i have opportunity to grab used race board. it is getting warmer here and it is time to start paddling again. i found 3 used boards with similar prices. i will 100% pick one from that list, so any other suggestions of any other models are unfortunately useless (selection of boards here is extremely extremely poor and those 3 are ok for my budget).
-12.6 x 25 starboard all star (2013 carboon)
-12.6 x 24 falcon (flatwater, 2014 full carboon)
-12.6 x 25 jimmy lewis u-boat (2014)
170cm, 53kg, i'm planning to race a bit this summer. i paddle every day on flat water unless i go surfing to a wave spot nearby.
what do you suggest?
i will use it 50% on pure flat water (at the evening, when the sea calms down) and 50% on little more windy conditions during the day, if i get lucky i will also be able to do some downwind.
sea here is very variable, it goes form pure flat water (like lake ect.) to 5m waves on strong wind.
what should i do? all star is portably most versatile board form my list and also the best for variable conditions here, but (i guess) not so fast as other two? i'm also planning to race on lakes and rivers, so maybe should i go for falcon or u-boat? how do falcon or u boat perform on little bit musshy/windy sea? which one is the fastest of the three?
thankyou all!:)
In your position I'd get the U-boat. The All Star isn't especially good at anything. The Falcon is fast in flat water but the construction can't match Jimmy's. I think with the U-Boat, Jimmy has produced a potentially race-winning board. It may be a bit tippier than the other two but the construction is superb and the board handles well if you have the balance. It even downwinds passably in small conditions.
But board choices are very personal things. I guess the first thing to decide if you want a board that does everything, but to an average degree, or would you prefer a board that is very good for one thing (eg. flat water racing), but more compromised at other things. Generally, the people I see who have no purchasing regrets are those who bought a board to do a particular job (eg. racing) and at least they know that their board will favour them in that domain. But everyone will assess issues differently, and all three of the boards you mention have their fans.
I'd suggest the Starboard for bumps, waves and downwind. The Fanatic would be the choice for pure flat water. But either one will work well for all the variable conditions you describe. Those are your choices. I can't think of a good reason to buy a Jimmy Lewis race board.
The construction of the Jimmy Lewis U boat is pretty fantastic. So there's a reason.
I've not been a fan of the JL raceboards previously. They seemed to drag their tails. But the U Boats are different, and I think he got it right this time. And they are very light indeed. The quality of the finish in particular is streets ahead of starboard or fanatic. I would expect that the U Boat would be the fastest of those boards on pure flat water.
Terrible name though.
The u boat looks like the nose would be in the water whenever there are any bumps so will track a fair bit and the narrower tail (compared to the fanatic) will make it less stable and the overall thinner width will make it tippier than both the other boards.
I'm 5'8 73kg and I've got the fanatic 2014 14" flat water and it is perfect in the flat but can get tippy in the side chop/wind. I have found coming off a 28 wide board when the water is anything other than dead flat, extra energy and focus is lost due to the strength required to maintain balance.
Considering you are seeking the best of varying conditions I would recommend the Allstar 
I have no experience with the Jimmy Lewis but paddled both 2013 Allstar and the 2014 Falcon FW in 14ft as well and owned a Sprint14x26(2014)The Allstar was a bit slower as the Sprint, but only in dead flat water. as soon is there is any chop the difference was only very small.The falcon felt in dead flat water a lot faster as the Sprint, but was on the GPS/HR slower. It handeled the chop better as my Sprint, but I,m not sure if it was significant faster as the Allstar while less stable for sure (although not as instable as you would expect from a 24 wide board).As soon as the conditions got hairy and its fighting the elements instead of pure drafting, the Allstar board rocks. Not sure how they do it, but they make them really stable, and stability is always your friend.I surfed the 2013 Allstar12.6 in 2m northsea strong current and onshore wind chaos and even in that kind of conditions the board works suprinsgly well. As a true allrounder the 2013 was imo better as my 2014 12.6x26.5. The 2014 is still surfable, but more focused on flatter water and chop conditions as the 2013.The only 12.6 that surfed better was the 2014 12.6Falcon AW. That one is great in the sea, but a slow pig in the flats.
Fact is you can,t have it all. A board that will handle choppy conditions and waves has to be a bit wider and more rockered it in the nose as a true flatwater rocket. But as a 50-50 compromise I would go for the Allstar.
