Now that all the brands have their new 14 footers out, and that there has been a few races now, what's the verdict on them all?

Taking into account the people paddling them, has there been any stand out board that has outperformed the rest?

Things like the 23.5 Ace, All-star 25, DC/NSP, Naish LE, and Fanatic 25, any others you can think of?

Let's open it up for a bit of discussion

I would say from my observations , not much diffrence betweeen the boards , some may have a little advantage in some conditions. Its all about the motorI think the starboards may have an advantage in the stability stakes. But again the motor is the key.

Fanatic 14 x 25 Sammy but I'm bias. It's still slower than your Starboard Ace...or its motor is anyway.

In light to moderate wind conditions it is still the ACE !!!!14"

I think it depends on conditions they are used in? Fastest flat water? Fastest light dw? Fastest epic dw? Fastest in wonky confused ocean like the 12 towers? Or all round everything?

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Surfrod66 said...
In light to moderate wind conditions it is still the ACE !!!!14"

You're not a little bit biased?
Correct though.

It certainly does depend on the conditions. One board that did it all would be nice. Fanatic has certainly tried by doing just a 12'6" and a 14' in either a 25, 27.5 or 30.
It has certainly proved itself as a good all rounder suitable for those that can just get one board.

Starboard allstar 14 x 25. Fun, fun, fun.

Now just gotta get the engine tuned up!!!

i think that speed of the board comes 99% from the width and 1% from the outline/shape. however the outline/shape determines how easy it handles in different conditions (wave piercing bop/full nose dw) and how stable it is for the width.

More of an all rounder. That's sort of what the Fanatic design was about this year with no change in the flat water model. You know, what baord is going to be copetitive in most racing conditions which is probably not an epic Downwinder, (cos really, do they happen for races?)

If you measure "all rounder" success by numbers (or in the case of Zeus...by getting stopped and mounted by naked women with beer), there are a helluva lot of Jamie Mitchell Navigators around at the moment. They're gonna have to start painting them gray/blue instead of blue/gray so that they don't end up on the wrong car.

They seem competitive too for their width. Not as narrow as you can get with an Ace or Falcon of course.

depends where you live as to numbers....there are heaps of Lahui Kai at Goldy, heaps of Starby's in Sydney, etc

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RJK said...
i think that speed of the board comes 99% from the width and 1% from the outline/shape. however the outline/shape determines how easy it handles in different conditions (wave piercing bop/full nose dw) and how stable it is for the width.

i think your 99% correct.

anybody can make a fast board. its all those pesky details that are hard to get right

Hey guys,
has anyone paddled the Coreban 14 Turbo?
Ok perhaps this is not your typical race board but heard that most likely this is the fastest in dead flat-tippy one though,any experience with it?

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gretschusa said...
Hey guys,
has anyone paddled the Coreban 14 Turbo?
Ok perhaps this is not your typical race board but heard that most likely this is the fastest in dead flat-tippy one though,any experience with it?

Marcel paddled it at the lake time trial the other week so he should be able to give a review. I had a 30sec paddle on it, felt tippy and not fast at all. Fast boards don't always feel fast though so it might actually work.

I think the NSP/LOMOcean.com could be worth waiting for....

I can honestly say from experience and now owning a 14' x 25 Ace that it is the tippiest out of all the boards but probably has a slight edge if you can manage it on runners but the 14 x 25 Fanatic is more stable & probably the better all-rounder for most people. The All-Star is more stable but not as quick as either of them.