Close up and personal with the Dart.

[DavidJohn]

Finally I got to check out the new Coreban Dart.. When I first set eyes on this new down-wind board it looked like a hot rod or racing speed boat.. Loved the paint.







Concidering this was not the full carbon it was surprisingly light and the new Coreban hand hole is amazing.. it wraps so far under each side I could hardly reach the sides.. and you could put your keys, wallet, and even your little black book in there and still have space some spare change.. Just kidding but it sure does feel good and helps heaps to carry the board.



I started with the deack pad.. Besides being nice and grippy it was flat through the front section where you often step when paddling for a runner.. Then it quickly went to a noticably deep concave through the main standing area.. then back to flat towards the tail.. then slightly domed just before the tail kicker pad.. So you should know where you are on the board by the feel  through your feet and never need to look down to see where you are like some boards.









The shape is interesting.. I would not call it a displacement hull.. IMO it's a planing hull with a pronounced belly in the nose area.. Sorta like the Starboard with there cluby board shape but because the nose area is not as big it shouldn't go boof when pearling like the Starbies.. I think it will behave a bit more like the Glide but it will be interesting to see just what this board does when it does pearl.. and I wonder if it has enough nose rocker for a planing hull DW board.

Besides the belly in the nose area the rails are super soft.. soft all the way back two thirds back from the nose.. and at the last third the rails start to get a solf tucked edge turning into a full sharp edge in the last couple of feet.. It shouldn't catch when opposite rail surfing and you should be able to push the nose left or right with wide paddle strokes.. It should also handle being pushed around in back wash areas and confused water.











The tail is thick and boxy so you should be able to get back there without sinking it or water wrapping up and over the tail slowing you down.. Notice the huge ramped up kicker pad.. You shouldn't ever accidently step off the tail with that there.. Looking close you can see the odd area where the paint is a bit sloppy.. Shame but its probably something that only I would notice.





Flipping the board over shows that beautiful bottom shape.





Here's a great view showing that odd nose shape.. It will be interesting to see how it paddles into chop.. I don't think it will cut through like a Bark type displacement hull but shouldn't slap like a full planning hull like the Naish.





b







As you can see there's a fair bit of V through this board.. belly in the front.. Flat down the center (about 8") with sloping V off each side and the most V just befor the fin box.. I'm guessing this is to help  you turn this long board on runners and maybe even lift the rails when really humming along.

The fin looks good.. Good amout of area.. More upright to also help with turning and stability.. and enough curve in the tip area to alowe you to drag through sand in the shallows without catching like the Glide fin..Here's the Croc shot.





The bag is awesome.. 3/4 coffin shape so you dont have to unzip all the way around that 14' of board and shiny silver on the bottom should help reflect sun rays and a removeble shoulder strap so you can take it off when on the roof of your car so no more flapping about.. There's a  nice center handle to help when not using the shoulder strap.. and also handles on the tail and nose.. It's a nice snug fit so it shouldn't flap too much when driving fast with it on your car roof racks.

Good job Coreban... but where's the demo's..   ... Most people like to try before they buy.

DJ













 

[jimbro]

davidjohn, this is a very reminicent process you took when you were giving us info on the Naish 17, which you bought.  once you fondled it did you have to pay?

btw, you should do board reviews as a side job.  you are very detailed. nice job.

[Dwight (DW)]

I think you will love the nose DJ. I used that nose on the last generation of downwind boards I shaped. It was my best performing nose. No boof, no loss of speed.

[headmount]

I don't like the V but the rest looks interesting.   Loved the big handle hole.  

They'd probably freak if you brought in a scale after feeling it up like you did.  If you were to guess, what weight?  

 Perfect write up but no close ups of the price tag?

[kneecap]

Interesting for sure. I've been looking a bit for what I'd call the Swiss Army Knife of flatwater boards. I want to race but not seriously, downwind a bit, then just enjoy the ocean on flat days. This kind of looks like it might fit the bill nicely.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[H2Oman]

The Carbon/Kevlar (in DJ's photos) is 25.3lb with pad per the spec sheet.  

I still have the loaner Pure version which is 34lbs.  We are going for another dw run this afternoon and then I need to return the board. If all goes well, I think I'm going to pull the trigger and get the carb/kev version.

[Strand Leper]

Knee,

Before u plunk down coin let me know... I've got the inside track on some fall developments.

T

[Strand Leper]

Oops.  That was supposed to be a pm.  I don't know anything about anything.

[H2Oman]

We'll you better answer your email I sent this morning and let me know whats up     I suppose you are talking non-Coreban developments??

Get your butt up to PV this afternoon and join us.

[1paddle2paddle]

Isn't this the board the Ivan was tearing it up on in that video?

