Bark Surftech 14 foot Dominator

[bing]

I was wondering if anyone has purchased the new Surftech Bark Dominator.  Wondering about the stability, speed in flat and choppy water as well as downwind capability.  The 27 1/2 inch width has me concerned about stability.

[lee]

Bing
You can demo the Starboard 14' surfrace at Jackies Marine and Kayak in Brownsville

[WorlSUP]

Bing, I just got one.  Don't worry about the width as it is pretty stable.  Handles the chop fine, it glides well & has great speed in the flat.  Only had it in smaller downwind conditions but picks any runners very easily.  The nose just slices through the water, if you stay in the normal position nose can go under slightly but you don't loose any speed, it just slices thru then pops up.  I think it will handle bigger downwind conditions great, just step back more & surf it.  The tail shape is great & surfs well for a 14'.
I've just tried my Larry Allison "John Becker" Race Keel fin in it, that fin is amazing & a great compliment to the board.
Forget trying anything else, just get one, you won't regret it.

[shiner]

WORLSUP how does it compare to your K15.

[bing]

Thanks WorlSUP for the input.  How durable is that board.  Surftech has indicated on their website it is more fragile than their other boards.

Lee - Brownsville is a little far to try out a board.  Thanks anyway.

[andygere]

I'm interested in how durable it is as well.  Talked to one owner who saw minor impressions from racks, but didn't see it myself.  Are these also available in Tufflite, or just the new lighter construction?

I had a chance to paddle one briefly this summer at a race/demo and found it to have good stability and manners.  Pretty sure I want one of these...

[lee]

Thanks WorlSUP for the input.  How durable is that board.  Surftech has indicated on their website it is more fragile than their other boards.

Lee - Brownsville is a little far to try out a board.  Thanks anyway.

Brownsville Washington Not Texas

[bing]

Hey Lee - thanks for the tip.  I was thinking Tx.  I will check out the Starboard 14.

[WorlSUP]

Thanks WorlSUP for the input.  How durable is that board.  Surftech has indicated on their website it is more fragile than their other boards.

Hi Bing, it does get some minor indentations, so probably not as durable as the normal surftech construction?  It does say Tufflite on the back of the board. I've only had a few weeks so I guess time will tell.

WORLSUP how does it compare to your K15.

I would say it's more stable in choppy water than the K15, the K15 has that rolled bottom which gets a little tippy in side chop.  I haven't done a flat water time trial comparing the two but my thoughts are there wouldn't be too much between them with the K15 being slightly faster in pure flat water.  The bark is definately easier to handle on a wave & in the ocean.  If I had to choose only one then it would be the bark as it can do it all.

[bing]

I finally made the decision and ordered a Bark Dominator and Werner Fuse paddle from Paddleboard Specialist.  Gary and his team were really helpful.  Can't wait to try out the new equipment.

[Finnydip]

I just got my dominator a couple of weeks ago. Very stable and tracks well in cross chop (as well as can be expected in the conditions). I have to concur about durability though. While the board is light for it's size, you pay the cost in strength. I've gotten several dings in just a couple of uses and highly recommend a bag for this piece of equipment. Not sure if it's an issue, but I also feel like the board is flexy. I only weigh 160 and can feel the board flex under foot with minimal up/down movement. A typical with Bark, feels very fast. I just hooked up a Garmin Edge 500 to my paddle, and will start collecting speed info shortly.

[bing]

I have experienced the same in regards to the durability issue.  But still love the board.  If I paddle with my other friends with standard type boards, I have to slow way down. 

[Takeo]

Got to use a loaner a few times and have experienced exactly what others report.  The board is very light and feels light on the water.  It handles into the wind and side chops quite well.  It's a stable board.  At 178 lbs, the board flexes like the others report.  The loaner board had quite a bit of dings.  There were a lot of pressure dings on the underside of the board, the area that would bump your hips when carrying it.  Some areas on the board were so soft I could press it with my thumb and see it flex.  It's a fairly fast board.  We don't have a lot of flat water, so perhaps that's where this board excels, in ocean chop, it's pretty good but not mind boggling fast. In my opinion, it's definitely glassed too thin for a production board.

[boardshorts]

Just got one.  Was on it 1x in a 6 mile race.  Took 13 minutes off my 6 mile time (versus on a 11-2 blend).  Love this board. 

[pdxmike]

I have experienced the same in regards to the durability issue.  But still love the board.  If I paddle with my other friends with standard type boards, I have to slow way down. 

Bing--someone told me the same thing about their Dominator at the Kalama clinic in Seattle.  Was that you?  I was the guy asking about the Dominator vs. my 14' Glide.