Starboard Ace GT 17'4"

[Kieranrsup]

I had the opportunity to paddle the new Ace GT 17'4" yesterday for about 5km of a cracking DW run at Gerroa about 2hrs South of Sydney.
I came away very impressed indeed. It flies!! I was dubious about it as first as it doesn't have a rudder and all my previous 17'4" experience in DW conditions have been on ruddered SIC boards and the SIC will be the obvious comparison.
It picks up runs soooooo good. It's literally like a bigger, more stable version of the new 14 x 25" Ace.
I found it very easy to paddle onto runs and it kept its speed up nicely doing that Ace thing where it goes over the top of the bump in front and onto the next one. Its a very very nice board to paddle. ??
A taller/bigger paddler than me that could quickly stomp the rear of the standing area could keep the nose up easily enough with practice I reckon.
I did find myself caught out a few times by the nose purling as it has a relatively low rocker compared to an SIC Bullet 17'4"(V1) and lacking the rudder it is a bit less manoeuvrable in confused chop and the Bullet obviously surfs better from the tail in steeper drops.
That said, in the right, lined up conditions I feel it would be faster than the V1 Bullet as I think it required less effort to get onto the smaller runs. A perfect DW machine for bay runs or mid strength lined up ocean runs.
The Bullet however would leave it behind in the bigger ocean stuff and channel crossings that the Bullet excels in.
Well worth a look if you can get the opportunity to try one.
You can see one in action in DJ's latest vid featuring PTWoody on his GT.

[Argosi]

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a fun board. Would love to try one out on a downwinder but don't expect to see one around here.

[headmount]

I had the opportunity to paddle the new Ace GT 17'4" yesterday for about 5km of a cracking DW run at Gerroa about 2hrs South of Sydney.
I came away very impressed indeed. It flies!! I was dubious about it as first as it doesn't have a rudder and all my previous 17'4" experience in DW conditions have been on ruddered SIC boards and the SIC will be the obvious comparison.
It picks up runs soooooo good. It's literally like a bigger, more stable version of the new 14 x 25" Ace.
I found it very easy to paddle onto runs and it kept its speed up nicely doing that Ace thing where it goes over the top of the bump in front and onto the next one. Its a very very nice board to paddle. ??
A taller/bigger paddler than me that could quickly stomp the rear of the standing area could keep the nose up easily enough with practice I reckon.
I did find myself caught out a few times by the nose purling as it has a relatively low rocker compared to an SIC Bullet 17'4"(V1) and lacking the rudder it is a bit less manoeuvrable in confused chop and the Bullet obviously surfs better from the tail in steeper drops.
That said, in the right, lined up conditions I feel it would be faster than the V1 Bullet as I think it required less effort to get onto the smaller runs. A perfect DW machine for bay runs or mid strength lined up ocean runs.
The Bullet however would leave it behind in the bigger ocean stuff and channel crossings that the Bullet excels in.
Well worth a look if you can get the opportunity to try one.
You can see one in action in DJ's latest vid featuring PTWoody on his GT.

Good write up and PT did look excellent on it.  But as you point out, a DW run is often not lined up perfect the whole way and you need a board versatile enough to handle a good cross section of conditions.  So that long Ace might do well on our organized southside, the mayhem of a Maliko run, especially during our winter, would, I think, be very challenging without a rudder.  I think weight control ends at 14' beyond that it's rudder territory.  What's the weight and width?

[Argosi]

It's 28" wide. Starboard's web site says it's just under 32lbs.

[DavidJohn]

It's 28" wide. Starboard's web site says it's just under 32lbs.

It says 28'' wide but I think it's actually 27 1/2''

I'm looking forward to seeing Jonathan [JC] on one..

I recentlly turned down the opportunity to order a new UL Naish.. I'm regretting that now..

[photofr]

I have now owned my Starboard GT (17'4 x 27) for over 2 months.
In a nutshell, it's great; I mean really good & super versatile.

Totally agree about catching bumps (small and BIG) with incredible ease. So clearly, this board is made for downwind.

What really surprised me is:
The GT is just "incredible" on flat water. I know… I know, it wasn't designed for it, but I think it will blow you away and surprise you.

We put it to the test with 5 different paddlers, and 5 different boards. I am not at liberty to share all info just yet, but suffice to say that this was the second fastest board of the day. This is based on 5 very different riders, including one woman, heavy paddlers, and feather-weight paddlers (and one Vice-Champion paddler). The water was… calm… I mean super flat. Keep in mind that this test shows that a board designed for DW was faster than a 12'6 x 24 (specifically designed for flat water).

WIDTH
Well, I personally measured 2 of the 3 boards (GT Unlimited) that we have in France. Both boards came in at exactly 27" (measured twice / no cuts).
It seems that Starboard had the wrong stickers made and inserted - the boards should come out at 27" for width in the future.

VERSATILE
As mentioned above, it's a great downwind board. When perfectly aligned (wind and swells), all boards will do well. This one does great. Where it really shines is when conditions aren't optimal. One one DW, I had 4 to 6 feet swells, with a lot of confused conditions for about 4 miles of the course. My friends came to a near-stall - my board wanted to just keep on going.

On cross-winds…
I find my ACE GT 17'4 remarkable and so much easier with side wind than my 17'6 x 23 Sprint. The ACE is far less affected by side wind - very nice, considering that I am one of the feather-weight paddlers (128 pounds).

Stability…
It is very stable. In fact, huge and crazy Downwind won't have your heart racing like crazy. I also use it for photography… crazy equipment on board, with a camera around my neck (no, not a throw away camera… unless you consider a D3s a throw-away-vesion ahahahah

Beginners…
So comfortable, I finally got my girlfriend to try out SUP - for the first time on the 17'4 x 27. No doubt, she loves it.

Basically, very happy with the board.

Minor Improvements Zone:
Starboard could consider placing a carry handle to make life a little easier.
The board is a little heavy (about 14.5 kg).
The paint is a little thin (to save weight) - so the paddle marks perhaps too easily.

No Touch Zone:
The weedless green fin that comes with it is just perfect… for EVERYTHING. DW with it is magic. Leave it alone (please).

Couple of pictures…



The fin is perfect in every way - including its color


Minimal rocker for faster flat water performance (get ready to walk the board)


The larger tail does 2 things: helps catch runs and helps with side wind (acts a little like a sail in the back to even out the board)


Yes… a little longer than the 12'6 x 25"