Author Topic: New unlimited designs  (Read 6448 times)

stoneaxe

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Re: New unlimited designs
« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2017, 09:39:48 AM »
I think TD is both right and wrong.......shipping (and other concerns due to size, storage, etc) are significant deterrents to unlimiteds being widely adopted. But i agree on the birth of the 14' class.....I believe it exists because of the Starboard K15.
It's kind of interesting that dugouts are now in vogue.....wasn't the K15 also the 1st dugout SUP? I've always thought that if I was 100 lbs lighter chopping a foot off the tail of a K15 would have made a great 14' racer (somebody on here actually did that 4 or 5 years ago) but I demoed one when they were new....amazing that a board can still be pretty fast when it is almost completely submerged..... ;)
« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 09:58:51 AM by stoneaxe »
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

TallDude

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Re: New unlimited designs
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2017, 09:57:15 AM »
Not really. The 14' class was born when Naish dictated 14' for their racing series. Everyone else copied that.

Why did Naish dictate a 14' for their racing series and not a 14'6 or 15'? What was their motivation to pick 14'?
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

stoneaxe

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Re: New unlimited designs
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2017, 10:00:15 AM »
Not really. The 14' class was born when Naish dictated 14' for their racing series. Everyone else copied that.

Why did Naish dictate a 14' for their racing series and not a 14'6 or 15'? What was their motivation to pick 14'?
As above...the motivation was the Starboard K15......Naish didn't have a board that could keep up with it when it came out.

I also found the old thread where Stylo cut off the tail....appropriately titled "Any production board faster than a K15 in flat water?"
https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,18104.msg172811.html#msg172811

The 12-6 class was the opposite....created to be inclusive. If I remember correctly the BOP was originally going to be a 12' class but they made it 12-6 so that the very popular (at the time) Laird 12-1, Starboard 12-6 and others just slightly longer than 12' could be included.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 10:23:44 AM by stoneaxe »
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

PonoBill

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Re: New unlimited designs
« Reply #18 on: September 13, 2017, 05:06:49 PM »
Nope, 12'6" started at the BOP, when Gerry and Sparky wanted elite padders to come in and out of the surf, like the lifeguard races. That's also why there's a run. They copied Naish for the open class and established 12'6" as the elite class. That didn't stick in some ways, but the effect is still out there echoing around. You're right about why they chose 12'6"--they wanted to force a limit but they wanted to include all the popular shorter boards.

It's odd how people mix cause and effect. I hear shop owners say 14' is great because unlimiteds don't sell. Maybe that's because you generally can't race them? Or if you do, it's you and, well, no one else.

Why aren't there 15-foot boards? Don't even think about a lot bigger, just something that might fit another 40 percent of the population. Or something that isn't just 10 percent bigger than a 12'6".

It's always been arbitrary nonsense, but it's pretty deeply embedded. If I were going to organize a race I'd explicitly say "no board classes". That's all it would take to make it go away--for every organizer to say "enough of this silly shit". There's no sanctioning body with enough clout to force a pissing match at a keg party. But I'm not going to, and they're not going to. Instead, the niche group of people who are actually suited for 14 will just dink around at it until the racing side of SUP evaporates. That's ok, I still have my Rollerblades.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2017, 05:08:41 PM by PonoBill »
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.

 


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