Author Topic: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?  (Read 34604 times)

Area 10

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #15 on: May 31, 2016, 11:38:15 AM »
Nice to see Starboard building narrow boards.  And it looks like dropping below 23" width may not be leading to the downfall of SUP racing, contrary to the dire warnings of a couple years ago.
Early days yet. Let's see where we are in 10 years' time, when my kids are Connor's age.

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #16 on: May 31, 2016, 11:48:54 AM »
I tried paddling while kneeling just to see what the likely top end might be, and I quite easily got up to 10.7 mph, and sustaining 7-8 mph

10.7 mph on your knees!? Grey Paddleboards must be shipping with a Jet ;D I want one, I'll take the balance hit.
Yeah I wouldn't have believed it was possible - at least for an old gumby like me. It convinced me that it is certainly possible for SUPs to go an awful lot faster than we are doing now - at least, over sprint distances. I'm wondering how much faster the top guys can go using the technique they are currently using: 100+ strokes a minute, rather than the much slower, longer, bigger-bladed strokes of an Olympic Canoe. They go A LOT faster than we do.

photofr

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #17 on: May 31, 2016, 12:09:07 PM »
...tried paddling while kneeling just to see what the likely top end might be, and I quite easily got up to 10.7 mph, and sustaining 7-8 mph


I don't know about you man.. I hope I am wrong, but I think you are full of it.
A sprint on dead flat water at 17.5 kph on a 21" craft of any sort is kind of a stretch. Heck, most elite paddlers have a hard time sprinting their surfski past 16 kph. I won't even go into the "sustaining 7 mph" deal, because most top notch paddlers on surfskis cannot easily hold 11.5 kph on the flats.

Surfski are like 16-18 inches in width, with a much rounder hull.
Stability isn't even an issue, so you can't even play that card.
You doing those speeds on your knees and limited hip rotation WITH GREAT EASE on a 21" SUP is like saying my grandma can rip a phone book with her bare hands... wait, actually, she did (after we pre-cut the phone book for her for the royal picture).
« Last Edit: May 31, 2016, 12:11:22 PM by photofr »
Nelo SUP - 14' x 23"
Nelo Surfski 560M - 18'4" x 17"

burchas

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #18 on: May 31, 2016, 12:11:31 PM »
I tried paddling while kneeling just to see what the likely top end might be, and I quite easily got up to 10.7 mph, and sustaining 7-8 mph

10.7 mph on your knees!? Grey Paddleboards must be shipping with a Jet ;D I want one, I'll take the balance hit.
Yeah I wouldn't have believed it was possible - at least for an old gumby like me. It convinced me that it is certainly possible for SUPs to go an awful lot faster than we are doing now - at least, over sprint distances. I'm wondering how much faster the top guys can go using the technique they are currently using: 100+ strokes a minute, rather than the much slower, longer, bigger-bladed strokes of an Olympic Canoe. They go A LOT faster than we do.

If These numbers are legit, Grey Paddleboards should be caching-in right about now on the international
circuit. Connor's Average on the 200meters was about 8.4mph, which mean you would have wiped the floor with him, on your knees. You must be talking KPH right?
« Last Edit: May 31, 2016, 12:13:30 PM by burchas »
in progress...

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2016, 12:34:59 PM »
Nope. Mph. And I'm not full of it. That's what the GPS said. I only peaked at 10.7, and by sustained speeds I mean over 5-10 second bursts. So it's nowhere are impressive as maybe you thought. But I'm telling you it happened.

There's no way in hell that I could have maintained that effort for 50+ seconds like Connor did. But someone younger and fitter probably could have.

I used to kayak, so it feels much easier to me to be sprinting on my knees. And the advantage of having your bottom hand basically touching the water when you stroke is profound. It makes you realise how inefficient SUP is.

Try it yourself. You will probably be surprised - as I was.  These narrow boards can go very fast. Or at least, the ones I was on can.

