I collected my new raceboard from Sam at WSnS this morning - it was delivered late yesterday. After closely examining the four(!) boards I selected mine, strapped it onto the roof racks and then drove back to Wollongong, (picking Ben up at Botany Bay after a light wind formula session). Screwing in the footstraps and fixing in the centreboard took about an hour (remember to "soap" the footstrap screws), then off to the lake for a christening! Unfortunately the southerly which has been so sweet this week was on its last legs so I only had 5- 8 knots. Without a raceboard sail (hopefully next week delivery) I rigged up the Severne Reflex2 9.2 and hit the water, knowing I would be underdone in the horsepower stakes, but excited to try the new weapon. After sailing around for about an hour these are my initial impressions;

(1) Nice on water control - easy to tack and gybe (light wind!)
(2) The board rails easily and is stable in different "tilts" - there is more than one comfortable position.
(3) The board accelerates very readily on a gust or pump.
(4) It is easy to pump onto the plane off the wind (even in the light winds) - the wide tail seems to do its job very well.

In my short time on the water I am impressed with the board. Of course this was only in light winds, but I feel it will be even better when the wind is up. I really like the fact that it is not too wide or "volumous" - the dimensions are very similar to my AHD ProRace 380, which was a winner in its time (and probably still is!).

Other things to note;

(1) It is not a light weight board - I measured about 17kgs with every thing on board except a fin - a bit lighter than my AHD. Construction looks very good. Solid and not too fragile.
(2) The centreboard works very well - I was expecting a bit of a battle here, but it rotates quite well (remember to silicone spray the CB before a session). Having said that I feel the centreboard is too low in the housing because it "bulges" the slot flusher when retracted. Some simple spacers should fix that.
(3) The centreboard is 78cm long. The included fin is a Drake/Debouchet R13 52cm.
(4) There is no universal joint included. (Sam has the good Starboard joints for separate sale).

All in all I'm impressed with what I got. Testing against other boards begins tomorrow - the forecast wind doesn't look too good though
Note: the blue board in some photos is my rebuilt AHD ProRace 380 (Rick's old board )