Demoed a heap of boards now. Looking for something to get out into the ocean in windy conditions and ride. Want to be able to surf fat waves on the way in and maybe a fat bommie. Will cruise the lake too. I surf.
Here is my newb's take on it all so far;
2010 14' Angulo Shaka (used) - very stable in the ocean. I think I could surf this with my feet and it would turn without the nose tracking in a straight line due to "surfboard" shaped nose. Too big and heavy though, maybe an old construction type. If it had been lighter I think I might have bought it.
2012 14' x 28" Deep (Thanks to a generous Seabreeze member, cheers Paul) - Nice and fast with good glide. Beautiful looking board. I paddled on flat water. Only doubt is how "surfable" it would be with its slightly knife like nose. Would it track too much when trying to surf it? The owner said you just get on the tail and raise the nose to avoid this. This aspect is my only doubt (note I have next to no ocean SUP experience). I went through a boat wake and the nose pearled and popped straight back up nicely. Not as stable as the Shaka but a lot lighter, faster and easier to handle. I really liked it.
Today I went to Toowoon Bay and did some demos. Awesome demo day by the ESS crew and Starboard. Thanks a lot. I got out beyond the point and into some wind to see if I could stay upright. Mostly I managed it. I kept away from the point lest I mow some poor soul down or put the board on the rocks. These were my favourites;
Starboard All Star 14' x 27.5" carbon - fast and light. The nose also had a bit of a rounded belly underneath it so maybe it would side slip when turned in downwind runners better than a knife nose. Maybe it is kind of surfable with the feet as the nose area shape is between a "surfboard" nose and a "knife" nose? It felt a little unstable once I got farther out into the ocean, especially when side-on to swell. Maybe the belly in the font area of the bottom added to this "rock the cradle" effect. Not sure about that sunken deck and handle under my feet setup when shuffling around on the board. Paddled beautifully on the flat.
Fanatic Falcon 14' x 30" - more stable than the Starboard All Star. This board felt really good. However it had more of a pronounced "knife-like" nose than the All Star. Would this cause it to track too much when surfed on fat waves or in large downwind conditions? That was the only negative I could think of with this board.
In the carpark I saw a black 14' Coreban Dart. It had the extra width for stability being close to 30". It also had more of a "surfboard" nose which I am thinking I might need if I want to "surf" the board in any manner without it spearing off in a straight line of its choosing. The 14' Coreban Dart looked like it might fit what I am after. I'm looking into checking one out.
The other boards I am looking at checking out are a SIC 14' x 27.25" Bullet. After today I am wondering if it would be too unstable for me in messy ocean conditions? I heard this referred to as a "race board", I had previously thought it was just a good ocean DW board. I don't want to be spending all my effort balancing, winning races is not my priority at the moment. However my second run on the 27.5" wide All Star today showed improvement in my balance on it from the first run only a couple of hours earlier. Maybe a 27" > 28" board would become second nature balance wise after a while?
Also considering a Walk on Water 14' x 29" which someone told me is a really good and stable ocean board that surfs well. A Seabreeze member has offered a demo on his (thanks) so when I can get to it I will.
Getting closer.
It's probably fair to categorize them this way:
The WoW, Dart, Bullet (and shaka?): DW-oriented boards that you could race. Wouldn't be the fastest in flat water.
Falcon, Allstar and DEEP - Race/allround-oriented boards that you could DW. Quicker in flat water than the ones above but likely a bit more technical on DW.
nah, the sic 14 would be solid as mate. that's part of their manta.
i know of a guy who brought one. i don't think he's a gun paddler by any means. a crew did a big paddle from kingscliff to tally going in between fingal and cook island which is a suss as it gets. word is after starting from the back he made a fair dent in the field.
stable as, easy to use and surfed was he's words. a number of orders were taken for sic 14s after that paddle.
from what i understand thou if you are after super rock solid the coreban dart maybe.
ps paddling dw boards in the flat isn't going to tell you a real lot. going for the fastest in the flat is probably going to be a mistake for a dw board
From your other thread it sounds like you're leaning towards the DW boards? As you know I own the WoW & I'm a big rap for it - I like it a helluva lot. Been on the Dart too, yeah it's super stable but dunno...just didn't feel like what I was looking for but I wasn't on it long enough to give it a fair shakedown. I had just a brief spin on a 14' bullet one day in some messy chop and very small runners but if I had to pick an adjective for how it felt I'd say "dialled". I reckon there's some secret sauce in that recipe...if I wasn't such a fat bastard I might have one. Try the Dart, try the WoW, try the Bullet...and no DW board selection would be complete without a run on the Naish Glide. Fun times ahead for you eh? 
