Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: baddog on April 15, 2014, 02:41:10 PM
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Check out this bad boy. Love the F1 looks, but it's pretty twitchy in the vids. How are they going to get this one past SUPAA...
(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o567/mootrail/mistral-m2-flatwater-racer-sup_zps504cf5fd.jpg) (http://s1148.photobucket.com/user/mootrail/media/mistral-m2-flatwater-racer-sup_zps504cf5fd.jpg.html)
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Wow, that's a great looking board.
The SUPAA rule is "No board shall have raised rails greater than 4.92 inches (12.5 cm) as measured from the standing area to the top of the rail." So if you interpret that to mean to the rails that are just to the sides of the standing area, it looks like that might be no problem. But if they'd added a bit of height to the rails alongside the standing area, then it would be illegal. Also illegal if you measure to the top of the rail at the highest point of the rail (which is ??? since where is the top of a curving surface?).
Good thing is that unless it's very light, it won't be expensive, because SUPAA has already determined that it's lightness that makes boards expensive. The complex shape and beautiful finish shouldn't impact the price at all. ;D
I wouldn't worry too much about the SUPAA rules in any regard. Starboard and Naish are making boards that don't meet them. Speedboard and 404 have both just announced new boards that don't even come close to meeting the min. weight limit. And Starboard, Speedboard and 404 are all represented on the SUPAA board or advisory board. So if they're going ahead with boards that are ignoring the rules, I imagine others will also.
I wonder why the nose is that shape?
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Wow, that's a great looking board.
The SUPAA rule is "No board shall have raised rails greater than 4.92 inches (12.5 cm) as measured from the standing area to the top of the rail." So if you interpret that to mean to the rails that are just to the sides of the standing area, it looks like that might be no problem. But if they'd added a bit of height to the rails alongside the standing area, then it would be illegal. Also illegal if you measure to the top of the rail at the highest point of the rail (which is ??? since where is the top of a curving surface?).
Good thing is that unless it's very light, it won't be expensive, because SUPAA has already determined that it's lightness that makes boards expensive. The complex shape and beautiful finish shouldn't impact the price at all. ;D
I wouldn't worry too much about the SUPAA rules in any regard. Starboard and Naish are making boards that don't meet them. Speedboard and 404 have both just announced new boards that don't even come close to meeting the min. weight limit. And Starboard, Speedboard and 404 are all represented on the SUPAA board or advisory board. So if they're going ahead with boards that are ignoring the rules, I imagine others will also.
I wonder why the nose is that shape?
Yeah lets just ignore SUPAA's rules they are irrelevant :)
I reckon that nose is to encourage the water to start moving sideways before the main hull pressure forces it to
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My guess is the nose acts like a ventral fin to aid in tracking. Probably runs a tiny rear fin.
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According to their website, 12-6 version is 18.7 lbs. (vs. SUPAA 19.84 min.) and 14' is 20.5 lbs (vs. 22.05 min.). So both boards are illegal according to SUPAA, for what that's worth. I don't remember seeing Mistral mentioned among the board companies SUPAA said they worked
over with, so Mistral may not even know SUPAA exists. Or Mistral knows but doesn't care, as seems true for several other companies.
Website says nose is for straighter tracking, so juandoe got that right (although what Kaihoe said could be true also). It comes with a pretty standard 9" fin.
Website has some pretty good photography:
http://www.mistral-sup.com/
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This board has been around for about a year in Europe. A pure flat water board and quite tippy. Very beautiful to look at but was not used in many races. More of a "hang it on the wall" type of board. The new open ocean model will be seen more around for sure.
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Any racer who shows up with that board will be considered "armed & dangerous" by SUPAA authorities, and should be arrested immediately!
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I want one.... I want one NOW ;D
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I've got a hollow carbon version demo board in OC and it was paddled by Gail Vento in the Hal Rosoff race in Newport a couple months ago where she finished top 20 overall and was top female finisher by three minutes. We've paddled it offshore and it's not that tippy once you get used to it. The Mistral "Ax Bow" cuts through the water nicely and tracks very well. It is a very cool board.
Mistral has also introduced a new technology for inflatables SUPs that is ultra light and very stiff. I've been paddling the 10'5" X 31" iCross which weighs just 15 lbs. with a fin and would definitely be illegal under the SUPAA rules ::)
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Capo--wow. Looks fast just sitting there. Ironically, that carbon board comes a lot closer to meeting the SUPAA rules than your inflatable. Also according to SUPAA, the 10-5 inflatable must have cost much more than the carbon board, because it's lighter, and that weight difference would also would put anyone on the carbon board at a huge competitive disadvantage.
Of course you could legally race the 10-5 as an unlimited.
I almost wish SUPAA had kept its 1-fin rule, just to see their Board Compliance Officers squirm when they saw that nose.
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"it's not that tippy once you get used to it"
Mistral has also introduced a new technology for inflatables SUPs that is ultra light and very stiff. I've been paddling the 10'5" X 31" iCross which weighs just 15 lbs
I don't believe the "not that tippy":)
Off topic, but more importantly, I'm keen on getting one of the new Mistral iCross iSups. Have you had a chance to try the 12'6" Cruiser? I'd like to get an idea about the speed differential between the 10'5" and the 12'6". Anything else you can share about the series would be appreciated. Any race demo's coming up?
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See, not tippy ;D..but apparently blazing fast!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IkoJHfzaxy8
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I've had limited experience with elite race boards the last couple years but I recall the original M&M 14' (the white one, not the carbon BOP model) as much tippier. Also the 23.5" wide Starboard race model, but the one I paddled was 12'6" which is kind of small for my 190+ lbs.
Nice video of the board in open water - I think that was also a 12'6". The guys at Mistral behind the design are from the Olympic kayak world, and designed it pure flat water racing. I'm bummed the Silver Blade Regatta doesn't have an SUP division this year it would have been interesting to see how it goes.
The iCross stuff really blows me away, and I'm hoping to see more progressive designs with that material for 2015. The 12'6" Cruiser is much faster than the 10'5" and better in open water too, but they're both great boards. In addition to being light & stiff they both pack up about half the size of other iSUPs. I raced it in the surfboard class at a few events this year and it did well against the race boards too.
Keep an eye on the Mistral SUP USA FB for demos or just hit me up in a pm.