Laird 14' LXR

[greatdane]

Some pics of this years production Lairds made by Nidecker, designed by Bob Pearson...

[kayadogg]

is that your board?  do you have contact info for Nidecker?  I've seen Chuck Glynn and Noah Hopper on these boards at local races recently and I really like the shape.  Not much info about where to demo or see them though.  I'm assuming Chuck's boards are customs too, especially his unlimited.

[corlot]

Awesome looking board Beau!! Would love to hear how it paddles. Looks like you guys got hit with the same snow system lol. Most snow I have seen for a while!

[greatdane]

This is my board Kayadogg.  The container just landed last week.  I will use this board until Bob shapes me a custom.  Chuck and Noahs boards are made by Bob, and are narrower than the production.  Chuck runs a pretty narrow board. I did my first 8 miles on this today, and so far, so good.
Let me check about contact info for the boards and I'll PM you.

[greatdane]

Yeah Corlot, and more snow this weekend?! Ugh.

[paddlejones]

Beau,
What is that GPS thingy?
thanks

[pdxmike]

It's always interesting to me to try to follow the shaper's thinking by looking at the board.  Javelin-like nose, but wider tail, so maybe thinking that the extra drag of the wider tail is more than worth it because it gives you more stability, which then allows you to go narrower overall.  Then red for speed...

[greatdane]

PDX; the tail may not be as wide as my pictures make it look... it's 9" at water line.  And unlike my M&M's, the wide point is forward of center, instead of back of center... The Laird seems to have great release and does not throw off much of a wake.  The deck is not very recessed at all.. I probably stand almost 2" above water line, making it feel a bit "corky" at first, but it has bomber secondary stability.  At 27 1/4" wide, I will try this at downwinding in smaller conditions.

PJones; that is a GoPro suction cup mount modified to hold an older model Garmin wrist-style GPS/heartrate gizmo.  Works great.

[Fog City Rider]

Beautiful finish on that board.  My 1st thought was also that it looked Javelin-ish. 

[Tecpartner]

Dane:  How's the stability with the wide part further up front? 

Looks fast.

[greatdane]

Dane:  How's the stability with the wide part further up front? 

Looks fast.

To be totally honest, I haven't had it in any real choppy water yet.  I can only compare it to my carbon M&M on the flat water and it is more stable than that. It also has a bit more volume than the M&M and better secondary stability, which I suspect is mostly due to the laird's flat bottom vs the M&M's rounded bottom. I did notice it's a little less stable when I walk to the back to buoy turn, probably because it's narrower back there than the M&M.
I'll give a report the next time the wind blows.