Author Topic: New Fanatic.  (Read 14701 times)

Chilly

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2015, 07:49:16 AM »
The board was in Miami this weekend. Looks like a pure flatwater racing board. The cool thing about it was that the red paint is translucent and you can see this really cool fiber weave under it. I’m not sure if it’s carbon or some kind of new material.
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Argosi

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2015, 12:24:26 PM »
Read some discussion on the Seabreeze forum on this Fanatic board. Fanatic's last race board (Falcon) turned out to be great in downwind conditions but not as great in flat water races. So they decided to create 2 race boards that specialize for either rough water or flat water. The Strike will be their flat water board. Looks similar to their old Fly design, but apparently, it's quite a bit different other than sharing the similar cutting bow look. They've also developed a rough water race board that looks great to me at least. They've realized that to be competitive in the top races, you need specialized race designs. Starboard went this way a few years ago with their Sprint for flat water, All Star for BOP style races with lots of buoy turns and surfing and Ace for downwind or choppy conditions.

Hope this trend doesn't deter the average SUPer from getting into racing. It's a nice concept to have one all-round board that does it all, but that's only possible if you're not trying to win a race against the fastest racers and boards in the world. For most of us, an all-round race board would still be the way to go (like the Ace, which works pretty well in all conditions).

If you want to read the thread on Seabreeze: http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Fanatic-Strike/

TN_SUP

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2015, 05:02:40 PM »
I hate the trend of completely redesigning a board every year, I've been bit twice now, left holding an obsolete board. I've had the 2014 Fanatic Flatwater several months and it is not a flatwater board, however, it comes alive in wind and chop even though it's 24 inches wide. So instead of replacing my 2013 Sprint, its my rough water vessel. I found the 2014 to have the same speed as my 2012 flatwater in calm conditions.
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karl

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #18 on: June 05, 2015, 11:04:00 PM »
Yep, lots of marketing going on. But, I upgraded from 2013 to 2015 Allstar 14x25 and they are completely different boards. The 2015 is more stable and at least as and probably faster than the 2013.

TN_SUP

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #19 on: June 06, 2015, 09:40:50 AM »
Would love to compare my 2013 Sprint to the 2015 with the increased volume in the tail. Trying to figure out if I prefer narrow high volume or wider low volume boards. So far, the latter.
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robon

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #20 on: June 06, 2015, 09:58:52 AM »
Yep, lots of marketing going on. But, I upgraded from 2013 to 2015 Allstar 14x25 and they are completely different boards. The 2015 is more stable and at least as and probably faster than the 2013.

Starboard changes their designs regardless of how well they work, but the 2015 14' X 28" All Star has stayed the same for 2015 except for some minor graphic changes and the deck pad. Starboard baffles me sometimes actually. The discontinued Coast Runner and Race series for starters. Great designs and with minor retooling, would have remained very popular. Now the Touring models have greatly reduced volume in the 14', which leaves some bigger paddlers out of the picture. SB seems to come up with great ideas, and look to advance the sport, but at the same time, make very strange decisions. Some models still don't have an inset handle for easier carrying either. I was at a shop the other day looking at the 11'6" Touring and it had the old style handle, and I was just thinking to myself...seriously? It is what it is. Can't please everyone I guess.

Eagle

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #21 on: June 06, 2015, 01:08:35 PM »
The 2015 model Race 14x25 is a very interesting board.  Off the bat you know this is a tippier fast board.  You got a balance bobble here or there at slow speed - but once you put the hammer down - the narrow slender nose profile worked a charm.  Very low drag with a very fast bow wave - easy acceleration and great glide.

Compared to the 2013 model Sprint 14x25 - the Sprint had more stability but seemed harder to accelerate.  All relative though - the 2013 Sprint is already very fast.  Unfortunately there was no 2015 Sprint 14x23 or Allstar 14x25 to test and compare.

Would have been nice to test the new Elite Touring boards but no 14' boards were on-site.

The 288L volume on our 2014 Touring Carbon is just right.  The extra volume in the nose helps reduce the amount of pearling DW - but it also contributes to self-steering problems.  Because of the tippy pintail you can only shift back so far - so it is better to slow the board down by not accelerating hard behind bigger bumps.  Overall a very quick touring shape in chop and slop and perfectly fine for DW to 25 kts - planes surprisingly easy over small bumps.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2015, 01:10:36 PM by Eagle »
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robon

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #22 on: June 06, 2015, 02:12:46 PM »
The 2015 model Race 14x25 is a very interesting board.  Off the bat you know this is a tippier fast board.  You got a balance bobble here or there at slow speed - but once you put the hammer down - the narrow slender nose profile worked a charm.  Very low drag with a very fast bow wave - easy acceleration and great glide.

