I have enjoyed my 14 foot Sunny King for the best part of 3 years, but I am passing it onto my wife now and need to look at another board.
I use it in open ocean occasionally, but the majority of the time I paddle on flatwater for fitness.
Personally I like the look of the Starboard All Star as it looks like a pretty good all round board. Plus as I have a Starboard Windsurfer I know they are tough. I can get a new old stock 2015 14 x 25" in Glass construction for $1300, which is within my budget.
Are there any other boards that I should consider?
Any help appreciated.

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Dorsal said..
I have enjoyed my 14 foot Sunny King for the best part of 3 years, but I am passing it onto my wife now and need to look at another board.
I use it in open ocean occasionally, but the majority of the time I paddle on flatwater for fitness.
Personally I like the look of the Starboard All Star as it looks like a pretty good all round board. Plus as I have a Starboard Windsurfer I know they are tough. I can get a new old stock 2015 14 x 25" in Glass construction for $1300, which is within my budget.
Are there any other boards that I should consider?
Any help appreciated.

Hey Dorsal.
Being that majority of time is spent in the flat you could look at going with a more flatwater orientated board as you may find it more efficient. You are correct that starboard are a tough board but these days everyone's construction is well and truly up there. The board that springs to mind in my opinion is possibly the Infinity Whiplash (yes i am a retailer) these boards haven't been in the country for long and all though there surf SUP's are making waves across the industry there race boards are seriously underrated. The current Whiplash models in the country will still give you some ocean capability but will be far more efficient in the flat. There construction is second to none, There stability and comfort is superb. At the end of the day not only does budget play a big role it is far more important you get a board that you are 100% comfortable with. Demo, Demo, Demo if you can. Look into the Naish range, The ECS range and Fanatic would probably be the pick of the bunch as well. Any questions dont hesitate to sing out. Hope this helps.
Stay stoked
Trav

Thanks Trav,
I do like the look of the Infinity Whiplash, but I am limited to a budget of $1300 max, and I should think they are well above that price point.
cheers
Ed

Dorsal, lots of nice boards in the buy & sell section at a good price if you ask nicely

It's pretty generous to praise the construction of the All Stars IMO. I don't know about the 2018 models but over the years many AS models have not lasted well, and the fit and finish have also tended to be a bit approximate IMO. So make sure you demo, and take a close look at the board, and press it with your finger all over to check how robust it is. Take someone who knows about SUP construction with you if you can. Although I'd give that advice to anyone buying a board, not just Starboard. Look for chipping too: some of the boards from the top brands are very prone to paint chips. This doesn't really affect the integrity of the board. It's just annoying.

Interesting points Area10. I am looking at a 2015 model, new old stock, but I have to commit and order it, so inspecting it is impossible. Are there any boards that are notably robust? What annoyed me with the Sunny King is that is has a huge area of deppresions underneath the board, caused by our hot weather in Brisbane apparently.

I purchased a Starboard 2015 Race in carbon - NOS. Very unstable and rather fragile. Fast fast in glass! Not a good choice for recreational flat water.

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cbigsup said..
I purchased a Starboard 2015 Race in carbon - NOS. Very unstable and rather fragile. Fast fast in glass! Not a good choice for recreational flat water.

That is interesting, how wide is it?
The dealer tells me that glass comstruction is much more durable than carbon, but the stability, or lack of concerns me going to a 25" wide board from my current 29".