Surftech Bark Dominator 14'

[greatdane]

Got the new Surftech Dominator today & took it out for an hour on dead flat water... what a rocket compared to the 12'6" Competitor.  It is Surftech's light weight design and the board weighed in at 24 pounds w/o fin.  That's 6-7 pounds lighter than the 12'6" Competitor from last year.
Still a square tail, but they brought it in a little, not as broad as the Competitor.  They also thinned-out the rear end a little, not as thick in the last couple of feet.  There is a hand hole now for carrying, but still comes with the option for the webbing handle, which I like, because I attach my coil race leash up front where I'm standing, not 7 feet behind me.  It comes with a very nice Fibre Glas Fin Co. race fin designed by Larry Allison.

The board is a bit more flexy than I imagined... I'm guessing the custom Barks with carbon are a lot stiffer... my 18' sure was.  No biggie though. On the flat water it felt so fast compared to the 12'6"  and nice and quiet as it cuts through the water.  Has a bit more tip in initial stability, but rock solid secondary stability.  Can't wait to try it in some bumps with the wind at my back.  I do wish they had changed the paint scheme a bit.  From across the garage, it's hard to tell the 12'6" & the 14' apart.

Sorry for the meager pics... I'll get more someday... outside.

[bing]

Thanks for the write up on the Bark 14.  I look forward to hearing more.  Especially how it handles the Puget Sound chop and downwind conditions.   Is it any faster than your 18 footer ?  I just ordered a Bark 14 and will be getting it next week. Can't wait.

[Seattle-Wind]

Thanks for posting, the board looks awesome! Looking forward to hearing what you think of it in downwind conditions. Soon they'll be 3 of the Dominator's roaming the Puget Sound waters...i'm trading in my Glide for one next month  to bad it only comes in one paint scheme

[greatdane]

Bing, I don't think it is any faster than my old 18.  But it may be as fast or very close.  I suspect it will go better downwind, if it is anything like it's 12'6" brother.  I never got comfortable going downwind on the 18 Bark...

[pdxmike]

  I do wish they had changed the paint scheme a bit.  From across the garage, it's hard to tell the 12'6" & the 14' apart.

My sympathies.   

[Tecpartner]

What's the width on the Surftech Bark Dominator 14'?  Is it 27 3/4?

How far in does the secondary stability kick in?

I'm lusting.....

[greatdane]

27 1/2" wide... at least with my tape measure.  Secondary stability kicks in fast, the top of the rail gets just about to water line and then stops, if that makes sense.  Gonna get on it again later today, but it's dead calm up here today... so maybe some boat wakes?

[Seattle-Wind]

but it's dead calm up here today... so maybe some boat wakes?

I want to hear how it glides and catches boat/yacht wakes...they're all I got here on Lake Washington 

[donledford]

Make that one more Dominator in the Sound. I just got mine wet yesterday.

Here's my initial impression:

Stability - the Dominator is 27.5" wide and I'd read that some people
were finding it tippy.  At 200 lbs I was a little nervous, but found it
very stable; probably more stable than my JL Slice. I think most
experienced SUP'ers will not think it's at all tippy.

Speed - wow - My Garmin GPS ran out of battery and I didn't get much
data, but my impression is this will be significantly faster than the
Slice. I was pushing into a choppy North wind and hitting 5 mph; turning
downwind I was hitting 6 mph.  I don't expect to average 5 mph over
several miles, but it felt fast.  We'll try to get some good data later.

Directional tracking - I could paddle quite a while on one side without
drifting too far off track.  On the downside - the Dominator isn't very
maneuverable.

Wave catching - I picked up a few boat wakes and found the Dominator
easily catches even little stuff.  I'll need to work at weighting the
tail to turn it, but its basic wave catching ability is very good.

More later, but so far it's matching or exceeding my expectations.

- Don

[greatdane]

Hey Don, do you notice the flex in the Dominator? 

[Mitchell]

Oh man that looks sick gets me pumped for the season.

Been out on the OC instead of my SUP board lately gonna get on the water once the weather warms up a bit more.

[bing]

I have a Lahui Kai 12 6 for very flat water (super tippy), C4 Vortice for downwinding and a Surftech Coastal Runner 14 for titanic runs (super stable).  Hoping the Bark will be my primary board for flat water/downwinding/chop/racing, etc..... 

Great Dane - the flex concerns me.  I am 185 lbs.

I will also be getting a new Werner Fuse paddle.   

[donledford]

Yes - I did notice some flex, but this is the first 14' I've paddled so I don't have a good comparison.  My JL Slice was like a chunk of iron - no surprise, 5 lbs heavier, 18" shorter, and much rounder. I didn't do any "step on the tail" turns and the chop was small so I didn't stress it much. After reading your post my sensitivity to flex will be upped for the next session.

Bruce just got a Competitor and we plan to do some side by side testing. Since he's 50 pounds lighter we should be able to put together an interesting matrix.  Aside, of course, for differences in paddles, strokes, and skill

[paddlejones]

Speaking of flex on a 14'... Ive got a Ron House 14' just glassed clear, no carbon,
Made last sept for me. It looks like the distressed mullett one but with a square tail, He said without the carbon its kind of noodley.
Initially the board is great, fast, awesome... but if i just stand there and kind of bounce it flexes alot. But just paddleing slow or even all out fast i don't notice the flex at all. I've been over thinking it since  i havnt paddled much over the winter.
maybe to have it glassed over in carbon. but i am overthinking it. It works just fine.
GD i know you have a 14' proto glassed no carbon any thoughts?

BTW... bing you will love that werner fuse.

I am sure that Joe bark wanted to get that surftech board as light and fast as possiable.

[greatdane]

I'm not too concerned about the flex and I know that anything Joe puts his name on will be bomber.  My old glassed 14' prototype had a much different design, much like a Ron House with thick rails all the way back, so not much flex.  The Bark 14 is quite flat in the rear half so I'm sure that is what is flexing.  And I only notice the flex when I hop up and down or walk around, most the time it's not noticeable.  My Bark 18 was very stiff, as it was half carbon and had a thick "spine" that ran down the entire center of the board.

I put anothe 90 minutes on it yesterday on flat water and I really am liking it... I could see if a guy weighed 250, it might not be enough volume IMO, but at 190, it's great for me.