Anyone ride a Starboard the NEW 23.5" wide

[JillRide45]

I am looking to get a 14' board for some longer races this summer (10 - 25 miles).  Most of these will involve some open ocean or at least lake chop.  I am 5'7" 110 lbs.  Most 14' boards are just too much volume for me, feel heavy and just too wide.  Currently on a 27" wide BARK or a Lahui Kai (both stock 12.6).  Soft rails and sunken deck are my favorite. 

Saw DJ posting on the Open Ocean and was thinking the Coastal Cruiser was the ticket.  None in the US to try and it is 28" wide. Then I got the hots for the ACE 14 x 25, but paddleboard specialist reviewed that board and said it has huge volume, maybe for a guy 220 lbs!  Not for me. 

My local starboard dealer (great Ralph at Sup-position) says they may have some 14' x 23.5" THE NEW available but none around to demo. 

Anyone have any experience with the NEW at 23.5" wide?

How does the NEW compare to the ACE?  Every picture I looked at looks the same.

Thanks, Jill

P.S. I am also considering the new HOBIE 14' Elite and talking with them about making that board in a 26" width.

[PT Woody]

A little bit of confusion here. The New was never made as a 14' x 23", at least not in production (maybe as a racing custom for a team rider). In fact, there was never a 14' The New full stop. That was a 12'6" board. Now that it has become the Ace, there is a 12'6" and a 14', however they no longer make it in 23" wide.

In a nutshell, if you want a 23" wide board, the only one available from Starboard is the 2010 12'6" The New. I believe Argosi bought one so maybe contact him for advice.

Coming back to the 12'6" x 25" models and that review you cite, I don't think it is suited to 220 lbs. I ride that board and I am sub 150 lbs. However I would like to try the 23" version. I don't think they brought any into Australia unfortunately.

[JonathanC]

Hey JillRide45,

Not sure why the volume is an issue? Sure the board has a lot of volume but unless that translated to extra weight I really don't understand why it is a problem.

My 14 Race Open Ocean has a lot of volume too, I'm 145lbs and it is the fastest loosest downwind board I've ever paddled. It is light and super quick to accelerate into runners.

Maybe they are confusing the need for low volume for surfing with what works on flat water. I've paddled the 12'6 and 14 Lahui Kai and believe that the 14 Ace in 25" will be a totally different board. Surely the reason that there is a 14 x 27 is to cater for larger people.

Just watched the video, they are actually reviewing the 14 x 27, not the 14 x 25 - but saying that I'm sure the 14 x 25 still has a lot of volume. I'd love to try one!

Good luck with the decision making!

[headmount]

Jon, How would you compare your Strbrd with your 16 in conditions like you've had here?

[JillRide45]

Hi
Just to clarify, there are some 14' x 23.5 the NEW left over in the US, they were not listed as a production board.  Maybe a team board??? Pretty sure I saw EJ list that he had a 14' NEW at one time. 

I was worried about the volume on the ACE because in the review they said it resulted in a pretty heavy board.  I think it was something like 32 lbs.  Also a little worried about really high volume boards since I am 110 lbs and do not need all that board. 

Cheers, Jill

[starman]

The NEW is not a good choice for open ocean. The foot well cut outs pretty much lock you into one position. So it's a very fast board  for flat water and light chop. but if you need to step back to lift the nose good luck. But because if it very narrow width you need to stand as low as possible for balance hence the foot cut outs. But you are stuck standing in one spot. You will have lots of trouble finding a production board for your size and weight. I have yet to see a women specific board unless it was a custom. Bark has made some very nice boards for women so that is another choice.

[PT Woody]

There was indeed a series of photos of EJ's custom carbon 14' New under construction about 6 or 8 months ago as I recall. That 32lb weight you mention may well be the AST version rather than the carbon. My 12'6" x 25" AST weighs about that which is annoying when I am racing people on boards nearly half the weight. I expect if there are any custom 14' x 23" New boards made for team riders, they would be carbon and they would be even lighter than the production boards. What is an optimum board weight for you? I'd love to be on something around 22lb.

[Easy Rider]

^^^ What starman said! 

The NEW and ACE are not "down winder" or open ocean board - - locked into one stance and also a foot well that is pretty much below the water line = full of water on rough conditions.

Flat water they are missiles though.

[Argosi]

I've got a 23.5" wide 12'6" Starboard NEW in AST construction.

What I like about it:
- Very fast in flat water, low wind conditions. It may feel a bit rolly at first but once you start moving, it becomes much more stable.
- Great in light downwind conditions IF you can balance on it: I've tried it in up to 15mph and it works great for me. It definitely catches bumps better than my other 2 12'6" boards (a 26" wide planing board and the 30" wide Starboard Cruiser). I'm sure the speed of the NEW helps me catch bumps. BUT, you've got to have pretty good balance for it. To make the most of this board in downwind conditions, you've got to step back somewhat on the board when on a bump. The raised area behind the footwells and the narrow pin tail make it very tricky to step back. Starboard riders with really good balance like EJ and Dan Gavere say the board flies downwind but both those guys have amazing balance. You're light and if you have good balance, I think you'd be just fine in mild to moderate downwind conditions.  I'd strongly advise you to try it out first. 

I haven't tried it out in higher winds yet but I suspect I'll spend a lot more time in the water when it gets to 20mph and above.

Neutral:
- Going straight upwind is OK but I suspect that boards with a lower profile nose and cutting bow would do better.

