I currently have a Naish MC 14' and looking at a 2014 Naish LE26 14'. I am doing an open ocean race and figure I will be on the water for 4+ hours. How is the stability of the LE26 compared to the MC 14? Not sure what conditions will be. could be anything from headwind/chop, sidewind/chop or downwind. I doubt it will be flat. Someone recommended a Bullet V2 as another choice. I am open to any other recommendations. I am 5'11" 165lbs. 47 year old male in good shape. Not looking to podium just bragging rights that I did the race. Thanks for your help and advice
I think the 2014 LE X26 14' Jav is more stable than the older MC Jav.. and a much better board for open ocean racing..
The new V2 Bullet even more stable IMO with the Jav being noticably lighter and slightly faster than the SIC board..
DJ - Out of the Naish LE26 14' and Sic Bullet V2 which would you recommend for a 19 mile open ocean race? Or do you recommend something else?
Thanks
Even though I think the Jav is the slightly faster race board the SIC's have proven themselves as the kings in the open ocean..
Both are great boards.. Is there any way you can demo them.. 
Select to expand quoteStandUpPGH said...
DJ - Out of the Naish LE26 14' and Sic Bullet V2 which would you recommend for a 19 mile open ocean race? Or do you recommend something else?
Thanks
19 miles is an awfully long way in open ocean if there's going to be any significant wind and chop. I don't know how fit or experienced you are, but unless you are at a semi-pro level then that is the sort of distance at which stability will be very important to success. Ideally you'd have an UL board like the SIC F16 or Bullet. The extra length and volume means to can go a lot narrower and maintain stability. Narrower is king going upwind in particular. Maybe the Starboard Ace GT if conditions won't be too extreme - but I've never tried one so I'll let others comment on that. But if you have to go a 14, personally I'd be going for stability over that distance, with something like a SIC F14 or maybe the Naish Glide 14x29 or Coreban Dart. I'm sure that the Bullet 14V2 or V1 or narrow Javelin would be quicker with Kai Lenny on board, but for most of us, after about 13-14 miles in open ocean our legs are gonna start to turn to jelly on anything much under 28-29" wide. Balancing takes energy which could otherwise be spent on paddling. So there's a point at which over distance a more stable board means you can commit more to your stroke and go faster than on a tippier but theoretically faster board. So if I were you I'd try to find out just how strong my legs were by borrowing or demoing a board similar to the one I intend to get, and paddling 19 miles on it at training pace. I suspect that after about mile 15 you will be wanting all the stability you can get.
But of course "open ocean" to someone who paddles around Waikkiki doesn't mean quite the same as it would where I paddle, where days when the wind doesn't get over 15 knots at some point are quite rare and wind direction changes are frequent and unpredictable. So it does depend on your local conditions, and how much of that distance will be downwind. Even less than 10 miles upwind into 15 knots+ will have most weekend warriors quitting, never mind 19.
Over long distances in the sea, stability = speed (and dignity). Get yourself something that is comfortable for you to paddle.
What is the furthest you have paddled so far in training, in open ocean?
