of a dozen paddleboards at its kayak center on the Burton Peninsula, and Nichelson has launched a new small business dedicated to getting people out on paddleboards.

Called Fat Cat Paddleboarding, the start-up business will offer mobile paddleboard rentals, meaning Nichelson will launch paddleboards at inner Quartermaster Harbor, where he lives nearby, or anywhere else someone may want to paddle. A certified paddleboard instructor, he will also offer paddleboarding classes and guided tours at different locations, even overnight trips. He and a friend are already holding paddleboard yoga classes on the harbor once a week.

“The sport is so new that people are finding new opportunities to get out on paddleboards,” Nichelson said.

Stand-up paddleboarding originated decades ago in Hawaii when surfers began to stand or kneel on their boards and propel themselves with one paddle, sometimes catching waves in the process. The new sport came to the mainland United States, and now most surf shops and kayak retailers in the Puget Sound area offer paddleboards as well.

In recent years the trend made its way to the quiet shores of Vashon, and on calm days paddlers — sometimes clad in wetsuits and sometimes in no more than a bathing suit — can often be seen at KVI Beach, Tramp Harbor and Quartermaster Harbor.

“We’ve seen a pretty good increase in people’s interest in paddleboards,” said Doug Kieper, who owns Vashon Watersports.

When Kieper and his wife purchased the kayak rental business from the Vashon Park District in 2013, it had just two paddleboards in its collection, he said. Now Vashon Watersports has 12 paddleboards in addition to its 30 kayaks and two canoes. He added that paddleboarding is especially popular when it’s warm and that many like to paddleboard in groups.

“When people come to paddleboard, they paddleboard in a half-dozen,” he said.

Nichelson took up paddleboarding a couple of years ago in a quest to find more activities he could do on Vashon. An outdoors lover and avid mountain biker, he says he biked in Burton but often found himself leaving the island and driving long distances in search of outdoor fun. He was also looking for an activity he could do as he aged. He tried kayaking, he said, but found it was hard on his back.

“Paddleboarding is something I can do forever,” he said. “It’s something you can be as young or as old as you want.”

Now Nichelson, an energetic 56-year-old with a fit build and dark brown beard, says paddleboarding has opened up a new world for him. He loves being out on the water, and has found it to be a full-body workout.

“If you don’t like going to the gym to work out, get on a paddleboard,” he said.

On his board, he’s seen plenty of sea life, including a giant octopus in Quartermaster Harbor,  and he frequently hops off to swim through kelp beds. He called the vantage point on a board “completely different” than a kayak.

“It’s only a few feet, but you’re standing up on top of the water and you can see more,” he said.

One time he was paddling off Point Robinson when a pod of orcas swam by.

“All you could hear was breathing,” he said. “It was just me and them, and the sound was fantastic.”

Recently Nichelson has taken up more extreme forms of paddleboarding, joining a small group of islanders that goes out during windy weather to surf waves on their boards. The so-called downwinders can be found on the water during some of the worst storms.

“There are a few crazies who do it,” he said. “The bigger the wind, the better.”

Last summer, Nichelson, a builder by trade, tried renting out a few paddleboards, mountain bikes and small boats in Burton, hoping to appeal to both Vashon residents and tourists who came through. The paddleboards, he said, were by far the most popular offering.

“The paddleboard became the clear and obvious choice quickly,” he said.

His grassroots effort now has 15 paddleboards designed to be more stable for beginners, along with lifejackets — which he requires — and a wide selection of wetsuits, including booties, caps and gloves. He says he hopes to change the misconception that paddleboarding is a warm-weather activity, stressing that wetsuits are very warm, especially once paddlers get moving.

Last winter, he noted, he and some friends went downwind paddleboarding in below-freezing temperatures and found they were comfortable on the water. Inner Quartermaster is especially warm, he said, because it’s protected and the water is shallow.

“I just tell (people) come on out, get in a wetsuit, and I’ll prove it,” he said.

Indeed, last Thursday, despite temperatures in the mid-50s, a few of the paddleboarders got warm enough to jump in the water and swim. Nichelson, who says he puts great emphasis on good paddleboarding technique, showed them a special move to get back on their boards.

“He has this little flip thing,” said Nelson, from Alaska. “It’s like I’ll be damned, I’m on the board again.”

Hedy Anderson, who also paddleboarded for the first time that day, said she would do it again.

“I felt excited because it was something new and it’s really pretty to be out there,” she said.

“I asked him if he would have a punch card,” she added with a laugh.

Nichelson isn’t sure where Fat Cat Paddleboarding will take him, he said, but for now he’s offering a variety of options — including yoga at 9 a.m. every Sunday — and will see what becomes the most popular.

“I try to express to people that it’s different than what they think. If you don a wetsuit and get on a paddleboard, you might find that you love it.”

For information on Fat Cat Paddleboarding or to make a reservation, see fatcatpaddleboarding.com or call 463-1755.

Vashon Watersports will open for the season on Memorial Day weekend and also offers rentals and trips by appointment. See vashonwatersports.com or call 463-YAKS.