Author Topic: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?  (Read 34607 times)

photofr

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #90 on: June 08, 2016, 06:20:05 AM »
Before dishing out 3500 euros + 120 for shipping, I spent a lot of time asking people about their feedback on the 2016 Sprint. Turns out, getting any information was lengthy and scarce. I finally found two people who took some time off their busy schedule.

I am just sharing what I have learned: it's very simple.
The 2016 Sprint is more stable than the 2014 model.
The narrow stance found on the 2014 14x23 Sprint is a thing of the past on the 2016 model. The 2016 provides a cutaway standing area, which in turns provides a nice "natural" handle.
Nelo SUP - 14' x 23"
Nelo Surfski 560M - 18'4" x 17"

FloridaWindSUP

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #91 on: June 08, 2016, 06:30:31 AM »
I have a 14x22 Riviera that gives me a slight flatwater speed advantage (~0.1 kph) over my 14x23.75, despite the 22 being non-carbon and a couple pounds heavier.

Another local racer who I used to beat by about 30 seconds in our 5k time trials when he was on a 14x25 Boga closed most of that gap by going to a 14x23 Hovie custom. Now he has gone even further to a 14x21.5 ultra-light Hovie custom. In the most recent time trial he beat me by 30 seconds, averaging 9.5 kph for 6 km. Yikes! His board is 17 lbs and eggshell thin, though. I'd be nervous to own it (and broke).

I took my 14x22 to an 8.5 km race in the ocean last weekend, where there were breaking waves and some light onshore winds creating small chop. I struggled a bit and started falling at the end of the race, and placed exactly the same (6th) as I did in the same race last year when I was on a 14x27 Fanatic Falcon. I'm not sure how much was the board and how much was just my lack of prep for the conditions, but it seems that I found my own "limit" for how narrow was still beneficial to go. I hope I can make the board work better in rough water after more time on it, but for now I'm probably better choosing at least the 23.75" wide for rougher stuff.

http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2016/06/sup-race-report-fl-state-paddleboard.html

Racing seems to be doing well here in Florida regardless of the equipment arms race. Local races, sup clubs, etc. are providing a way for people to get into the sport without having to buy the fancy stuff right away.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2016, 07:19:08 AM by FloridaWindSUP »
14x23 Riviera RP
14x27.25 Fanatic Falcon
11'8 Exocet WindSUP
10'4 Angulo WindSUP
...and a bunch of windsurf stuff

ukgm

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #92 on: June 08, 2016, 06:54:32 AM »
Before dishing out 3500 euros + 120 for shipping, I spent a lot of time asking people about their feedback on the 2016 Sprint. Turns out, getting any information was lengthy and scarce. I finally found two people who took some time off their busy schedule.

I am just sharing what I have learned: it's very simple.
The 2016 Sprint is more stable than the 2014 model.
The narrow stance found on the 2014 14x23 Sprint is a thing of the past on the 2016 model. The 2016 provides a cutaway standing area, which in turns provides a nice "natural" handle.

Yep, I beat Starboard to the punch on that one - here is my board here with its custom cut outs last year: https://www.supboardermag.com/2015/10/02/marginal-gains-sup-race-board-modifications/

p.s. which width are you saying from 2016 is more stable than the 2014 as the widths were different (2014= 28, 26 and 24, 2016= 23).


photofr

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #93 on: June 08, 2016, 07:53:10 AM »
I find the 2016 Sprint more stable than the 2014 Sprint at 24".

