Hi all,
Am looking at various boards. I may end up with several in the end, to try them all out, then end up selling. Suspect I may end up with one really fast racing snake, and one slightly more relaxed one in the end. Unfortunately, not local to any, so all will be bought sight unseen. Looking for a little guidance.
Little about my experience / physique. Just over 6'1 / 186cm tall. Currently 95kg. Should be under 90kg by the time summer here in the Northern Hemisphere rolls around. Leggy, fairly narrow torso, but powerfully built. Probably 150-200 hours SUPing over the course of about 6 years. Mostly irregular on holidays. Balance is good (never fallen in even in chop) but never been out in heavy conditions either, as I'm no surfer.
Now living in the Netherlands right by both a canal and a large lagoon - in the warmer 6 months of the year I'll probably be training at least 4-5 times a week.
Currently I have a Naish NISCO inflatable one design 'race' board, a very wide Naish Nalu that never gets used except when friends come to visit, and a recently acquired Starboard Elite Touring 2016 14' 29" - which to my disappointment is slower than the Naish iSUP in most conditions, seemingly - albeit it tracks much straighter.
I'm currently looking at:
Jimmy Lewis U-Boat 2016 and 2015 - 14' 25" ... I'm advised it's pretty stable and 27" would be overkill. Some people are saying the 2015 is a lot faster in very flat conditions than the 2016?
Hobie Apex 4R - 14' 27.5" ... I gather the 25" has way less volume than the equivalent U-Boat. I'll listen to advice though.
Starboard All Star 14' 25" ... if I can find a carbon sandwich version from 2015 or 2016.
Also, does anyone have any experience with the new Bic or Oxbow race boards? There seems to be almost no discussion of either, though a few have suggested that the latest Bics are potentially the fastest boards on the water - even more so than the Starboard Race. The new RRD race board looks like a curious shape, but given its price and that I have no means of testing it, I guess I might look at it in end of production year close outs - would be interesting to hear people's thoughts though.
I guess I shouldn't go for something with rails that make it very unstable in small high frequency side waves ... there'll be a lot of boat wake and wash hitting canal sides and reflecting back in some areas in summer. Wouldn't make it very pleasurable. But as far as I can see, very few race boards these days seem to have the very flat, square rails.
Regarding stroke ... even when using a more dynamic sprint type stroke and leaning a long way forward and down into the stroke, I seem to prefer longer paddles. I'm looking at getting a longer paddle ... 85" really doesn't seem enough for either the former or a more casual cadence - and my new Quickblade 100 Elite (Kanaha?) Race 2015 I don't seem to be getting on with. I think a longer, narrower blade suits me better, rather than wide ones, as it is.
Anyway, would be interested to hear what people have to say on the relative properties of the boards.
