Had a paddle on the 14ft Red Fanatic prototype (Carbon model) on Saturday. Great in flat water and I reckon would blitz on a downwinder. It is only 27 odd inches wide and therefore much less stable than the old white 12.6 by 31 model. I'm 98 kg and would say that it almost had too much float for me. We racing a rectangular course to 2 sidewind legs, one down wind and one up wind leg. Within 5 good paddles on both sides and I was through the downwind section. The two sidewind legs were not too bad at all though a little tippy, but I really had a lot of trouble upwind, as there was so much board out of the water ( and I'm an old fat fart
) IT wasn't tippy but in the strong wind (30 Knots) on the last marker I stepped back and tried to pivot turn it around shipping post, but the strength of the wind onto the side of the dihedral hull made it impossible. I reckon the 12'6" wouldn't have that much of a problem as it sits lower in the water due to less volume. Look I'm not an experienced BOP or over paddler, but unless your'e relatively experienced I would consider it a good idea that you stick with the shorter or/and wider model until you know what you really want.
