Author Topic: Starboard Bolt  (Read 7746 times)

zachhandler

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Starboard Bolt
« on: March 26, 2016, 08:09:47 PM »
Anyone tried one? Obviously a copy of Dave Kalama's Vdrive. I suppose just like the original bent shaft canoe paddle, and the original wing kayak paddle, breakthrough designs are quickly copied and become the new standard. It is a good deal cheaper than the Vdrive which seems overpriced to me.

http://star-board-sup.com/2016/paddles/bolt/

Area 10

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2016, 08:28:14 PM »
Damn! I thought this thread was going to be about where you could get the extra-long fin bolts that seem to be required to fix some fins in Starboard fin boxes. I've got an 2014 Ace and standard US box longboard bolts aren't long enough.

But instead this thread is about Starboard's truly shameful rip-off of the Kalama-Terrell design. It's a shame that such an innovative company can't come up with an original design of their own. But I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Starboard paddles of old that I have seen have tended to look very worn after a short time of use, whereas my V-Drives still look like they did when they were new, after hundreds of miles of hard use. Maybe the Bolt is different. Who knows?Everyone I know has bought a Quickblade instead ;) At least Starboard had the good sense to change the name of it from that originally announced (which was so close to "V-Drive" it was laughable).

pdxmike

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2016, 09:30:03 PM »
At least Starboard had the good sense to change the name of it from that originally announced (which was so close to "V-Drive" it was laughable).
What was it?

Muskoka SUP

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2016, 05:17:09 AM »
At least Starboard had the good sense to change the name of it from that originally announced (which was so close to "V-Drive" it was laughable).
What was it?
Hmmm..  Maybe it was "U-Drive".  ;D

It ain't over until the fat board sinks....

lucabrasi

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2016, 05:35:23 AM »
Damn! I thought this thread was going to be about where you could get the extra-long fin bolts that seem to be required to fix some fins in Starboard fin boxes. I've got an 2014 Ace and standard US box longboard bolts aren't long enough.
Damn if one of my boards doesn't have that issue. They have been not used for so many months now I can't remember which one exactly but I think it is my 2015 Starboard inflatable. Frustrated me to no end one day.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2016, 05:45:29 AM by lucabrasi »

Area 10

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2016, 06:20:52 AM »
At least Starboard had the good sense to change the name of it from that originally announced (which was so close to "V-Drive" it was laughable).
What was it?
Hmmm..  Maybe it was "U-Drive".  ;D
Close. It was actually "Overdrive". Some of us on the Seabreeze forum had a go at Starboard for this (and some defended it), and now the name is different. Coincidence? Maybe.

I really wish that Starboard would stop doing these occasional "sharp practice" type things they do. I have two Starboard boards and they are both niche designs that work fantastically well at what they do, are highly innovative, and nothing like them is available from anyone else. So I want to feel good about the brand, and perhaps even one might say that they deserve it. However just occasionally they do things like presenting misleading marketing images, over-hyping design features, and, in this case, IMO blatantly ripping off other people's intellectual property, and it serves to unravel all that goodwill that they have built up in other ways. But at least they did change the name of this paddle. So I guess that is one small step in the right direction.

...oh, hang on. Having checked out the Bolt/Overdrive thing a bit more it looks like the Bolt is a bit different from the Overdrive - it's more like a cross between the Quickblade V-Drive and the Quickblade Trifecta. It looks like mentions of the "Overdrive" (a 2015 paddle) have disappeared from webland. Interesting...
« Last Edit: March 27, 2016, 06:37:33 AM by Area 10 »

Muskoka SUP

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2016, 07:03:38 AM »
Area10:  I agree 100%.  I've had two SB boards over the years, both excellent at what they were intended for...but SB certainly seems to have a history of questionable marketing tactics ..going back to the JL pic in their catalogue deal..
(Or was that Naish..???)
It ain't over until the fat board sinks....