Look at a DC as well
or
If you want surf get a Foote. Not a fan of the cutter nose. I ended up with an Aircore which is designed with imput from Bill, that is great fun. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Aircore/
foote-surfboards.com/board-styles/downwind/
Your right about the Shaka it is heavy, there is a lighter version EST, than probably the one you picked up which is some 18+ kgs..............and to be quite frank your too punny for it
At 125 kgs when I bought it 18 mths ago it was perfect for me.
The advantage is the Shaka is tougher than nails................those little carbon things move out of the way when I'm headed for them
But I digress, you might also (if you can find one) the PSH 14' Hull Paddler.......I liked it and when they arrive again, planing on demoing again..........I'd jump on a SIC excepts its only 28" wide
Good luck with your search 
IMO a good choice for you would be the WoW board that Stu (HumanCartoon) is flipping over at the start of this vid (4 second mark).
DJ
Mind you, I could just be comparing my SIC with my 26 1/8th" Jav. Def more stable than a Fanatic Falcon 27.5" though. Dunno about your weight, but at mine, it is pretty much my 'act of god' all weather board. PM me when you're in Rose Bay next and you can have a go.
If you want to try out some of the Starboard boards give Pete Cox a call. He now has his own business running in Newcastle (Stockton) and he mentioned to me that he will have the Starboard trailer in his possession in the coming weeks. Pete guided me through the process of getting my first 14 footer and is super knowledgeable. He is on FB at either Pete Cox or 2UP SUP. Tell him Matt Scott sent you.
Thanks Scotty. Only thing is that it seems that Starboard don't make a true DW board in the style of a WoW, SIC Bullet, JL M14 or Shaka. I demoed a 14' x 27.5" All Star and the nose was not what I think is a true DW style shape. The board was very fast, probably the fastest 14 footer I have demoed (I know the narrower All Stars and Aces would be even faster). However the All Star was not "surfable" enough for what I want I don't think.
Naish seem to be in the same category, all the noses on the 14 footers are semi displacement type I think. Certainly not a rockered surfboard shape. It seems Starboard and Naish are more focused on racing rather than true surfability when it comes to the longer boards. Are these comments accurate?
Pete will be able to sort you out one way or another. He is part of the Starboard "Dream Team" so has a lot of insight into the boards and what they can actually do.
Good luck
I asked the same question here last year and ended up buying the WOW 14' GSR carbon, my first board. I love this board (& the sport), now totally addicted, out there every chance I get and I know I made the right choice, as I only paddle in the ocean the width and surfboard type nose ( which I can just watch the cross chop wash over) give this board excellent stability allowing me to concentrate on paddle technique. It may be a little wider but suits the conditions I mostly paddle in. It has a gun surfboard type bottom which I really like. I think this would be a tough board in heavy downwind conditions.
I think they're all good boards and you can't really go wrong just get one & get out there and enjoying yourself.
Just had a C4 V1 at a good price thrown into the mix. I demoed one on flat water and it was pretty good but the radical bottom shape seemed to make the board feel less stable than the 14' WoW & 14' SIC Bullet I demoed.
The V1 had this really full on rounded out vee throughout the board. It was like the bottom of a bathtub. I'm not sure how this would go surfing small waves and may be more work than the WoW & Bullet to keep balance in the ocean.
I'm looking at a Jimmy Lewis M14 soon but won't be able to demo it. Have heard good things about this board though. I think this board has more of a traditional surfboard rail to rail bottom curve profile.
If you do get a chance to demo the Naish 14' Glide, although it has the knife front end as you observed, the Glide seems to have a fair bit of rocker in the front end (is this where it differs from the Javelin?) so would be good for DWer's.
The 14' Glide GS seems good value for $1749 incl fin & cover.
Not sure if the carbon GX justifies $500 more to save 1.4 kgs of weight
I just bought a Jimmy Lewis M14. Analysis fatigue got the better of me. I am going away to paddle for a while before my head explodes from reading reviews, posting and staring at a screen. Thanks very much for all the help. I will report back when the salt air has blown the computer fuzz from my head.
