JP Australia Sportster 14'x28"

[Luc Benac]

I have just ordered a JP Australia Sportster 14'x28" in wood construction.
Should arrive next week.
Any tips from people that have paddled this board will be very welcome.
Now I need to sell my SB Touring 14'x30" Wood or be prepared to long nights outside in the cold....

Cheers,

Luc

[DavidJohn]

Congrats.. it's a great board.

[Luc Benac]

Thank you David.
Is that the exact same board but in carbon in the video. For some reason it seem to have more rocker in the nose?

Cheers,

luc

[Easy Rider]

Thank you David.
Is that the exact same board but in carbon in the video. For some reason it seem to have more rocker in the nose?

Cheers,

luc

They make the Sportster in a Flat Water version and also in an All Water version. 
Flat one of course has way less rocker. 
Hopefully you ordered the right one for your conditions.

[Luc Benac]

They make the Sportster in a Flat Water version and also in an All Water version. 
Flat one of course has way less rocker. 
Hopefully you ordered the right one for your conditions.

I did order the FW or 28" wide which then has less rocker. I did not know that the AW or 30" has more rocker - not that it matters as I was looking at a narrower board than my Touring but with similar feel.

Cheers,

Luc

[Luc Benac]

I received my board today:

[Luc Benac]

Fin Galore
My wife on her SB Cruiser and I share fins:

Gladiator Hybrid
Gladiator Pro
Laird Ocean
JP AUstralia Race

[mrbig]

Beautiful looking board! Howzit working for ya!

[Kojack]

Really nice looking board...enjoy.

[Luc Benac]

I had my first couple of paddles this week-end.
I can only compare to my Touring so...
The board seems pretty stable, I was expecting several trips in the water going from a super stable 30" to 28".
That said I did not have the chance yet to go on stronger chop.
The Touring seems a little bit easier to paddle quartering the wind, but it is a lot easier to steer by foot pressure or paddle than the Touring.
The board seems more stable on downwind. I assume it is due to the square tail versus the pin tail.

One negative note, the finish of the wood sandwich seems very fragile. Just putting the board on dead trees trunks at the beach for a few times and it was already lightly scratched on the side. Nothing deep of course but enough to go through the red layer of paint. I ran to buy and install a Supco rail tape to protect at least that part.
The board does not feel heavy at all even if the posted weight is 14.5 kg same than the Touring. It feels lighter.

I would be curious to see a version of the All Water at the same width 28" and less volume than the current offer 30" and 300 l.
All for now.

[Luc Benac]

I had a few more paddles and the board feels great.
Pretty stable, very lively and very fast - let's put it that way the board is way faster than my abilities to paddle (for now of course).
A friend of mine that has been riding a Dominator for several years and that is usually at least 1 km/h faster than me, tried it and was very impressed.
Downwind in light conditions it is actually very fun and and a lot easier than you would expect from a "Flat Water" board.
It makes me wish that there would be a way to try the JP Australia Race All Water 14x26.5
Now upwind against steep chop over two feet, is not this board forte...

Cheers,

Luc

[Luc Benac]

I tried the stock fin for the first time today in not so flat water. The stability was pretty good. Catching bumps was great. The moment I went in the marina, for some flat water, it was pure goodness. Obviously the stock fin was not added randomly. I have to try the Gladiator Pro next.

Cheers,

Luc

[DavidJohn]

[Luc Benac]

David, thanks for posting the 2015 line-up video.
I was hoping for a Race All Water 14x28 to complement the 14x26.5 which is a little bit scary for beginners like me.
The Sportster All Water 14x30 at 300L is too big and wide in my views for people around 165/170 lbs.
Still very happy with my Sporster Flat Water 14x28 except for the finish that is too fragile compare to SB wood finish.

Cheers,

Luc