Interested in touring and downwinding with a bit of flatwater paddling. Live in a pretty windy place, so I've been looking at getting a board that handles all of the above with perhaps a bias towards handling windy bumpy open ocean. I like the look of the SIC F14. Anyone had a paddle of one or seen one in the flesh? Also, living on the south coast of NSW, where would you be able to buy one?

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Minnos said..
Interested in touring and downwinding with a bit of flatwater paddling. Live in a pretty windy place, so I've been looking at getting a board that handles all of the above with perhaps a bias towards handling windy bumpy open ocean. I like the look of the SIC F14. Anyone had a paddle of one or seen one in the flesh? Also, living on the south coast of NSW, where would you be able to buy one?

SHQ here in Melbourne are the Aussie distributers.. www.shq.com.au/ contact them or give them a call.. 03 9598 2867

No doubt it's an awesome board.. The F14 wide Glide at 30" wide looks like it would be perfect for what you want..

Other boards worth checking out is the new 30"x14' Naish Glide.. 30"x14' Corban Dart.. and the 29.75"x14' Fanatic Falcon.

You can demo them in Sydney or on the next good nor Easter when we head down to Gerroa. So drop us a line on 99710999.
Very fun board!

Thanks so much for the information. I'm not far from Gerroa so I'll keep my eyes open the next time it blows. The other alternatives listed are definitely food for thought.

I was fortunate enough to be able to get an SIC F14 last summer. It quickly became my "go to" board. I also own a 14' 404 Zeedonk (Carbon fiber). The Zeedonk goes out on FLAT days... the SIC F14 goes out anytime it's choppy. I had the chance to get about 6 or 8 decent downwinders last year, well good for my area anyway.
The F14 is a stable board for all-around paddling and really comes alive when the wind kicks up. It doesn't take much to make it take off. The Naish Glide 14' GS looks sweet too, i just don't have a dealer near me who will carry one to try out. The SIC dealer is 5 miles from my house. And with the SIC reputation, i figured i couldn't go wrong. People are constantly wanting to try it out. It's also reasonably fast on flat water. Which is why i am selling my Zeedonk and looking at either a 14' Glide GS or another SIC F14.

Is the F 14 heavy - like the Naish Glide?

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Minnos said..
Is the F 14 heavy - like the Naish Glide?

IMO .. it's not as heavy as my old GS Glide [x29] .. but not as light as my new GX Jav [x28].. Somewhere in-between..

Does the F14 have deck leash plugs to allow you to carry the board with your paddle? So much about carrying a board is the handle rather than the weight, and carrying a board with the paddle like C4 and SIC (and ULI) do on some models is still by far the best way over distance or in wind IMO. But while my V1 Bullet (and X14) have the deck plugs, my V2 Bullet does not, which is a shame. I put deck plugs in my Naish 17 and it transformed carrying it in wind from a 2-person job to a one-person job. The heavier and bigger the board the more you need them I think.