I would have had exactly the same reaction as you if I'd read a post like mine without actually having done it myself. All I can say is: find yourself a protected piece of dead flat water (I was on a canal), a very narrow board, and a big bladed paddle, get on your knees and give it some welly! Reach far forward, load the paddle well, and use a rocking motion of your torso to add to the power behind your stroke. You will be able to make the top speeds you can manage while standing look like kids' stuff.

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #20 on: May 31, 2016, 12:47:52 PM »
Sh*t, next time you make sure to take a vid of the session so no one can call BS on you.
This would be an epiphany for the SUP industry.

I'll call Grey Paddleboards for specs, these kind speeds opening many more route possibilities for me
in progress...

Area 10

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #21 on: May 31, 2016, 12:57:57 PM »
That's a good idea. I'll ask to borrow the boards again and I'll video myself on my knees paddling alongside a gifted SUP racer who is standing up and using a wider board.

As I say, try it yourself before calling BS. When doing the "knee stroke", think about what prone paddlers do when they paddle on their knees. Then do something like a cross between that and a OC stroke, using the extra stability of resting your weight on a long surface (your knees down to your feet) to impart plenty of motion to engage your core.

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #22 on: May 31, 2016, 01:04:14 PM »
I wasn't the one calling BS on you, It's you're dear friend across the channel ;D

I'm definitely aware of the power you can generate in the low position, I even have one of
my paddles retrofitted to support that length.

Can't wait for the vid
in progress...

mr_proper

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #23 on: May 31, 2016, 01:23:41 PM »
Was your GPS mounted on your arm  or on the board?
Because if I have the GPS on the arm, I can have high peaks that I didn't if the GPS is on the board.
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pdxmike

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #24 on: May 31, 2016, 01:25:01 PM »
Nice to see Starboard building narrow boards.  And it looks like dropping below 23" width may not be leading to the downfall of SUP racing, contrary to the dire warnings of a couple years ago.
Early days yet. Let's see where we are in 10 years' time, when my kids are Connor's age.
You also mentioned the trade-offs of narrowness--wearing out your legs, etc.--which will take time to sort itself out. Obviously there'll be some practical limits on narrowness--we don't really know it yet.  People are racing on narrower boards than they were not too long ago--partly from greater skills, partly from board design evolution that allows equal stability for less width.  As you say, it'll be interesting to see where things stand in 10 years.  One possibility--looking back to now will be something like this old Nike ad:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qXkn3iqym4

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #25 on: May 31, 2016, 01:35:38 PM »
Thanks Photofr for the look at the new model. I think you left out some of the most important shots😉...the bottom...look forward to seeing them...and profile too...great camera angle on the nose...just how I would want to sight it if there in person.

bottom

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #26 on: May 31, 2016, 01:40:07 PM »
another shot of sprint's bottom from Lost Mills

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #27 on: May 31, 2016, 01:44:55 PM »

photofr

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #28 on: May 31, 2016, 01:50:16 PM »
Thanks Photofr for the look at the new model. I think you left out some of the most important shots😉...the bottom...look forward to seeing them...and profile too...great camera angle on the nose...just how I would want to sight it if there in person.

Yeah, of course...
I wasn't going to spoil it too much. As you can see now, the hull is "borrowed" from the 2016 Allstar.
Nelo SUP - 14' x 23"
Nelo Surfski 560M - 18'4" x 17"

SUPflorida

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #29 on: May 31, 2016, 02:39:32 PM »
Sweet Photofr! Still holding out for a good clear shot of the whole board from the side to see what the rocker looks like.😎

The video makes it looke like the sides of the dropped deck is what screwed Connor up when he re-launched. A trade off I guess...without the deep sunken deck the riders center of gravity would be too high at 21-1/2" wide. From the peanut gallery it looks like Conner had it won if he had taken it just a touch slower on the re-launch...
Question...Is a flat deck at that lower level (without the high side walls) really that much of a detriment to speed? Has anyone experimented with both on the same board?

And what's this obsession with keeping the standing area dry? I can see in cold climates, but where I live my feet are burning up...I end up doing some spastic paddle move between strokes to try and cool down a bit.


Who comes up with these race formats anyway? Is it a paddle race or a board lugging race? 🤔 Makes more exciting for the spectators no doubt.

 


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