i seem to be seeing a lot more longer boards ie sic bullets on fb and I know a goldie shop that sells sic have been selling quite a few.


have paddlers had enough of pretzel narrow rockerless boards for dw ing




or what , why



and are any of the other brands going to come to the party


excluding the 17'4 ace which I know nothing about other then it has no rudder

Mate of mine has been on a DC 17 for a good while now, he loves it but he doesn't DW it. I am waiting for him to move on from that board and I will buy it :)

For the average Joe a ruddered board with rocker makes life easy

Never understood the 12"6 by 24 wide board thing.

Good if you weigh like 40kg

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laceys lane said..


Are the big boards making a come back

Starboard must think so..

If you ask me big boards like the Bullet are fast, stable, fun and easy. If you can take the time to remember to relax on them and focus on timing they will do the work for you but frantic paddling will exhaust you fast as they are big, heavy boards.

In most conditions over 12 knots or so in the ocean I've found they are faster the best race 14's with a much higher top end speed on bumps as they extend and open up. Once you got that speed and acceleration, linking become easier that you'd think and that's when you come in talking of best ever's.

The Ace GT is one I can't wait to paddle. Much more stable than it's 14' counterpart and the talk from people who know is that it gets on bumps easier like the 14' Ace but doesn't need as much wind and bumps as the Big Bullet. Won't have the top end legs of the Bullet but will almost certainly leave the Bullet in the marginal, fickle stuff. Time will tell on that one for me but it's good to have options.

Why more people aren't paddling them is sad. For all but the young elite who need to race 12'6" and 14's these bigger boards will make your ocean time more fun and you'll finish runs closer to the elite which just makes sense.

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WINDSURFnSNOW said..
If you ask me big boards like the Bullet are fast, stable, fun and easy. If you can take the time to remember to relax on them and focus on timing they will do the work for you but frantic paddling will exhaust you fast as they are big, heavy boards.

In most conditions over 12 knots or so in the ocean I've found they are faster the best race 14's with a much higher top end speed on bumps as they extend and open up. Once you got that speed and acceleration, linking become easier that you'd think and that's when you come in talking of best ever's.

The Ace GT is one I can't wait to paddle. Much more stable than it's 14' counterpart and the talk from people who know is that it gets on bumps easier like the 14' Ace but doesn't need as much wind and bumps as the Big Bullet. Won't have the top end legs of the Bullet but will almost certainly leave the Bullet in the marginal, fickle stuff. Time will tell on that one for me but it's good to have options.

Why more people aren't paddling them is sad. For all but the young elite who need to race 12'6" and 14's these bigger boards will make your ocean time more fun and you'll finish runs closer to the elite which just makes sense.

yep, I agree. the trick with the bullets is to make them work for you.

and they will.

always a fun board to use. nothing much better than standing on the tail and motoring links together

Too many people have fallen for the great stand up paddle swindle that the fastest board is necessarily the most fun. Eventually they will all come to their senses and realise that downwinding and racing go together like spicy food and haemorrhoids. One may lead to the other but it isn't as enjoyable.

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laceys lane said..
i seem to be seeing a lot more longer boards ie sic bullets on fb and I know a goldie shop that sells sic have been selling quite a few.
have paddlers had enough of pretzel narrow rockerless boards for dw ing
or what , why
and are any of the other brands going to come to the party
excluding the 17'4 ace which I know nothing about other then it has no rudder

SHHH Lacey, don't tell them.
I have 3 boards (OK I have seven, but for the purposes of the argument and as far as the wife knows, 3 will do)
12'6" X 30", 14' X 29", 17' X 26.75"
The longest is the narrowest, nicest to paddle, and the most stable.
But don't tell anyone else.
Image has gone in to the quote again so pretend it's below this.

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PTWoody said..
Too many people have fallen for the great stand up paddle swindle that the fastest board is necessarily the most fun. Eventually they will all come to their senses and realise that downwinding and racing go together like spicy food and haemorrhoids. One may lead to the other but it isn't as enjoyable.

Totally agree

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laceys lane said..
i seem to be seeing a lot more longer boards ie sic bullets on fb and I know a goldie shop that sells sic have been selling quite a few.


have paddlers had enough of pretzel narrow rockerless boards for dw ing




or what , why



and are any of the other brands going to come to the party


excluding the 17'4 ace which I know nothing about other then it has no rudder

Yep!! At 6ft and 90+ kg's I had had enough of trying to find a 14ft that I enjoyed down winding, until I had one ride on the Sic Bullet!!!
The next week I did the Doctor on it and had my best run yet, even with no training under the belt at all.
The fun and froth has returned and isn't that what it is all ultimately about??
I remember Galvo telling me years ago that for bigger crew, 17 was the only way to go!!! Galvo the prophet!!

Just come in from a DW run, three of us have the 17'4 sic and one on a 14' sic. Too much fun, runners runners galore, board does the work for you. My mate on 14' is with a doubt a quicker and fitter paddler, but the 17'4 just pulls away. Great boards, love em!

This topic got me reminiscing about Bullet's, Maui and the footage of Connor towards the end of the Maui 2 Molokai race.

Enjoy!!

16' x 30" Downwind Special for ELFB's, coming to a Melbourne downwind track soon...

