anyone tested with a gps and is not biased?? be interested to know which is working best. production 14 over say 2km flat water...???

Difficult, if not impossible task, as the paddler on top is 99% of the equation. We have 4 years of data from a 1.9km weekly timetrial and the top 4 are 4 different guys on 4 different boards (mainly because they are sponsored riders) and the difference is from 9.84km/h to 10.01km/h which may seem significant but in real time it's a difference of 12seconds which over 1.9km is easy to lose (and difficult to make up). These times are rarely equalled due to a number of reasons; wind, water levels, weed, paddlers conditioning etc

The point is, on a 2km course you are on the hull-speed limit and it's the power of the paddler who will determine which board is faster - I would love to have an answer to your question and I don't, but of the 4 fastest we've seen here, the brands start with S, N, F and C..........

Yes, PeterP is right. And the board that is fastest for someone else might not be fastest for you. So even if you could determine which is the fastest board across a whole group of people (and PT Woody and his crew had a good go a couple of years ago ) it still wouldn't mean it is the right choice for you. Most of the top flat water boards are very similar in speed. So you just have to try them and find one you enjoy paddling. You will probably find that you are fastest on that.

There are a few boards out there that are pretty slow, however, and should be avoided if you are serious about racing. You'll find out which they are when you try them. The most common problem IMO is not getting the tail rocker right so the board's arse drags pretty much no matter where you stand or what your weight.

good points. but say is the old fanatic flat faster than the new falcon? is the naish jav quicker than the older white jav. besides starboard, who has 101 different models for every type of racing, many manufacturers are compromising on their sleds to make them usefull in the flats.

only asking as id like to get a flat missile for our lake kawana time trials. whilst the 27.25 current falcon is a weapon in the ocean... imo it is slower than last years in the flats.. so time to add a flat water board to the quiver??

Mostly the boards are good at what they are designed to do. So a pure flat water board of a particular length and width will generally be faster in pure flat water than an all-rounder raceboard of the same length and width. But of course the all-rounder will be faster in sea/chop (typically). There's nothing particularly magic being discovered year on year. IMO the big manufacturers are generally producing boards each year that will sell, and this means not producing the same as last year because few people are going to buy another board if it performs exactly the same function as the one they already have. Personally I rather like seeing a good shape evolve over several years to be better. But clearly that strategy doesn't sell. So instead it's all change from year to year, whether the old design was a good one or not.

But it sounds to me like you have essentially answered your own question.

Come and grab my old Naish Jav 14 for a lap Steve. I reckon it is still up there with being one of the fastest.

I have a few 14's that anyone for that matter is welcome to test out around the lake if they are interested. Just call past and pick one up.

Luke

I agree.. The 14' Jav is still right up there with the fastest boards.

i think the sunshine coast sup club is having a sprint club day this year, we will have timing gates set up.. ill be testing everyboard i can get hold of.... id represent the 200lb plus guy, maybe rocketship trev will do the lighter weights... or matty actually, as he is not tied to a board sponsor (12 towers 14' winner) .

still, anyones opinions would be good to hear.

The 14 Naish LE 23 is pretty fast in the flats , my old starboard ace was also , but any chop with it and it was hopeless. My new Coreban turbo is also very fast , it is actually the only board I have paddled that keeps going faster the harder you paddle it. I found with some boards you would get them to hull speed I guess and the effort to get them above this is just to much. Only down side to the turbo is that it is heavy so suits a bigger rider. The Lahui boards are also good in the flats. But it always comes down to the jockey

One of the guys in our training group has a DC 15,6 that thing motors along

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teatrea said...
One of the guys in our training group has a DC 15,6 that thing motors along

yeah i raced one of those in a flat water marathon race with good result. they are a good thing.

