I started answering a "nose design" question in the main room, and realised I had drifted off track.... instead of deleting the text, I moved it over here;

I'll probably get bagged out by the industry crew!

------------

Firstly, most of the manufacturers are producing some of their race boards in 2 different widths, or 2 different designs. As a general rule of thumb, if you are under 85kg and have good balance, then you should consider the narrow options. They will generally be quicker. (I say "generally", and obviously test them out, etc...)....

Nose of Fanatic14 v's Jav14;
Both have a "cutter" nose, but from side on profile, the Fanatic is SQUARE, and the Jav is ROUND. (Although the Newer Jav has moved to the Squarer drop nose option).

Therefore the bottom of the Fanatic 14 Nose sits deeper into the water the bottom of The Jav 14 nose. One serious disadvantage of The Fanatic, is that this nose style can be a bit "catchy", and is like having a fin on the front of the board. Side on chop is does tend to knock the nose of the Fanatic down wind, and it is almost certainly more of a handful in strong side winds. Harder to keep it on course, more single sided paddling. But then again all boards are hard work in cross wind and cross chop....

But you have to consider the boards as a whole also. The Jav 14 is tippier, and I believe the Jav has a little bit more overall rocker - The Fanatic is very flat rockered.

Have a look at Jacko's video's of The Fanatic to see how versatile they are. It is a great board, and very light.

I think the winners in each sub category is as follows;
BOP Style Races - Fanatic 14 because of stability (but BOP is usually limited to 12'6 anyway).
Flat Water - Jav 14 might be a whisker quicker, but not sure
Down Wind - Glide 14 would probably be the most user friendly, and the Fanatic will handle it quite well.
All Round - Fanatic 14 wins. Good in the flats, can handle bump, can down wind (only question marks are probably strong cross winds / side winds).

I think the Fanatic 14 is a great option for someone who only wants 1 x 14 footer. If you're really into Down Wind, the new Naish Glide 14 would be a great starting point, or if you only wanted a 14 for nice clam flat water, then either Fanatic of Jav would be a good choice.

For a knock-a-bout family board that everyone can play on, throw it into the small surf, put the dog on, and dad can use on his own, enter a fun race, etc... I would think the new Glide 14 ticks more boxes, and would be a good choice in this scenario.

www.fanatic-sup.com/content/products/sup/fly_race/index_eng.html
http://www.naishsurfing.com/2012/boards/glide.html

Of course, the flat water Fanatic 14 due in a few weeks changes everything. And that's not to mention the 4 different Starboard 14's. Oops, I think I did just mention them.

The new 14' Jav's nose is the same as the old 14' Jav (just a different paint job)..

.. and what 14' Fanatic are you talking about?.. There's two now and they are very different from each other.

DJ

DJ, I think I'm referring to the 14x28 Fanatic. So many boards to try & keep up with!

PT, I had a go on the heavier cheaper 14 Starboard Race thing yesterday. It slid along the tiny tiny waves quite well. But it had less control than the Naish Boards. The Starboard I was on was like a "Tri-Plane-Hull". Three separate panels under the feet. Concave centrally, out the outer "thirds" chined up. Was tippy initially, but great secondary stability as usualy with the big boards. But all in all, no where near as user friendly in small surf conditions (compared to the Original Naish 14 Glide). But I admit, they aren't designed for that.

PS - if any Breezers would like to Paddle my Yellow 14 Glide in The Great Melbourne Paddle, just let me know. First in first basis, with "nearest the pin" over ride!

Board Speed Testing (SUP).... it's really hard to test board speeds in anything other than glassing conditions.

And when it gets a little bit bumpy, each board will react differently to bumps, multiplied by bumps from different directions / paddling in different directions.

Appreciated the comments regarding 14' designs. Have been looking at 14's and demo'ing a few that were available.

One thing that stood out to me during demos was the difference in nose rocker. One 14 footer seemed like another's 12'6", because two feet of nose was out of the water when paddling on flat water.

This could be handy stopping a nose dive on a runner, but I wondered if the trade off may be a loss of some glide power in the flat, when that was the reason for looking at a 14' in the first place.

I know your posting related to Fanatic and Naish boards, but I'd be interested in your thoughts on how the DC14 design fits in the scheme of things, with the personal requirement being a big, fast, stable board for non-surf days, light down-winders and not for racing. (Old bloke, 87kg, 5'11").

Cheers.

NSP 14 ?
great glide, very stable, bullet proof and great price

Select to expand quote

ninefoot8 said...

...I'd be interested in your thoughts on how the DC14 design fits in the scheme of things, with the personal requirement being a big, fast, stable board for non-surf days, light down-winders and not for racing. (Old bloke, 87kg, 5'11").

Cheers.

DC14 Makaru ticks all those boxes. It's a good all-rounder. At 87kg you'd probably be comfortable on most of the 28" 14s in the conditions you describe...Fanatic & Hobie and the starby 14s would suit too, even the ACE.

I'm not sure where DC is at, regarding replication of 14's. But I do know that I have seen a number of DC14's that I would happily swap my Original Yellow Naish 14 Glide for. I could even throw in $300 to sweeten the deal !!

NSP - I saw them on Saturday, but I didn't gravitate to them... I've never ridden any NSP, but I've seen a few of their Malibu's and Mini-Mals and that was enough to put me off the brand for ever! This is probably a discussion for a Longboard Room, but there is no way in hell that an NSP 9'6 Longboard would keep up with my 9'6 Brewer.

Select to expand quote

Simondo said...

...I have seen a number of DC14's that I would happily swap my Original Yellow Naish 14 Glide for. I could even throw in $300 to sweeten the deal !!

Pure Gold !!

Select to expand quote

DavidJohn said...

The new 14' Jav's nose is the same as the old 14' Jav (just a different paint job)..

.. and what 14' Fanatic are you talking about?.. There's two now and they are very different from each other.

DJ

There's only one in shops. The second one is yet to land, other than a couple of pre-production demos floating about. The production boards may arrive in a couple of weeks is what I'm hearing.

Select to expand quote

Simondo said...

DJ, I think I'm referring to the 14x28 Fanatic. So many boards to try & keep up with!

PT, I had a go on the heavier cheaper 14 Starboard Race thing yesterday. It slid along the tiny tiny waves quite well. But it had less control than the Naish Boards. The Starboard I was on was like a "Tri-Plane-Hull". Three separate panels under the feet. Concave centrally, out the outer "thirds" chined up. Was tippy initially, but great secondary stability as usualy with the big boards. But all in all, no where near as user friendly in small surf conditions (compared to the Original Naish 14 Glide). But I admit, they aren't designed for that.

That's the 2011 SB 14, probably the Open Ocean, but the Coast Runner is the same just with flatter rocker. It is a great board, especially in carbon, but quite a different feel to the Glide. I have the 2010 version which is a flat deck and it is not as a good a board by a long shot. However I know exactly what you mean by user friendly - the 2010 is very much like the Glide in terms of trimming and walking the board, whereas the 2011 with that tri-plane thing, it makes things a little more technical to say the least. Once you get that 2011 SB out in a DW, you quickly see how big a step forward that board is in one year of design.