Thank you all for your patience... The results are in.

On Monday the 12th March 2012, RPS The Boardstore in conjunction with SUP VIC, staged a world-first side-by-side test of 14′ current model production stand-up paddleboards available to buyers here in Melbourne. It is important to note that not every 14′ board in the world could be included in this test as we do not have access to all makes and models locally. Furthermore, the conditions decreed that this would be a flat water test and therefore unavoidably favours boards intended for flat water racing. We do not apologise for any of this, however we welcome other groups conducting their own tests in different conditions using other boards as it all adds to the global knowledge base.

The test run was done at Half Moon Bay, on Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne. The course was a 150+150m run with a 180 degree turn at one end and a standing start. At the start of each round, each of the 14 paddlers randomly drew a board out of a hat, to determine the board selection for that round. They were timed manually using line of sight to determine the start and end crossing. Each paddler proceeded to the starting mark and from a stationary start, were counted-down 3-2-1-Go! The starting procedure and stopwatch were consistent throughout the day, with Stuart Thomas acting as chief timekeeper.

Each round, the times were marked down, all paddlers returned to shore, and drew the next board from a hat.

The results:

Accumulative time ranking of each board:

This is based on a clean set of data from 9 of the 14 paddlers who completed a run on each board - The reason for this is that one paddler sustained an injury late in the test process and had to pull out. Another had a pressing engagement and had to leave early. Another suffered from a timing failure in one run, and another accidentally paddled two boards twice and then failed to paddle two of the boards. We also had one paddler fall on one of the runs and the time recorded in that run appeared to be an unfair handicap for that board. With all these factors in mind, the accumulated time for each board across 14 paddlers is somewhat misleading, given some boards have times from 14 paddlers, some from 13 and some from 12. Therefore, in tabulating totals for each board, we have removed the times recorded by the paddlers who did not complete a time on all 14 boards. That leaves us with an accumulated total from 9 of the paddlers. We feel the integrity of the results is still maintained as the 5 incomplete paddlers were not by any means the slowest or heaviest paddlers, and a good cross section remains.

However you are certainly free to analyse and postulate on the results from the raw data as you see fit, which is available on the SUP VIC WEBSITE: www.supvic.com/the-rps-supvic-ultimate-14-board-test/

So the accumulative total (each paddler's time on the board added together) for each board ranked by best time:

1. 19:06 - Starboard Ace 25
2. 19:36 (equal) - DC14 & NSP
4. 19:42 - Naish Javelin
5. 19:48 - Fanatic Fly Race Flat
6. 19:50 - Surftech Bark Dominator
7. 19:51 - Starboard Ace Pro
8. 19:52 - Starboard Ace 27
9. 20:10 - Surftech JM Paddleboards
10. 20:26 - Naish Glide
11. 20:34 - Fanatic Fly Race Open
12. 20:40 - Starboard Pierce Touring
13. 20:45 - Sunny King
14: 21:00 - Starboard Open Ocean AST

As for the paddlers, the top 10 fastest times posted were:

1:52 - CAMO on the Starboard Ace 25"

1:54 - LIGHTNING on the NSP

1:54 - CAMO on the Starboard Ace 27"

1:56 - CAMO on the Fanatic Flat

1:56 - LIGHTNING on the Starboard Ace Pro

1:56 - WOOZ on the Naish Javelin

1:57 - LIGHTNING on the DC14

1:57 - LAZZA on the JM

1:57 - LIGHTNING on the Bark

1:57 - LIGHTNING on the JM

So it's all good and well to say that this board or that board was the overall fastest board, but what does this mean to you? Probably of greater benefit is not so much knowing which board went fastest for an elite paddler, but rather, which board is best for you. Hopefully these results can help you choose, but the best advice we can offer is demo, demo, demo. Use these results to help you decide which boards are most likely suitable for you. Check out the paddlers in the test whose height and weight most closely matches your own and see which boards they set the best times on, all on the SUP VIC website:

A full breakdown of the event, and times per paddler, board, and the raw data can be viewed at the SUP VIC website:

www.supvic.com/the-rps-supvic-ultimate-14-board-test/

Thanks to everyone who participated, to RPS for staging the event, to the retailers & individuals who lent us the boards, to Stu for being the patient timekeeper, to Jamie, Cam & DJ for documenting the event and to PT Woody for helping organise the event & collating the results. Sorry if I forgot anyone.

See you on the water.