My message to Mr Naish.

[Simondo]

Sounds like a job for your local shaper.

I've had maybe 20-30 boards made for me over the years so I know what you mean.. But to be honest there are no local shapers (to me) that are capable.. or even interested in making a board for me this size.. Most shaping rooms can't fit a board this big.. Plus it's a gamble.. and expensive.. I was thinking at one stage of cutting my 14' Glide right down the center.. Glueing in a 2" strip.. Then cutting it across the center and guing in a one foot section of foam.. Sanding and shaping it and then having it glassed.. But it's tricky stuff.. Do'able IMO but it would end up pretty heavy.

DJ

Don't do it DJ!!
Dean Snow would be one of a few shapers who could do a custom 16 footer.

[peterp]

We had a guy do it here - he took a 9'3 Hokua - cut it in half and stuck 1.5 inches foam in the middle and glassed and vacuum-bagged it back together and it hardly put on any weight....got a pic of it somewhere..

It looks great and goes great too ..(except he put Starboard stickers on it hahahahah)

I've been wanting to do it to the 8'0 Hokua (not the sticker part).......but will wait and see if the 8'3 will float me.

We've had pretty big guys (100kg) use the Glide 14' as their downwind cruiser of choice over here - granted if you are bigger than that, then Naish is out of options. The Coreban Dart gives a bit more float but you lose a bit of performance, but that is the price you pay.

Our conditions go from perfect to semi messy on our downwind runs so you cherish stability as the wave refractions affect your second half of the run just as you start tiring...

[peterp]

found the pics of 9'3 + 1.5 inch to Starboard conversion - pretty impressive...at least he kept the original fins...

[Muskoka SUP]

Well, seeing as how Naish isn't changing from its narrower is better course for 2013, maybe Fanatic is going to be the company to watch...

http://www.standuppaddleperth.com/index.php/blog/entry/2013-fanatic-boards-tested-in-stradbroke-island

A 317 liter 14' open ocean racer that happens to be 30" wide sounds sweet...

Anyone else here hear of any more developments... (meaning all you Aussies that seem to get the first glimpse of next years boards..Jacko???.)

[DavidJohn]

I'm sure the new 14' Fanatic's in their different widths will be good.. but.. I'm not sure about the middle ground shape (half downwind and half flat water) but we will find out about that soon.

One good thing about Naish now is their new construction/production methood and they will now have four constuction types.. AST (hand glassed molded) boards.. and normal (machine glassed and molded) boards.. and hollow (molded carbon fiber) MC boards.. and now their new (CNC shaped foam blank) LE boards.. This last construction should avoid the high cost of molds and make it easy for Naish to quickly bring out new 'latest/greatest' shapes like the new 23 1/2" x 14' Jav that Kai is racing on and now available to anyone.

So.. Come on Naish.. Give us a big-boy 14' Glide about 29" wide.. Or better still a 15-16' Glide in the old 14' Glide shape with its swoops-doopy nose shape.

DJ

[1paddle2paddle]

DJ, I know you are partial to Naish, but have you tried the Coreban Dart?  Its nearly 30" wide, lots of volume.  I'd be interested to hear what you think of that board.

[DavidJohn]

DJ, I know you are partial to Naish, but have you tried the Coreban Dart?  Its nearly 30" wide, lots of volume.  I'd be interested to hear what you think of that board.

I can't wait to try the Dart.. My local shop finally got one in but it's not or demo.. So.. I guess I'll just have to wait and hope a friend buys it so I can then ask them if I can have a go.. 

DJ

[DavidJohn]

It seems like Mr Naish is listening to us after all..  

