Just got my new Ace 14' x 23.5" and thought I'd put it next to the old 14' x 25".
Haven't paddled yet but will get on it either later today or in the morning.
Sam.
OK Sam, full report...
Just for us bigger guys that will probably never step foot in one.
I am sure John will be straight around to give it a run if your to busy
What do you think the difference would be between the Ace and the Sprint? On flat water only?
What do you think the difference would be between the Ace and the Sprint? On flat water only?
Had a quick paddle of the new 14x23.5 up here on Saturday and its quick, really quick, and pretty stable (well stable for a narrow board) and easier to surf/steer than last years 25" as you can move around the deck a bit more.
Having owned an Ace 14 x 25' & 27' in AST, they were very fast boards but very different in the open ocean than my carbon 14 x 25' Allstar. Personally i think the Ace 14' x 25' slightly quicker than the Allstar in the flat, but the Allstar is the better all rounder board. It surfs well enough if you get back far enough which is easy after the Ace and is so much lighter. Doesn't get affected as much by side swell as the Ace did, and has a slightly different noise than the "splish splash sound" the Ace made.
Pity the handle is in the wrong place to balance - when will manufacturers get this right?
Still haven't had a more than a 10 min paddle on it but so far so good. Glide in bumps felt great but then the only way to really test is back to back with the old one.
Should have a good chance to get out there with Kissa on his in the next few days. If I can keep up with him then it's good, if I can't then it might still be good.
Still feels like the best all round race board to me.
Went well in 12-15knots! Going to give it a good test today.
forecast: An afternoon southwesterly sea breeze 15 to 20 knots reaching 20 to 25 knots north of Brighton.
Wow, went good for the first part along the coast, runners all the way. Felt like a shorter board, heaps sensitive to foot steering. Got tired by the open part, cross chop made it hard, i felt like a learner again and fell off heaps toward the end. Its going to take a while to learn to ride in that much wind. Was flogged by the time I hit the beach. Bom wind read 22-26 knots. Probally would race it up to 20 knots, ace 25 would be much easier in more than 20 knots.
Paddled today in similar, maybe a few knots windier on the ace 25. Heaps more manageable than the 23.5. Amazing what a little width does.
Looks great.. Where does the seat go? .. 
Looks like new paint.. New handles.. New leash plug possition.. and no hump in the standing area.. Also looks like they've widened the rear of the dugout to allow big feet to step right back near the tail.
Any other changes? .. Is there a vent screw on the new board? .. and are the bottoms the same?
DJ
Howdy David, the leash plug is the tail, to avoid the wrap around that can happen with the leash around the tail, the bottom shape looks the same but the rails toward the tail are slightly different. There is more volume toward the nose, the sides in the dugout are thinner, the fins are new material like the FCS performance core honeycomb material look. The deck in the dougout is completely flat. The vent screw is just behind the leash plug on the tail.
oh yer Pt Woody, downwind sub 20 knts the 23.5 is an absolute blast, picks up every chop, connects little runners with ease.
looks very nice, gonna fly on that thing sam
i'd need one for each foot at that width
jarryd
Had a couple more runs today on our usual whcih is about 6-7km in about 18 to 22knots. Fell off about 6 times on the first run so really concentrated on the second. Wow had a really quick run the second time, dint fall to about the last 500 m but by then was pretty tired. Did it in about 35 mins which is really quick for me. So probally play it safe if I was racing in that wind at the moment and go 25 wide but def less than 20 knots would choose the 23.5 and risk it cos sure its quicker as long as you dont fall.
