The new full carbon Surf Race arrived just before we went to Maui and I've only had a chance for one paddle on it so far. The thing is such a wild shape it's really hard to photograph effectively, obviously very much based on paddle board shape.

Dave and I went for a paddle in really crappy on-shore 15 knot conditions, sea was super choppy, the board is really surprisingly stable considering it's only 26 1/2" wide, I was sure I would fall in but managed not to. On the way back in we ended up going almost exactly the same speed and catching the same waves - Dave was on his old style DC16. The waves weren't huge, two or three feet trough to peak and rough as guts but it certainly caught them easily and felt easy to get back and surf a little, really need a much better day to get a feel for it though. The nose is such a different shape to anything I've paddled before, heaps of volume but relatively low rocker. I imagine it will poke in but just come straight up, time will tell!

On the flat water inside the marina the glide was quite remarkable, it feels faster than The Pin but I really need to time over the same course on the same day to be sure. The secondary stability is amazing, with Dave on it at 105kg he could rock it over to 30 or 40 degrees and it would just right itself.

I'll post more impressions once I've had a couple of paddles on it. The fin that's in the photos isn't the factory one, just waiting for the factory one to arrive - though the red matched though... I'm going to try a much smaller fin, this one felt too big - it's such a different board, feels like everything I know doesn't apply to this guy! The nose reminds me of a wooden clog...

Drain holes on each side of the sunken deck work really well, you don't even notice any water there unless you happen to to look down and see water hosing out each side - clears really fast.

Yeah, the guy that designed it is Brian Szymanski who has really only done paddleboards before as far as I know. Article here about him, certainly seems to know what he is doing. It's funny because there is a double FCS mount on the nose of the board, almost looks like it's meant for a drink bottle for prone paddlers. Couldn't resist trying it prone - it hammers but I've only ever tried the Hayden style boards before and I usually fall off them!

http://www.star-board-sup.com/2010/products/boards/division585.php

G'day JonathanC
Is that starboard 12'6'' made for the BOP beach race or is just trying to be a downwind racer?
DW

Downwinder said...

G'day JonathanC
Is that starboard 12'6'' made for the BOP beach race or is just trying to be a downwind racer?
DW

Don't know if it was actually designed for BOP, may well have been, seems like it is too short to be a specific downwind racer. Would be very interesting to try it on something like the Maliko run, Scotty McKercher paddled one in The Doctor race with smallish wind waves and he said he was in front of Mike Galvin for the first half and Mike was on an F16. Like all these boards they seem to shine in specific conditions. I was on The Pin and they both whipped my a$$!

And yes, we got back last night - heaps of Maui photos on Dave's camera and some issues with the card

I really like the finish of this one. It looks like a filler primer sanded to reveal the high spots in the carbon and make the board flat. Looks unfinished and raw. I like that look on things, if they are shiny I usually make them not. Does it have a clear over the primer?

I can't say that I have seen a Starboard that I like the look of until now.

The design and finish are great now just to get rid of that man logo.....

The brushed paintwork does give it a kind of custom racer feel. I like it.

By the way, any sign of the K15?

CMC said...

I really like the finish of this one. It looks like a filler primer sanded to reveal the high spots in the carbon and make the board flat. Looks unfinished and raw. I like that look on things, if they are shiny I usually make them not. Does it have a clear over the primer?

I can't say that I have seen a Starboard that I like the look of until now.

The design and finish are great now just to get rid of that man logo.....

it's a sanding /filler coat guys, not the finished product. when they come to oz, they will not look like that
cheers

JonathanC said...

PTWoody said...


By the way, any sign of the K15?

Trying to find out if I can get the steering option, think it would be great to get one with steering if possible. Hooked on steering after using the F14 and F16's again.

Speaking of Raaphorst's boards, did you get a run on the twin hull?

I had an exchange with Sup-position on the Starboard forum over that 30% thing with the K15 vs Pin, and looking at the times from the last SHQ race, I haven't stopped salivating.

Don't know how much I would miss the steering, never having used steering on a board, but have you noticed that the red stripe K15 isn't actually carbon like your Surf Race? It's described as Full PVC Sandwich while the blue stripe is full Epoxy, Glass, EPS with wood veneer standing area.

this sort of paint finish has been common place in windsurfing boards for a few years now, being that is where starboard started it was only a metter of time before they used the same finish on paddleboards.

How much weight does it save really? There cant be more than a few hundred grams of paint on a 12' board overall. I guess it all adds up if you're racing but I'm not trying to win a world championship or anything so I'd probably prefer the protection of a full coat.

To a large board, paint thinckness can make a huge difference in weight. Windsurfing boards have been doing this for years even on boards with as little as 69 litres in volume. I bet the naish glide series would not be so heavy if they sanded off most of that thisck white paint. Would do it myself if I thought I could not stuff it up.

Scotty Mac said...

To a large board, paint thinckness can make a huge difference in weight. Windsurfing boards have been doing this for years even on boards with as little as 69 litres in volume. I bet the naish glide series would not be so heavy if they sanded off most of that thisck white paint. Would do it myself if I thought I could not stuff it up.

Interestingly enough different paint colors also have different weights. I don't remember exact numbers but it was interesting to know that the different minerals that create the colours in the paint itself also have different molecular weights and require different bases to create the colours.

I will try to find the approx weight differences again to an OC1 if anybody is interested.

CMC said...

Scotty Mac said...

To a large board, paint thinckness can make a huge difference in weight. Windsurfing boards have been doing this for years even on boards with as little as 69 litres in volume. I bet the naish glide series would not be so heavy if they sanded off most of that thisck white paint. Would do it myself if I thought I could not stuff it up.

Interestingly enough different paint colors also have different weights. I don't remember exact numbers but it was interesting to know that the different minerals that create the colours in the paint itself also have different molecular weights and require different bases to create the colours.

I will try to find the approx weight differences again to an OC1 if anybody is interested.

Its all fascinating stuff. I would be interested to know what percentage of a boards weight is paint for sure.

Hey jonathan.....show us the original fin!
that fin in your board looks like the one DJ picked up here.

Lobes said...

How much weight does it save really? There cant be more than a few hundred grams of paint on a 12' board overall. I guess it all adds up if you're racing but I'm not trying to win a world championship or anything so I'd probably prefer the protection of a full coat.

thinking about it today, the normal finish to a starboard would sure add some weight. may a marine or auto grade coat of paint would be ok
btw what are they going to sell for. i did hear a price, but would like to hear from someone up the ladder

DavidJohn said...

It must work well to hide scuffs and scratches..

DJ

Maybe they originally painted them all white but realised that it looked too much like a Naish board and tried to fix it by sanding it back