Love your thinking outside the box UK, and the modifs you made to the board.
Nelo SUP - 14' x 23"
Nelo Surfski 560M - 18'4" x 17"

mr_proper

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #94 on: June 08, 2016, 08:30:06 AM »
For me the sprint 14x23 was only stable in flat water. During a race I did a lot of swimming ;)
So I switched to a 14x25 Sidewinder and I'm happy. 19km race, 10 km race and 8 km downbreezer with no falling.
21.5 Sprint I can't imagine with my 6.3 and 202lbs ;)
SIC RS 14x23, 2018
SIC RS 14x26, 2018
Lightcorp Signature Race 14x24.75, 2018 (sold)
JP Australia AdventurAir 12x36, 2017
Starboard Allstar 14x24.5, 2017 (sold)
SIC Bullet 14x27.25 TWC, 2015
Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder 14x25, 2016 (sold)
Sprint 14x23, 2015 (sold)
JL Stiletto 14x28, 2014 (sold)

pdxmike

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #95 on: June 08, 2016, 10:33:59 AM »
Yes, it is almost three years to the day when Jim Terrell wrote his influential article on the future of SUPS racing:

http://www.supracer.com/the-death-and-rebirth-of-sup-racing/

It seems to me that pretty much everything he predicted is slowly happening. I have no reason to think that the final outcome that he warns about won't happen too.


Jim was spot on.

Here was my own article I wrote on the subject on Supracer and (aside from the 4 metre class proposal) agree with Jim wholesale.

http://www.supracer.com/the-board-class-debate-again/

SUP's beauty (in fact the whole reason I tried and left surfskiing and moved to SUP) was that its accessibility and gentle learning curve would mean racing would eventually be well attended. Boards this narrow will kill that off.
ukgm--I thought Jim Terrell had lots of good points, but disagreed with others, and didn't like his solution.  So I was prepared to dislike your article.  Instead, I thought it was quite good.  Your board modification article was interesting, also.  It's one thing to think about ways to improve a board.  It's another to follow through and hack into it.

yugi

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #96 on: June 08, 2016, 12:41:55 PM »
...

What happened to ICF kayaking when the dropped the width restriction? The boats got faster and more stable and stopped looking stupid, but there was not an exodus of people leaving the sport.

...

If you only knew how reglemented bicycles are...

6.3 kg min and the shape (hey! even the brakes - hot topic these days)

Recuminant and all other kinds of steeds could be much much faster etc etc. But, hey, there is something practical about the bike in its current form (same same since 100 years)

zachhandler

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #97 on: June 08, 2016, 06:27:29 PM »
Nice article Area10.

A quibble here. While i understand the argument about unlimited racing giving advantage to wealthiest teams and racers, that is only a threat in sports where there is great wealth and complex technology, such as cycling and ocean sailboat racing. In paddle sports there is neither wealth nor is there complicated technology. Take surfski for example. The top racers compete on skis that you or i could buy at a store tomorrow. And there is no price difference between fast tippy boats and slow stable boats. Practically, there is a point at which making a vessel longer and narrower yields no further benefit, and going beyond this actually makes things slower. In surfski this is 21' long and 17" wide. Any manufacturer is free to go longer or narrower but they dont as the skis get slower. Rowing is also unrestricted, and for the same reason all shells are pretty much the same dinension. I suspect unlimited SUP would follow in that mold with board lengths and withs finding an optimum near 17'x22". There would be a value in the simplicity and unfettered "purity" of such an unlimited approach I feel.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2016, 06:30:13 PM by zachhandler »

PonoBill

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #98 on: June 08, 2016, 07:41:48 PM »
Of course no one really knows what's going on with racing, whatever folks say is just a SWAG based on their own experience and prehaps a few things they've read. I'm just talking about guesses and what I've experienced. One thing I've never seen is board envy. The notion that if only somehad the board that lucky bastard has, why they'd be much faster. People paddle what they have, and whatever they choose to.

For the most part, people buy whatever race board they feel the comfortable on, or whatever is cool when they happen to buy a board. And then they keep it for a relatively long time. Issues of "latest, greatest" only come up when they're considering a new board. I've never seen the kind of yearly equipment tradeout that I've seen with windsurfing and kitesurfing, which is kind of strange, because the so-called "expensive" SUP boards cost a fraction of what I've seen ordinary kite and wind surfers spending.

Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

pdxmike

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #99 on: June 08, 2016, 09:50:24 PM »
For the most part, people buy whatever race board they feel the comfortable on, or whatever is cool when they happen to buy a board. And then they keep it for a relatively long time. Issues of "latest, greatest" only come up when they're considering a new board. I've never seen the kind of yearly equipment tradeout that I've seen with windsurfing and kitesurfing, which is kind of strange, because the so-called "expensive" SUP boards cost a fraction of what I've seen ordinary kite and wind surfers spending.
That sounds very accurate.  When Jim Terrell pushed for a new board class, he dismissed the issue of 12-6 and 14' boards being made obsolete by saying race boards become obsolete in two years anyway.   Could be true for the elite racers, but not the majority.  His statement showed a disconnect with the typical racer.  Most people I know race on boards older than that.  In fact, many race on used boards that were two or more years old when they first got them.

ukgm

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #100 on: June 09, 2016, 12:17:56 AM »
For the most part, people buy whatever race board they feel the comfortable on, or whatever is cool when they happen to buy a board. And then they keep it for a relatively long time. Issues of "latest, greatest" only come up when they're considering a new board. I've never seen the kind of yearly equipment tradeout that I've seen with windsurfing and kitesurfing, which is kind of strange, because the so-called "expensive" SUP boards cost a fraction of what I've seen ordinary kite and wind surfers spending.
That sounds very accurate.  When Jim Terrell pushed for a new board class, he dismissed the issue of 12-6 and 14' boards being made obsolete by saying race boards become obsolete in two years anyway.   Could be true for the elite racers, but not the majority.  His statement showed a disconnect with the typical racer.  Most people I know race on boards older than that.  In fact, many race on used boards that were two or more years old when they first got them.

Yep, I agree with this. You'd have an already weak secondhand market saturated with a race board that would have no market to sell to.

ukgm

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #101 on: June 09, 2016, 12:19:59 AM »
...

What happened to ICF kayaking when the dropped the width restriction? The boats got faster and more stable and stopped looking stupid, but there was not an exodus of people leaving the sport.

...

If you only knew how reglemented bicycles are...

6.3 kg min and the shape (hey! even the brakes - hot topic these days)

Recuminant and all other kinds of steeds could be much much faster etc etc. But, hey, there is something practical about the bike in its current form (same same since 100 years)

6.8 and a absolute nightmare of a governing body that doesn't know how to apply its own rules (or write them properly). Don't even get me started on those guys - I've been on the wrong side of dubious calls there more than once.....

yugi

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #102 on: June 09, 2016, 12:31:54 PM »
^^ they forgot to write "no motors"?

Argosi

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Re: New 21" wide Starboard Sprint?
« Reply #103 on: July 13, 2016, 11:26:55 AM »
Before dishing out 3500 euros + 120 for shipping, I spent a lot of time asking people about their feedback on the 2016 Sprint. Turns out, getting any information was lengthy and scarce. I finally found two people who took some time off their busy schedule.

I am just sharing what I have learned: it's very simple.
The 2016 Sprint is more stable than the 2014 model.
The narrow stance found on the 2014 14x23 Sprint is a thing of the past on the 2016 model. The 2016 provides a cutaway standing area, which in turns provides a nice "natural" handle.

Yep, I beat Starboard to the punch on that one - here is my board here with its custom cut outs last year: https://www.supboardermag.com/2015/10/02/marginal-gains-sup-race-board-modifications/

p.s. which width are you saying from 2016 is more stable than the 2014 as the widths were different (2014= 28, 26 and 24, 2016= 23).

He may have been inspired by you - UK racer Pete Holliday made even more extensive modifications to the Starboard Sprint. In addition to cutting out the sides in the standing area, he also cut out the sides nearer the tail to give his back foot more room when stepping back on buoy turns.  The rear cutouts seem like a great idea as buoy turns were weak area for the Sprint. He also cut out some of the raised deck just in front of the standing area. Here's a good video of the modifications:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz66nz5P94o

 


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