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Pando71 said..
Just come in from a DW run, three of us have the 17'4 sic and one on a 14' sic. Too much fun, runners runners galore, board does the work for you. My mate on 14' is with a doubt a quicker and fitter paddler, but the 17'4 just pulls away. Great boards, love em!

It was fun yesterday...

Three big dogs and the puppy...

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Nozza said..

laceys lane said..
i seem to be seeing a lot more longer boards ie sic bullets on fb and I know a goldie shop that sells sic have been selling quite a few.
have paddlers had enough of pretzel narrow rockerless boards for dw ing
or what , why
and are any of the other brands going to come to the party
excluding the 17'4 ace which I know nothing about other then it has no rudder

SHHH Lacey, don't tell them.
I have 3 boards (OK I have seven, but for the purposes of the argument and as far as the wife knows, 3 will do)
12'6" X 30", 14' X 29", 17' X 26.75"
The longest is the narrowest, nicest to paddle, and the most stable.
But don't tell anyone else.
Image has gone in to the quote again so pretend it's below this.

Tell them the whole story Noz -
You haven't been on your 14 since you bought your first 17.
And you have 2 Naish 17' Glides now!

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Nozza said..

laceys lane said..
i seem to be seeing a lot more longer boards ie sic bullets on fb and I know a goldie shop that sells sic have been selling quite a few.
have paddlers had enough of pretzel narrow rockerless boards for dw ing
or what , why
and are any of the other brands going to come to the party
excluding the 17'4 ace which I know nothing about other then it has no rudder

SHHH Lacey, don't tell them.
I have 3 boards (OK I have seven, but for the purposes of the argument and as far as the wife knows, 3 will do)
12'6" X 30", 14' X 29", 17' X 26.75"
The longest is the narrowest, nicest to paddle, and the most stable.
But don't tell anyone else.
Image has gone in to the quote again so pretend it's below this.

Tell them the whole story Noz -
You haven't been on your 14 since you bought your first 17.
And you have 2 Naish 17' Glides now!

Unlimiteds Rock. :)
Sooooo much fun. :)

Thanks for the Connor footage, he rocks!!
What a work ethic & family support team.

Borrowed my mates bullet. Ah nothing beats that feeling

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crazybula said..

Pando71 said..
Just come in from a DW run, three of us have the 17'4 sic and one on a 14' sic. Too much fun, runners runners galore, board does the work for you. My mate on 14' is with a doubt a quicker and fitter paddler, but the 17'4 just pulls away. Great boards, love em!

It was fun yesterday...

Three big dogs and the puppy...

Are you guys DW'ing those in the lake? or going outside from there? ( i assume thats the carpark at the lake entrance, right?)

I borrowed a bullet once from my experience and view point it was a great board but just too big for me , 70 kilos dripping wet ATM , but yeah the wind was really good a I did a quick short down winder and I'm pretty sure I got one of the longest runs I've ever had to date but getting out at the end was a friggin night mare and getting the board all alone up onto the roof racks was even harder in the wind
so for me I would never be able to use one the storage issues at home and the pure size of the board is most likely the reason you don't see too many off them around , I felt and most likely looked like a kook failing around carrying that board about that day

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dtm said...
I felt and most likely looked like a kook failing around carrying that board about that day

Not just "that day"!

I for one seriously hope that Unlimited's make a bit of a resurgence, because when your my height/weight etc they're basically a 14ft-er!!!

Levels the playing field a bit…!

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Casso said..

dtm said...
I felt and most likely looked like a kook failing around carrying that board about that day

Not just "that day"!

Nasty Casso. Went through my mind though.


Seems to be more unlimiteds on the water all the time.
The NSW Downwind series or at least the Sydney component of it this year won't have a 14 foot category - just Unlimited....anything will go.

The design philosophy of SIC's Mark Raaphorst is what got me onto a SIC 14 Bullet in the first place, and that is that "you're faster if you stay on your board". Hence they never did 24' wide boards.

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WINDSURFnSNOW said..
Stuff....then
Why more people aren't paddling them is sad. For all but the young elite who need to race 12'6" and 14's these bigger boards will make your ocean time more fun and you'll finish runs closer to the elite which just makes sense.

There is also the old blokes that are competing in the age categories races that are limited to 14'ers.
I must admit though that it is very tempting to forget about O40's O50's or whatever and just have some fun.
Especially for something like the Doctor.

Every day you are one step closer to pulling the trigger Kent......

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Tell them the whole story Noz -
You haven't been on your 14 since you bought your first 17.
And you have 2 Naish 17' Glides now!

Interesting to see this one resurface.
As well as unlimited downwind boards, there are other unlimiteds.
17'6" JM Flatwater board has come on the scene, I'm obsessed.
24" wide, brilliant to paddle, effortless glide, challenging balance wise, but that's not a bad thing.
Want to paddle it rather than the others if conditions allow.
So my current daily quiver is 17'4" SIC if it's rough, 17'6" JM if it's flat. 17' Naish swaps for Bullet on a whim.
12'6" Bullet comes out infrequently, loads of fun.
No room for a 14'
Pictures in the quote, can't control.
Roof top quiver.
Helmy on the JM

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surf4fun said..
Every day you are one step closer to pulling the trigger Kent......

Maybe....but as tempted as I am I don't think it will happen yet.

Unless I decide to head to Hawaii next year in which case I would need to get some practice in steering and handling an UL during the summer.