Relative downwinder speeds of sup vs. OC1, surfski, etc.

[surf4food]

Tho I have no real downwinding on any type of craft, one obvious reason I think somebody would pick SUP (regardless of size) over a boat is to have more of the surfing feeling.  Still, looking at OCs and skis it's very apparent they are still the more efficient downwind vehicle.  Faster paddling speeds and longer glides.

[yugi]

See results of this weekend's 12 Towers Ocean paddle Festival 2018 (Gold Coast, Aus) in light downbreeze conditions.

https://www.p2ftimingsystem.com.au/events/view/results/68

The top 4 men on 14' SUP's beat the first unlimited SUP (Ty Judson, with James Casey second unlimited SUP).

Reflecting that unlimited SUPs aren't as fast as 14's in light conditions without substantial bumps.

Some footage to be seen on
   http://www.supracer.com/
shows top men and women working what little bumps to be had really well.

[FloridaWindSUP]

Thanks for posting the SUPracer link, Yugi. I love watching those narrated replays. Looks like the top surfski was about 20% faster than the top SUP.

Interesting board choices in that flat, open-water, not-much-of-a-downwinder race. From Starboard I saw everything from the Ace to the AllStar to the Sprint, and Michael Booth won it on the Sprint! Not sure if he was on the 14x23 or the 14x21.5. Second place Titouan Puyo was on an all-water dugout, the 14x23 NSP Sonic. Third place Lincoln Dews was on a flatwater dugout from DEEP boards, and was just three seconds faster than Ty Judson on the Unlimited.

Obviously there was no noticeable advantage for the Unlimiteds over the 14s in this race, but I don't know if we can conclude that there was a disadvantage, either, since Michael Booth and Titouan Puyo are such superstars. Could be that the style of the board more so than the length was important for this one, since the winning three SUPs were flatwater or allwater designs and the unlimited were specialized for downwind. Quite the "elf shoe" noses on Ty Judson and James Casey's unlimiteds. Is the saying that "unlimited SUPs aren't as fast as 14's in light conditions without substantial bumps" really kind of saying that downwind sups aren't as fast as flatwater/allwater SUPs in light conditions? Seems like both length and shape might play a role, and we haven't properly controlled for shape.

[Luc Benac]

Is the saying that "unlimited SUPs aren't as fast as 14's in light conditions without substantial bumps" really kind of saying that downwind sups aren't as fast as flatwater/allwater SUPs in light conditions? Seems like both length and shape might play a role, and we haven't properly controlled for shape.

I would rather turn it around and say that in these conditions the length of the UL and the shape had still left enough waterline to manage a decent turn of speed to come somewhat close to flat water 14' designs at least for top paddlers. Not a bad feat in itself if you only have one board and it is an UL.
What would have been a shocker would have been to see a flatter UL design beat a paddler like Boothy in the hand of a "slower" paddler.
I suppose that comparing top paddlers bring it enough in the ball park to leave some effect on the board itself.

[yugi]

...
Is the saying that "unlimited SUPs aren't as fast as 14's in light conditions without substantial bumps" really kind of saying that downwind sups aren't as fast as flatwater/allwater SUPs in light conditions?
...

Sure. But also...

Isn't that like saying that people who bring UL's to DW [ish] races aren't exactly bringing their UL Sprints along in their baggage?

[Area 10]

It's mainly about the rocker. Broadly speaking:

The flatter the water, the flatter the rocker you want.

The bumpier the water, the more rocker you want.

If you've got an elf-shoe nose you aren't going anywhere fast in flat water. But the more the wind goes over 25 knots, the bigger the advantage you'll have.

[crazybula]

In reference to the 12 Towers, the wind was supposed to come up, but failed to until well after the pros had finished. Hence the variety in boards as some had only one choice or went the flatwater option.
I see the discussion about unlimited vs 14' here and notice many have neglected one important difference - weight. Whilst an unlimited can and will carry a bump longer, the ability to quickly react to tiny wind bumps is hampered by their mass. 14'ers not so much as they are generally lighter.
Ty judson motored a 16kg unlimited to finish on the same wave as Lincoln Dews, who was on a lightweight 14' flatwater board. I think that is a considerable achievement knowing how much harder it was to get assistance from the ocean that day.
BTW the wind picked up whilst the presentation was on - typical.
Another note, an "elf-nose" is not an accurate way of determining if a board has a lot of rocker. For example the Sunova 18' has generous nose lift and tail lift but is flatter through most of its waterline length. Other designs use a constant curve rocker. The devil is in the details.