I've heard about this new 14' Glide that's been coming for a while now and it's come about because how well the 14' Jav was performing on downwinders.. I spent some time talking with Randy Naish while he was in Oz last (I knew Randy from old windsurfing days when he came out here competing with his brother Robby) and he was raving about the Jav and its DW performance.. (this was two years ago).. I couldn't get my head around it because I have a 14' Jav.. and I've even used it on a few downwinders.. But I think I'd rather go to the dentist than use it again on a downwinder.. IMO it's too flat.. Too narrow and way too tippy for me at 200lbs (95kgs) is I'm thinking unless you're a lightweight with reflexes like a cat forget it.. Randy's a small guy.. Smaller than Robby.. When my local dealer was invited to a big Naish meeting (last year) they heard more about this new high performance 14' Glide.. and how it was based on the 14' Jav with a few tweaks.. Everyone was excited till they heard about what the width would be.. ABOUT 26" WIDE.. My dealer along with others there all said.. Nooooooo.. Too narrow.. Most average to bigger guys struggle on the current 27" wide 14' Glide.. It needs to be wider.. Not narrower..

Well at last it's almost here.. The dealers have used it last week.. Everyone loves it.. AND IT'S 29" WIDE.. Waa-Hoo! .. I think it's due for release in a couple of months.. I've heard it has slightly less nose rocker than the current board but I'm guessing it's thicker in the nose area to help it resurface when pearling on downwinders.. Pearling is a big part of downwinding and how a board performs when pearling is a big part of what makes a good DW board.. I can't wait to see.. and even try this new board myself.. Shame it's not a little longer but I've heard it's super stable.

Yes I'm excited..   .. I'm also happy that Naish are listening and considering the average guy.. (and the bigger guys).. and not just being too focused on absolute top speed and ultra hight pervormance.. Anyone here seen it?.. or paddled this new 14' Glide?

DJ

[Area 10]

This is GREAT news. Bravo Naish. Maybe I've gotta re-think the new board (not Naish) I was about to buy... 29" is perfect IMO.

[SEA]

Mark Raaphorst (SIC) must be all smiles now because the big brands don't really give him any competition.. Except for the 14' class.

DJ
[/quote]

The last open ocean race we had here was an 8 mile race with 20mph winds on the south east side of Oahu. I believe 8 out of the top 10 finishers were on SIC's. you don't see many Naish or starboards in open ocean races here, they just don't do to well. Connor rides a SIC (I mean starboard ??)   and of course Kai Lenny could ride anything and do well.  For the average guy who wants a top quality open ocean down wind board .....  SIC is definitely the Formula 1's of the open ocean racing !!!!  And of course there is a hefty price tag on those boards but NOTHING comes close to them out in the ocean .....  YET !!

[Area 10]

I don't know what conclusions you can draw from who rides what at competitions in different places. So many local factors affect what people ride. I could point out that where I am, no race has to my knowledge EVER yet been won on a SIC. So what conclusion should I draw from that?

[PonoBill]

There's no wind where you are?? Or there aren't any SICs. Anywhere there's serious downwind, there's SIC. On Maui they're as common as bellybuttons. the only time anyone comes to look at your board at the Canoe Hale is when it's NOT an SIC. Here in Hood River they're getting almost as common. For a long time it was just me and my F18, then a few F16's filtered in, then the production SICs showed up and Big Winds started carrying them. On the last downwinder I went on of the eight boards in the water all were SIC. I saw six of them on cars today driving home. Place is starting to LOOK like Maui.

It is bizarre how many racing SUP boards there are in Hood River. Used to be almost any time I saw a SUP on a car I knew who it was. Now they're everywhere. There were six cars in the safeway parking lot with SUPs on them, four at Roseauers, and dozens on road on the way home from Marblehead--Diane's name for my new shop. The river was like a lake today--no wind at all--and there were hundreds of SUPs out paddling around. It's getting spooky. When I was getting my teeth cleaned the hygienist wanted to talk about SUP because she saw my T shirt. Kind of hard to respond when you have all that stuff in your mouth. 

[lanikaipaddler]

this thread had me browsing the SIC site again... any idea how wide this thing is... like, is it the camera angle or is this board 12 inches wide?

[headmount]

Looks like the 12'6" Bullet @ 28.25" wide.  The shot is at an angle and does look narrow.  Scott is on top of it so it looks fast.  At 54 he shows no sign of slowing down.

[greatdane]

Naish Pro Karen Wrenn told me last week that her new favorite board for downwinding on Hood River is the 14' X 23" Javelin LE...  She said it's crazy fast.  Her balance amazes me once again...