2009 Starboard Futura 111

First impressions of the 2009 Starboard Futura 111…

Picked up the board on Friday arvo and had the good fortune to score some TOW Sat morning.

Sailed a gusty Sou’ Easterly out of Peli Point. It was solid 20-23K in the gusts, but dropping out to 10-15K in the lulls, so it was a really good test of the boards versatility.

Rig was 2007 7.5 Koncept, which is a very grunty sail, and I was pretty powered up in the gusts. Started out with the stock 38cm Drake Fin, but that was a bit sketchy, so I switched to a 38 Leading Edge carbon jobbie I found in the boot. LE was better, but this board/sail combo is screaming out for a powerful 40cm foil, so I’m going to get a Talon 40 to run in this setup.

Hit the water in a reasonable patch of breeze and took off on the new sled. Wow, she’s lively. For a largish slalom board (68cm wide) the 111 felt really loose and lively in the chop. Breeze was up and down, so I didn’t really get that far upwind and I was mainly sailing across the breeze, with some short bearaways into the shallows at the point. The Futura has a fairly narrow tail, and carries more volume through the midsection, so she really demands to be sailed powered up with a good fin. Today when I was lit the board would ride the fin and with a bit of back foot pressure she would just find a line and crank upwind. There’s a subtle vee in the bottom shape, which obviously helps with the upwind ability and cushions the ride a bit, and the trim is spot on, with the nose sitting up enough to easily clear the chop.

Starboard have really nailed a nice design concept with this board. The narrow tail means it is really responsive to foot pressure, and the board will gybe on a dime if you ride the tail and crank a turn. But with the width up front, and quite a bit of volume in the nose, a fast planing gybe requires you to get your weight well forward and really engage the rail to initiate the gybe, then the board will keep the momentum going and exit with speed. There are also tail cut-outs, which probably contribute to the loose feel and help with the trim in chop. The rails are quite tucked, so they don’t catch in the chop and when the board was well powered today she seemed to fly over the top of the chop. The finish of the board is excellent, and the graphics and design elements flow with the lines of the board. And stoked I got a red one! Earlier this year I bought a 2007 S-Type 93 (S-Type is the predecessor to the Futura and embodies a similar design philosophy) which is also red, so now I got a matching pair.

So. Upwind ability is excellent. Didn’t really test the downwind ability today. Gybing is excellent. Handling and feel in the chop was outstanding. Speed was good (29.9K peak and 28.4 5x10) in fairly choppy conditions, but the board will go much quicker when I’ve got it dialled). Fun factor was excellent, I’m still buzzing 9 hours later.

I’m really looking forward to sailing the Futura in the ocean, I think it will be a lot of fun doing downwinders on this board. Given 18K+ it will be my Ledge to Lano board of choice. I wanted a board that would be a lot of fun to sail in the ocean, as well as the river, and I think the Futura will hit the mark.

I’m around 105kg, and the 111 will just float me along if the breeze drops out. I bought the 111 to sail with my 7.5, and for me that means 18 – 23K. This is about the typical seabreeze strength these days in Perth, so I expect this board to get a lot of use.

Next mission will be Pinnaroo point for some LOC training, and to see how she handles sailing broad in swell. It’s an enticing prospect.

I’ll update the thread after my next sesh.

Hey Pointman, I have the 08 111 and love it, have had 32.9 kts out of it with a 6.2RSR and 31cm Caspar speed fin. I have a 7.5 koncept and run a 43cm SL7 with it. Im only 68 kgs so can get planning with a couple pumps in about 8-10 knots. The are great in the ocean as well, 5.8 freeride and 38cm stock work well for me. Enjoy

A few factors Wayne....
1) Availability. 2009 Futura was available, 2009 iSonic wasn't.

2) Price. At $1750 I thought it was a great buy.

3) You're comment on the S-Type was bang on. I love the 93 S-Type, it's such a fun board to sail, and I honestly don't think it gives up much in speed to the iSonic. At the end of the day going fast has a lot to do with being comfortable, if you're comfortable you'll push harder, and the S-Type is a very forgiving board in chop. I figured the Futura's would offer a similar ride exprience. I also wanted a board for sailing in the LOC, and the Futura's look more suited to ocean sailing IMO.

I had my Futura out yesterday in 25K+ at Melville (cos I believed the forecast and left the S-Type in the shed). Maxed out on a 6.6 Koncept and still very controllable. Admittedly I had a pretty big stack but up until then I was having a ball.

I didn't look at JP or CA. I guess JP's equivalent to the Futura is the SuperSport, and I wouldn't buy a SS purely because you're locked into powerbox fins. CA make a great product (I have the SP47 speed board), but without any local distribution it's harder to source superceded models with good discounts on the current stock, and they take forever to get here (5 weeks delivery for my SP47).

I've ordered three Talons.

Combo's I'm looking at running....
93 S-Type + 6.6 Koncept + 34 Talon
Futura 111 + 7.5 Koncept + 40 Talon
Centurion 120 (70 wide) + 8.5 Koncept + 44 Talon.

I reckon next season I'll replace the Centurion with a Futura 133 to get a bit more volume for the light days.

Cheers Firie, saw your one of your vids. Excellent (except for the stack )
CAs don't gybe so well? ha ha
Yep, never heard a bad thing of them, not that i expected too.
They just seem to have a fragile feel to them compared to the S-Type/Futura, which may not be a valid thing.
My Kinetic is very light and i just feel i need to be ultra careful with it not to ding it.
S-type just feels so robust, not that i'm hard on my gear at all.
If Pointy wins the LOC i'll get a Futura.

No worries Firie pleased to hear you like the Futura. The 7.8 will be a good match, the board likes to be driven with a bit of power.

In terms of the build quality of the CA's, I was over at Sandy Point recently for the start of Speedweek and one of the local guys was talking up the strength of the CA product. Most of the Pit Crew are on CA speed boards and they reckon they're the dux nuts as well.

I use a 122l Futura. iam only an intermeadiate sailor and it works for me.
Do wish i went for the 111 tho.

Saving me dollars and hopefully get a 101 Futura or Isonic to make a good quiver...
Need to get a decent mast first tho.