HM, why no likey the V? 

My understanding is that in simple terms a V bottom leads to that reverse steering phenomenon.  When I lean, say, left, the board does not want to turn left unless I really get to the back of the board. 

I'm not a huge fan of reverse steer myself.

[Area 10]

Is the nose design really that unusual in a DW board?

The Angulo Shaka also has a V in the rockered part of the nose, and the Naish 17 in effect does since it closes almost to a tube at the front. The C4 Switchblade also has a distinct rockered V up front, and whilst you might argue the latter is not really a DW-specific board, I've also seen a custom Richmond DW SUP with a similar kind of design.

As for reverse steer, is this going to be much of an issue when the V is in the rockered part of the nose? I don't know the answer to that, I'm just asking.

For me, the more unusual thing about the Dart is the wide square tail. Most DW-oriented boards I can think of have a pintail or at least a much narrower tail - it looks wider than the Naish 14 for instance. But maybe it just appears wide in the pictures.

I'll let you know later this week anyway, since I've also got my new Dart (full carbon) arriving... it's just clearing customs now.

[DavidJohn]

The tail is slightly wider than my 14'  Naish Glide (but not by much) and the nose is slightly less pointy.. I've never seen another board with a nose like the new Dart.. My 17' Glide/Javelin is pretty flat with very rounded rails towards the front.. The Dart has a vert deep rounded V right at the front blending into that shallow belly area.

As for reverse rail turning.. IMO.. they all do it.. You push a board through the water and 'when flat' you get equal pressure on both sides and the board goes straight.. Lift a rail (by dipping the other) and the rail that's lifted has less pressure on it.. and the rail that dipped has more pressure.. So the board turns to the side with less pressure .. This pressure is opposite to drag.. For those finding it hard to get their head around this imagine a pointy nose board cut down the center.. With both halves together and push the board through the water (half up the rail deep) and the board goes straight.. Lift on half of the board totally out of the water so you're only pushing half a board through the water what way will it turn.. The right half will go left and the left half would go right.. It can be hard to understand and explain.

It's something that you just have to get used to if you want to get good at down-winders.. It's not as bad as you might first think.. IMO.. It comes about from trying to rail turn the board when moving through the water when being wave or wind assisted.. but not fully planing.. and standing forward on the board.. Fully planing and standing back you push the right rail to go right.. Non planing and standing forward you push the right rail and you go left.. The wave is often not steep enough to get back so you have no choice.. It's also the way you turn boards like the Starboard Ace pretty much all of the time.. It does feel very weird at first and will plop you in the drink and have you wondering 'what just happened' .. but after a while you do get used to it and know if the board is planing or not and what rail to push.. It's worth practicing it even when you don't need to turn.

We often get wind or waves coming over our left or right shoulder so you can not just go in the direction of the wind or waves because you will go off corse.. To maintain corse we opposite rail the board to steer across the runners that we are not fully planing on.. and that can be most (if not all) of them on a light wind day... One more thing.. Some may have noticed that I do a lot of paddle dragging in my vids.. That's because I can turn the board without needing to tip a rail or get back.. Both of which would cause more drag than my paddle would and slow me down more than if I can keep the board flat.. I use it for when I'm planing but not planing enough to be able to get right back to turn the board from the tail.

I'm no expert on all this.. It's just my thoughts from my experiences in our conditions ..  

DJ

[H2Oman]

Thanks for the rail insight DJ.  I wasn't aware of if until now, but it makes sense and explains some of the action I was experiencing.

We did a run in med.-inconsistant wind yesterday.  The Dart performs really well for my weight (245).  No falls   My friends were on Naish Glides, the old and the new.  I think the rider skill and weight makes more of a difference than the board, provided the boards are designed with somewhat similar characteristics.

I'm still playing with technique and stance to see if there's a sweet spot I need to be in on the Dart.  In moderate wind/swell conditions its a difficult dance to get the board moving down the face and still get back to keep the nose out.  I was getting my runs, but still need to put in more time and practice.  Hoping to have a carbon/kev version at the beginning of the month.

[Area 10]

Yep, another great post DJ, thanks.

[1paddle2paddle]

DJ, I think I know what you are saying.  And without specifically disagreeing with you, I will say that some boards do the reverse-steer thing more than others (and same WAAAAY more).  The F-16 barely does it at all.  While I agree it does not turn "off the rail" if you are not on plane, the F-16 does not give the sense that it is slipping or squirting out from under you if you sink one of its rails.  In fact it tracks pretty straight even if you sink one rail.

I do not know of a board that board does turn well rail-to-rail without being on plane.  And even if you are on plane, it is tough to surf rail-to-rail from the middle of the board.