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teatrea said...
The 14 Naish LE 23 is pretty fast in the flats , my old starboard ace was also , but any chop with it and it was hopeless. My new Coreban turbo is also very fast , it is actually the only board I have paddled that keeps going faster the harder you paddle it. I found with some boards you would get them to hull speed I guess and the effort to get them above this is just to much. Only down side to the turbo is that it is heavy so suits a bigger rider. The Lahui boards are also good in the flats. But it always comes down to the jockey

i think ocean addicts has a turbo... i might give it a crack this thursday!

Mistral M2.

The SR-71 Blackbird of flat water race boards. Inspired by Olympic flat-water kayak racing craft, this hollow carbon model is 14' X 24.4" and extremely light.

What did Travis out paddle Danny Ching and Co on at BOP Long distance this year with a bad knee?

www.supracer.com/performances-of-the-year-2013/

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CMC said..

What did Travis out paddle Danny Ching and Co on at BOP Long distance this year with a bad knee?

www.supracer.com/performances-of-the-year-2013/

Ok.. I give up.. What did the fastest paddler paddle?

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DavidJohn said..

CMC said..

What did Travis out paddle Danny Ching and Co on at BOP Long distance this year with a bad knee?

www.supracer.com/performances-of-the-year-2013/

Ok.. I give up.. What did the fastest paddler paddle?

The board he designed himself of course...

Im pretty sure he paddled a nsp dc 14 by 24 dugout but I could be wrong.

I also have to say the jav gx is super fast in the the flats. Much faster than my X26 le but soon as there is chop the le kills the jav

www.seabreeze.com.au/News/Stand%20Up%20Paddle/The-New-Coreban-Sonics-Have-Arrived_7895509.aspx

I would love to try those Mistrals. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm......Carbon........

The weight of the m2 is insane.
Probably in the 8 kg range. As for being really fast, it didn't look as fast in the water as it did out of the water.

Another thing I noticed is that it makes a massive wake, perfect for drafting. Eheheh!
That's probably due to the fact that it has a conical rail profile.

Flatwater?
14'?
Fast?


S P R I N T (14' x 24")


Lifts onto the plane & rides its own wash before you even need to swap sides with the paddle!

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Jappy said...
www.seabreeze.com.au/News/Stand%20Up%20Paddle/The-New-Coreban-Sonics-Have-Arrived_7895509.aspx

Looks nice, but why 12'6 only?

The results from the Australian Flatwater sprint SUPfest in March will answer this question for 2014. Starboard, Fanatic,DC, Naish, YOB, C4, Coreban? - 200m buoyed,non tidal course - pretty even test.

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Goochi said..

Jappy said...
www.seabreeze.com.au/News/Stand%20Up%20Paddle/The-New-Coreban-Sonics-Have-Arrived_7895509.aspx

Looks nice, but why 12'6 only?

The results from the Australian Flatwater sprint SUPfest in March will answer this question for 2014. Starboard, Fanatic,DC, Naish, YOB, C4, Coreban? - 200m buoyed,non tidal course - pretty even test.

Even the 200m test is very difficult to get anything meaningful out of - try it yourself. Do 10x 200m run and check your times.....even with ample rest in between you will be several seconds out between each run, I've tried and I vary 2-10secs from run to run - nuts.....maybe a proper athlete will get better results....

Looking at what top riders use tells you nothing about which board is fast - it only tells you which companies pay who to ride what they give them.

As others have noted, it's basically impossible to do a proper test of what's fastest. The best methodology, in all likelihood, is to somehow get access to several different boards and run several dozen time trials on each board over weeks. If you randomly determine which board you use each time, the law of large numbers should provide a decent estimate.

Even then, your test won't be blind. This means that your personal biases will impact your results: For example, you personally like Fanatic's color scheme so you try a bit harder on that one. You think such and such brand rider is a wanker, so you try less hard on that one. That may sound trivial, but the effect is well known in the experimental literature and WILL impact your times.

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jt737 said...
Mistral M2.

The SR-71 Blackbird of flat water race boards. Inspired by Olympic flat-water kayak racing craft, this hollow carbon model is 14' X 24.4" and extremely light.

now that looks fast!!