What I don't like about it:
- Paddling in side winds or quartering winds is difficult. That big nose tends to get blow around.
- Footwells force you to keep your feet parellel unless you step back out of the footwells. You can still use a staggered stance with one foot behind the other but you can't really angle your feet away from straight ahead.
- Pivot turns are very tricky due to the pin tail and raised back deck. I just started practicing these in the wind yesterday on this board. Normally I have no problem on my 26" wide board with a round tail, but I fell in lots on my NEW. Still made most of my attempts though, so it's by no means impossible. Hopefully more practice will help.

So in summary, I'd recommend this board as a very fast flat water and light-moderate downwind board for lighter riders or those with good balance.

[JonathanC]

Jon, How would you compare your Strbrd with your 16 in conditions like you've had here?

Hi Bill, I wish I had the Starboard here to compare in the same conditions. I believe that unless it was really full on very strong wind and big swell I would be faster on the Starboard for sure.

I find that the F16 V2 is a great, stable, friendly board - but - I really have trouble getting it onto smaller swell. If I move forward to drop the nose into the trough of the wave in front it seems to push more water and slow down, so what I have learn't to do is stay back on the rudder and just paddle harder.

When I tried Larry's custom super-light F16 last week I could move forward and get the nose down and maintain speed or even accelerate into the wave. I felt less stable than my F16 but faster because I could use my weight to help it drop in.

The thing about the Starboard is that it has very low nose rocker compared to the F16's, probably with my weight similar waterline lengths, and the ability for me to accelerate to catch a wave is chalk and cheese. It seems to like a much more dynamic style, walking up and down to trim, but it really is very fast and in this latest iteration great fun to surf.

I spoke to Mark Raaphorst after trying Larry's board and he said that the F16 V2 is really a production board so he has slightly detuned it to make it stable and easy and fun to ride - and it really shines there.

There is a difference in the bottom shape from the customs to make it less squirelly that probably lead to the feeling I have that it pushes water and slows down if you get too far forward. I actually think I'm a bit too light for it to work properly.

The new F16 Slice sounds like the perfect board for me, an inch narrower and designed for lighter people.
Anyone on Maui interested in an 8 month old orange F16 V2 in excellent condition? 

Sorry to hijack the thread a little Jill

[JonathanC]

^^^ What starman said! 

The NEW and ACE are not "down winder" or open ocean board - - locked into one stance and also a foot well that is pretty much below the water line = full of water on rough conditions.

Flat water they are missiles though.

I've used PT Woody's New in downwind conditions and found it fast and stable even in rougher water, didn't have a problem with water in the footwells (well didn't notice anyway!) Just enough nose rocker to stop it pearling if you keep your wits about you, slightly strange stepping up to get into surfing stance but quite do-able when you get used to it. I thought it was great in those condition even though not really designed for them.

[Argosi]

^^^ What starman said! 

The NEW and ACE are not "down winder" or open ocean board - - locked into one stance and also a foot well that is pretty much below the water line = full of water on rough conditions.

Flat water they are missiles though.

I've used PT Woody's New in downwind conditions and found it fast and stable even in rougher water, didn't have a problem with water in the footwells (well didn't notice anyway!) Just enough nose rocker to stop it pearling if you keep your wits about you, slightly strange stepping up to get into surfing stance but quite do-able when you get used to it. I thought it was great in those condition even though not really designed for them.

I thought about getting the wider 25" board PT Woody has but decided to go for all out speed and see if I could balance on the 23.5" board. I'd guess that the 25" NEW would be a great board for me in most downwind conditions with the 23.5" board better for flat water speed and milder downwinders.

As for water in the footwells, there's always a little bit there due to the drainage holes but I find the water clears out pretty quickly as long as you don't block the holes with your feet.

[PT Woody]

^^^ What starman said! 

The NEW and ACE are not "down winder" or open ocean board - - locked into one stance and also a foot well that is pretty much below the water line = full of water on rough conditions.

Flat water they are missiles though.

I've used PT Woody's New in downwind conditions and found it fast and stable even in rougher water, didn't have a problem with water in the footwells (well didn't notice anyway!) Just enough nose rocker to stop it pearling if you keep your wits about you, slightly strange stepping up to get into surfing stance but quite do-able when you get used to it. I thought it was great in those condition even though not really designed for them.

I agree with Jonathan that the New can work in DW conditions although I think there's a cut off point of high wind and swell where it becomes too tippy and the high pin tail can easily be knocked around. The footwells are not so hard to navigate around, it's a different shuffling motion rather than the elegant cross step on a flat top board.

[JillRide45]

Thanks everyone,

I gave the NEW at 23.5" wide a spin (just the 12'6") and decided against it.  The board really has too much volume up front for me.  Nose has a real tendency to ride way out of the water so it was like riding an 11' board (I was at the very front of the cockpit.  Also worried about the very high rails in cross wind and cross chop. 

I will keep looking.  Cheers, JIll

[Argosi]

Jill, if you're looking for a fast 14' open ocean board, what about the Naish Javelin? I haven't tried it but it's supposed to be really fast. For someone as light as you, stability shouldn't be a problem. I've heard that it's faster than the Dominator but less stable. Bigger guys are fast on the Javelin in flat water but often just can't stay on it in rough conditions. At your weight, you should be fine.

I recall that after DJ got the Javelin, Kristi (his friend's daughter, a skilled paddler) tried it out and was significantly faster than she was on her custom needle nosed 25" wide 12'6". And she's even lighter than you.

If you've got the balance for it, the Javelin is supposed to good on downwinders as well.

The Javelin's got a flat deck so if you want to step forward to get more of the nose in the water for a longer water line, you can. On the Dominator  you can only move forward to the point where the raised forward deck starts. You may not be heavy enough to get the nose of the Dominator down in certain conditions like going upwind.