Area 10

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2016, 08:03:51 AM »
Damn! I thought this thread was going to be about where you could get the extra-long fin bolts that seem to be required to fix some fins in Starboard fin boxes. I've got an 2014 Ace and standard US box longboard bolts aren't long enough.
Damn if one of my boards doesn't have that issue. They have been not used for so many months now I can't remember which one exactly but I think it is my 2015 Starboard inflatable. Frustrated me to no end one day.
Yep. Infuriating.

TEX_SUP

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2016, 06:32:54 PM »
Looks like an update of their high aspect paddles.

Can't get them here and they moved away from hot glue so Ke Nalu will get my money.

pdxmike

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2016, 08:44:50 PM »
Area10:  I agree 100%.  I've had two SB boards over the years, both excellent at what they were intended for...but SB certainly seems to have a history of questionable marketing tactics ..going back to the JL pic in their catalogue deal..
(Or was that Naish.. ??? )
The last time something like this happened, people told Starboard, "The next time you have thoughts of stealing someone else's idea, just knock it off."  So they did.

PT Woody

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2016, 02:51:26 AM »
Having checked out the Bolt/Overdrive thing a bit more it looks like the Bolt is a bit different from the Overdrive - it's more like a cross between the Quickblade V-Drive and the Quickblade Trifecta. It looks like mentions of the "Overdrive" (a 2015 paddle) have disappeared from webland. Interesting...

Does the Trifecta or the V-Drive look anything like the High Aspect?

The Bolt looks nothing like the "Overdrive" marketing pic that was released a long time before the paddle eventually came to market. Which is pretty much what I said at the time - just wait and see if it really is a copy before accusing plagiarism.

The name was a dumb idea which was jettisoned only after international distributors insisted that Svein reconsider. But the design itself owes as much to original Starboard DNA (High Aspect) as it does to the influence of the Kalama design. It's a little of column A and a little of column B. At the end of the day, it's really a race only paddle, whereas the QB is more diverse.

Chilly

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #11 on: March 28, 2016, 06:35:05 AM »
IMO every paddle and board today is a variation of someone else’s design. Who came up with the displacement nose, bulbous nose, sunken deck with drain holes, dihedral paddle blade, tapered oval shaft, inflatable board,,,,,? I don’t know but we are all better off that no one company has a patent on these designs.
I haven’t paddled the Bolt but held one and I own a VDrive. The Bolt is not an obvious copy of the VDrive. It does have that V in the blade, but there’s also a third dihedral down the middle and a lot higher aspect shape than the VDrive. The shaft is totally different and comes in many flex options. So it probably feels a lot different than paddling a VDrive.
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Eagle

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2016, 02:31:05 PM »
The SB HA is a nice paddle as well as their Enduro - very durable but the white graphics on the shaft can wear off and fade a bit.  Blade and graphics on that - still look like new though.  Very sharp ABS edge is very easy to touch up.  Got the HA demo for $200 and Enduros new for $160 each.  Very good value for light strong nice flex full carbon paddles.

Have used and tested many different full carbon paddles and most are pretty good.  Most designs are a copy of some original concept - unless patented.
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Kaihoe

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #13 on: March 28, 2016, 04:07:21 PM »

...oh, hang on. Having checked out the Bolt/Overdrive thing a bit more it looks like the Bolt is a bit different from the Overdrive - it's more like a cross between the Quickblade V-Drive and the Quickblade Trifecta. It looks like mentions of the "Overdrive" (a 2015 paddle) have disappeared from webland. Interesting...

Its still a knock-off  a quickblade concept that some of their athletes have been using... just not one that is in production

zachhandler

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Re: Starboard Bolt
« Reply #14 on: March 28, 2016, 09:32:21 PM »
Maybe I should be more clear about what is an "obvious copy". Yes I agree, the paddles are different in many respects. the part that is the copy is the v shaped double dihedral. But that of course is what makes a vdrive a v drive. I agree amost all design features are copies of something else, including most of the features of the vdrive. But the V of the v drive was completely new, completely outside the box, and amazingly effective. Yes, at some point new innovation becomes the new standard among all brands. But at a gut level I feel that quick blade / kalama / terrel deserve more than just one season of sole ownership of their design. Its a philosophical issue I suppose and I don't think any less of someone who disagrees with me on this question of intellectual property.

 


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