Hi Peeps,

I've been paddling the F-16 for a few weeks now and reckon I have a decent handle on what it has to offer. I've had it in just about every type of condition from flat water, to upwind light ocean breeze, strong downwind, side wind, boat chop you name it!

Firstly, the F-16 is unique in the SIC range in that it has crazy rocker and only comes with the A.S.S. Active Steering System. which can be used with foot steer or fixed for normal fixed fin.

The F-16 is obviously 16 feet long and that makes it the second longest SIC board behind the Bullet 17'4". It's 27.25" wide and has BIG volume at 323 litres. As a 27 and a quarter wide board, this board is incredibly stable, even in the roughest of water, side chop, mixed boat wakes and confused seas present no problem whatsoever to remaining upright.

The rocker is amazing to look at, heaps of nose lift and continues throughout the length of the board. The hull does sport a reasonable single concave from just behind the nose right back throughout most of the central standing area and develops into a double concave to rolled V in the tail.

The reason I was so keen on the F-16 over the Bullet is for it's rocker and steering. W.A. is known for its sea breezes which are more often than not "cross-onshore", and due to the short fetch of the seas created by the shallow waters off the coast of Perth ocean beaches.

The stability of the F-16 is excellent and would suit a beginner as well as expert paddler. Every time you don't fall in, you don't lose 50m! The rudder steering system is excellent and easy to use. No more one sided paddling for 18km for this little black duck!

Whilst everyone else is putting in strokes to follow the coast, I kick a small amount of left rudder and I'm surfing away from the coast effortlessly. The rudder is also incredibly helpful to drop in to a wave where the board just feels like it's stuck on the crest, a simple kick to the right, the board aligns itself to the direction of the wave and drops in for a rocket ride. The board is fast and links runners with little problem once up and planing. Knowing when to steer and when not to steer is the hardest trick. When you get the board on the water for the first time, the feeling to want to steer all the time is strong, but once you get used to it, sometimes the use of rudder is counter productive. Less is often more!

The weight of the F-16 is heavier than the Bullets, but once up and running, it's a steady monster. So much fun, and so easy to ride. The nose keeps itself up and on the surface without really having to walk the board. A slight shift of weight by the back foot on the biggest of drops is all that is necessary to keep the nose up. For the rest of the time, the nose stays up without purling without having to move back.

In less windy conditions (8-12knots), the board will still catch tiny runners that other boards may well miss, such is the beauty of the rocker. I absolutely love this board! In cross chop or side winds, the rudder compensates so you can paddle both sides of the board without wasting power correcting the heading.

The F-16 is purely a downwind board and isn't particularly fast in flat water, but it's no slouch either, but making up for it's flat water speed is it's ability to surf boat wakes. The board can use it's rocker and rudder to maximum effect when surfing boat wake. This just can't be done on a board without rudder. I sat on the side wake of a large trailer boat on Sunday just back off it's transom and rode the wake for 2km without paddling just by keeping left rudder to prevent the board from trying to run perpendicular to the wash. The rudder kept the board in the steep pocket behind the boat and I stood still and rested whilst surfing along, it was amazing! I could have gone all the way to Freo but a paddle back into the light wind and current stopped me from going too far.

Are there any downsides to the F-16? Yes, for one, it has an old school handle in it and it is a bit heavy and cumbersome carrying such a big board, so it's good to be able to drop it into the water close by the car

The rudder can pick up clumps of weed as it's more of a dagger shape. This surprisingly doesn't happen often, even when there is weed about, but it does occasionally happen. This is a small price to pay and would only be a problem if the waters where you paddle have large clumps of floating weed.

As a purely downwind or cruising board, this thing is amazing. The shorter the fetch, the better it goes, so rivers, bays and shallow water downwinders are epic, even in light winds. In the ocean with strong winds, it's just too easy to be fair in a race. I'm looking forward to riding it in this weekends KOTC, although not racing for a win, I do intend to try and surf all the way and win on style points!

Check out my sexy beast!

DM

Nice Review , like the Rocker line, I'm on a bullet V1 myself and like this rocker line over the V2 one, little peace of mind when the going gets tuff I think. Spot on with falling in, you can go like a bat out of hell, but every time you visit the drink, you time and speed is a gone.

Great review.. and great pictures.. Thanks.. Awesome looking board..

Where can I get one of these beasts

SHQ sell them now..

Great review. And it's a shame it's not got the fancy SIC handle - the best in the business. I guess maybe it would interfere with the rudder mech? But you don't mention that it has the wonderful deck loops so you can carry the board with your paddle. So, why when you mention how cumbersome the board is to carry over long distances don't you mention that you'd do that using the paddle loops, and it transforms the experience? I have the loops on my Bullet V1 (and X14) and was disappointed not to find them on the Bullet V2, because they are incredibly useful and make carrying the board over longer distances possible. In the UK we have huge tidal ranges, and at low tide you can have a walk to the water of half a mile or more at some spots. So it's not a trivial matter: unless you can carry your board that far then it is completely useless if you live somewhere like that.

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Area10 said..
Great review. And it's a shame it's not got the fancy SIC handle - the best in the business. I guess maybe it would interfere with the rudder mech? But you don't mention that it has the wonderful deck loops so you can carry the board with your paddle. So, why when you mention how cumbersome the board is to carry over long distances don't you mention that you'd do that using the paddle loops, and it transforms the experience? I have the loops on my Bullet V1 (and X14) and was disappointed not to find them on the Bullet V2, because they are incredibly useful and make carrying the board over longer distances possible. In the UK we have huge tidal ranges, and at low tide you can have a walk to the water of half a mile or more at some spots. So it's not a trivial matter: unless you can carry your board that far then it is completely useless if you live somewhere like that.

Hi Area10,

I think the "loops" you refer to are actually anchor points forward or aft of the standing area for the coil leash for downwinding. It is actually possible to put the paddle in the loops but in my humble opinion, this isn't a massive saving grace as the F-16 is a fair bit heavier and a lot more cumbersome with it's high volume and thickness let alone it's length, than the Bullet.

I actually carry mine resting on top of my head if I have to carry it any great distance, but this is tricky in a good blow. The handle issue is annoying but not a deal breaker.

DM

they make it soooooo much easier carrying the board when you use your paddle, especially in a bit of wind!