I have a couple of Laird Surfers and love these boards but I'm considering a 14 foot board for "surfing". I want to catch the swells 200 metres off shore before they break and also be able to ride knee high bumps. Does any one surf their Dart. I wonder if it has enough nose rocker to stop it pearling and tail lift/rocker so I can step back and lift the nose for turns. I also want to paddle on flat water but don't race. Just leisure

Select to expand quote

Kiwidoc said..
I have a couple of Laird Surfers and love these boards but I'm considering a 14 foot board for "surfing". I want to catch the swells 200 metres off shore before they break and also be able to ride knee high bumps. Does any one surf their Dart. I wonder if it has enough nose rocker to stop it pearling and tail lift/rocker so I can step back and lift the nose for turns. I also want to paddle on flat water but don't race. Just leisure

I'm sure it will do the job but I have never stood on one of them.

I have however been using a JL M14 for a couple of years and sometimes take it out surfing - HUGE fun! You ain't going to succeed on anything steep but if there is a hint of swell it picks it up and flies. I have surfed it mainly in waist high stuff but pick up swells way out that I could never do on any of my other Surf SUPS.

Great DW board too and fine for touring.

Hi I have had the Dart for a couple of years the 14 X 30 red .I have done some downwinder with the board.But mainly use it for bay surf when it small .I have found the board to be very stable and easy to move around the the board to trim the nose . You can get all the way back with this board and turn it along the wave. Great in plat water not going to win any races but will have a lot of fun. I am happy with the Dart very well make board. Hope this Helps

Thanks guys. I saw a JL M14 on trademe but someone snapped it up, Remaining two options are NSP DC and the Coreban Dart. The Dart looks great :)

Love my Dart. Not the fastest for flatwater, but Board is searching for Downwind and Waves. Very stable. Usable in stormy winds (first pic is made in 9 Bft Wind). I have seen the new Dart Pure Version 2017 on Facebook which will look great and is cheaper than the Carbon.

Great looking boards....

Select to expand quote

[b]Slab said...
I have however been using a JL M14 for a couple of years and sometimes take it out surfing - HUGE fun! You ain't going to succeed on anything steep but if there is a hint of swell it picks it up and flies. I have surfed it mainly in waist high stuff but pick up swells way out that I could never do on any of my other Surf SUPS.

Great DW board too and fine for touring.

Looks like the JL M14 can handle some steep stuff! I'm picking one up in an hour...

Select to expand quote

Kiwidoc said..
Thanks guys. I saw a JL M14 on trademe but someone snapped it up, Remaining two options are NSP DC and the Coreban Dart. The Dart looks great :)

I snapped it up...sorry. But it has gone to a good home and will thrashed down Auckland harbour on windy days. I am sure the NSP and Dart will be good but if you can get a SIC V1 or V2 they are the bomb downwind boards.

I can vouch for the NSP DC, I have a 14x29 that picks up waves from ankle high to quite big. Doesn't turn too well due to the rails but great fun and gets a lot more mileage than the short boards.

Select to expand quote

Stev0 said..

Slab said...
I have however been using a JL M14 for a couple of years and sometimes take it out surfing - HUGE fun! You ain't going to succeed on anything steep but if there is a hint of swell it picks it up and flies. I have surfed it mainly in waist high stuff but pick up swells way out that I could never do on any of my other Surf SUPS.

Great DW board too and fine for touring.

Looks like the JL M14 can handle some steep stuff! I'm picking one up in an hour...

Nice....yes that board can handle juice not had it out in that sized waves myself.....bet the 12 6 is a real fun surf DW board too.

Well StevO... at least I know the M14 I had watch listed went to a good home. To me the Coreban Dart, and JL M14 look very similar in shape, profile, specs (on paper) but living in Rotorua it's a curse having to drive to Auckland to view these things. And we all know that a very subtle difference in rocker, rail can change a board exponentially. Sunova has a 14 foot Search which is a mega gun shape with decent rocker, finer rails and substantially less volume so it may surf insanely well.... I might starta new thread asking for any advice re this board....

doc - thats the search exactly.tnx

Select to expand quote

Kiwidoc said..
I have a couple of Laird Surfers and love these boards but I'm considering a 14 foot board for "surfing". I want to catch the swells 200 metres off shore before they break and also be able to ride knee high bumps. Does any one surf their Dart. I wonder if it has enough nose rocker to stop it pearling and tail lift/rocker so I can step back and lift the nose for turns. I also want to paddle on flat water but don't race. Just leisure

I see your dilemma... get a more downwind board that has rocker (will be slower in the rotorua flats), or get a flatwater board that can surf... in this case I would recommend the SIC X-series. These boards are flatwater with a pointy displacement nose but have loads of tail rocker so you can easily step back to lift the nose for kick turns or keeping the nose up, or on downwind bumps (requires moving on board though). Would be a bit of a handful on steep/late drops.
I surf my X14 x 24 all the time on the surf up to 2ft. Also last friday in 30 knots for a double downwinder.
They also make a 26 wide and a 27or28 wide.

Food for thought.

I thought about getting a Sunova Search for that purpose too, but was put off by the LiftSUP handle. Looks good otherwise though.

The Dart surfs fine. The M14 is the best DW board for surfing that I've owned. Next is the Bullet V2, which is also surprisingly good. Then the Bullet V1, and then the Bark Vapor. I've got other DW boards I surf too, but they aren't currently on sale.

And yes, for a flat water board, the X14 surfs remarkably well. Probably better than any other flat water board I've tried.

As DJ's video seems to show, maybe the new Javelin Maliko surfs well in small stuff too.

I'm not sure how any 14ft board would hold up in big conditions offshore. They are light layups and it's a lot of board. So I'd bear that in mind if I were you. I often surf mine a mile or so offshore in small stuff (up to shoulder high), and have occasionally surfed them bigger than that. But I'm always half expecting a really expensive accident and a long swim home when I do.

Select to expand quote

Area10 said..
I thought about getting a Sunova Search for that purpose too, but was put off by the LiftSUP handle. Looks good otherwise though.

The lift handle on the Sunova is the best I have had on a surf SUP! It works great and a way smarter carry handle than pretty much every other option. I had to replace the agricultural handle on my 14' custom DC as it was so poorly designed it delaminated the deck and sucked in water!

Good to hear the JL M14 is a good board as I just got one