Compared to the 2013 model Sprint 14x25 - the Sprint had more stability but seemed harder to accelerate.  All relative though - the 2013 Sprint is already very fast.  Unfortunately there was no 2015 Sprint 14x23 or Allstar 14x25 to test and compare.

Would have been nice to test the new Elite Touring boards but no 14' boards were on-site.

The 288L volume on our 2014 Touring Carbon is just right.  The extra volume in the nose helps reduce the amount of pearling DW - but it also contributes to self-steering problems.  Because of the tippy pintail you can only shift back so far - so it is better to slow the board down by not accelerating hard behind bigger bumps.  Overall a very quick touring shape in chop and slop and perfectly fine for DW to 25 kts - planes surprisingly easy over small bumps.

The Pin tail on the 14' Touring is a compromise and that board would have sold like hot cakes had it been squared off like the all-star. I would have bought one no questions asked. It would have been a bit more stable in rougher conditions and definitely better for downwind. Many people commented on the pintail being the limiting factor in it's design. The volume is decent, the tie downs are placed logically and there is enough of them, but I didn't want the pin tail. It would have worked overall, but when you are spending that kind of money, it can become a deal breaker, and it was a deal breaker for many people who would have bought one other wise. I have the 12'6" version and agree the nose self steers a little bit when it goes under, but the volume helps it pop back up quickly. Good board overall.

Sorry to derail the thread.

Eagle

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #23 on: June 17, 2015, 10:08:23 AM »
Yes a square tail would have sold more - but the pintail definitely works ok.

Based on speed tests and our timed tests the Touring Carbon is around 3-5% slower than our Dominator in flat water.  This was timed a few times around a 5 mile triangle we use for training and an 8 mile channel triangle.  It seems that the design decision was to make the 14 a fast touring board for speed and clean release.

http://www.supvic.com/the-rps-supvic-ultimate-14-board-test/

In real world ocean slop and chop the Touring Carbon goes very fast once the wind and waves pick up and fatigue sets in.  The board has its compromises like any - and in steep short interval chop DW - the weighty nose, low rocker and pintail make it harder to balance.  However, we have used this board DW in 25 kts so it handles most AW conditions.  Because this board has low drag and a skatey double concave > it planes easy over small chop in 15-20 kts.  We know 3 others who have the 14' - and 5 who have the 12'6" so it is fairly popular.  The only other more popular AW board would be the Bullet 14V2 - 6 others we know have this.

What we use for more stability in harsh ocean conditions and big wind DW is the Jimmy Lewis M-14.   :)
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FloridaWindSUP

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #24 on: June 17, 2015, 12:14:47 PM »
I demoed the "Strike" that the guy is riding in Miami in the picture on the top of this page. It felt as fast as it looks, but it was very, very tippy. In addition to being low volume and needle-nosed, the bottom rails are very rounded, from nose all the way to the tail, which probably contributes to the speed and the instability. The same day I demoed a boof-nosed 14' x 24.75" Falcon that I ended up buying. I figure I'd rather have a board that works very well in rough water and pretty well in flat water than a board that works very well in flat water and bad in rough water.
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Off-Shore

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #25 on: June 17, 2015, 11:23:37 PM »
I figure I'd rather have a board that works very well in rough water and pretty well in flat water than a board that works very well in flat water and bad in rough water.

FWS. As I search around for a new 14' race board to replace my Think XO 14' you have brought me clarity. The Think is that board that works very well on flat water and totally sucks in rough water. I'm looking for that elusive board that works well in both.. and is competitive in both... It probably does not exist so best to go for the one that works very well in rough water and is okay in the flat..
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TN_SUP

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #26 on: June 18, 2015, 07:01:23 AM »
The drone footage shows the 2014 Fanatic Flatwater versus the new Strike, you can even see the difference in the bow wakes. Some of the best race footage I've seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYqiR5Ol3SA
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kjulks

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Re: New Fanatic.
« Reply #27 on: August 14, 2015, 09:57:52 AM »
Such a departure from 2014. Maybe that's what they need to push on up in the market though.

Falcon philosophy out the window... "The smooth bow design ensures that the nose never dives or develops any self-steering." That thing looks like it wouldn't turn if you T-boned it with a freighter.

 


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