Jimmy Lewis M-14 in the Gorge?

[Dusk Patrol]

Does anyone have any experience downwinding an M-14 in the Gorge?

Or talked with someone who has?

[iDownwind]

I'm surprised no one has replied to this. I would think there are some M14's out there. It's a beautiful board.

[Dusk Patrol]

Thanks for refreshing this.

I think because JL doesn’t have much presence in the area, it could be a tall order to find someone with M14 experience in the Gorge.

I know Zoner Eagle likes his when conditions get bigger on Howe Sound, but I don’t know how those conditions compare to typical Gorge conditions.

I’m curious about this because I have access to an M14, but would need to ship it quite a distance, and am assessing the pros and cons!

[dk78]

I haven’t paddled the M-14 in the Gorge but I have done many runs in Greece almost in every downwind condition. Comparing to Rail it is a bit slower in smaller bumps but generally goes very well. And as the wind picks up it goes better and better. I have seen footage from the Gorge and I believe that this board would fly in these bumps. If I could afford many boards it would have a place in my quiver for sure. Here is a small video from a run some time ago. Hope this helps.

[Dusk Patrol]

Thanks!  Good info AND cool video. Those glides are inspiring!

[Area 10]

Hard to beat a full-on rockered DW board for fun when downwinding. The focus these days is so much about speed at any cost that people have forgotten I think that unless you are racing, speed is hardly important - the pleasure of downwind surfing and feeling in control is much more important. I own many DW boards of all kinds of designs and DW in windy short-period stiff and the one I get most fun out of is a low volume 16ft board that has more rocker than anything you can find in a production board.

The M14 is a bit like the Bullet V1, and very different from the Bullet V2. It’s a good board. Surfs well too. When the wind is 25knots+ you’d almost certainly find it much more fun to DW than any of your current boards.

[Eagle]

Yeah for small DW the V2 rips.  Medium the V1 rips.  Big the M14 rips.  Each rides completely different and would have one of each if we had the space.  The V1 in the old carbon build was the best overall because it allowed one to dip the nose down a wave and it would jump on to a plane super easy.  Mega fun board that V1.  The M14 surfs the best and is the most stable out of those by far.

Edit:  Interestingly my board was brought up to Canada by the previous owner and still has a Gorge Performance sticker stuck on. 

[Area 10]

Yeah. I have owned both Bullets V1 and V2 and also the M14. I now own only the Bullet V1 (SCC, fixed fin, which is the one to have).

My DW conditions are about as far away from a Maliko as you can get. Except the wind is also very strong (25-40 knots is not at all uncommon here).

All these boards have a bit too much volume to be ideal for round here, which is super-rippy and confused. Any hint of corkyness get punished big time. But a friend of mine who has paddled a lot of boards and is a talented downwinder tried the Bullet V1 and said that it was probably the best production DW board for windy short period conditions he’d tried (and I agree).

The M14 surfs better though. Surfing the M14 is a hoot, up to head high.

Btw all these boards would be better with a 2+1 fin setup... but that’s another story.

[Dusk Patrol]

Thanks for all the feedback.
This is all because I have that ‘de-quivering’ urge. Maybe refining is the better term, ‘cause, ironically, it involves acquiring new boards. Big I AM selling those that are to be replaced.  (Anyone want to buy a carbon szndwich 25” Allstar ?

Goal is to have a great utility flat water board, and a great downwind board. I agree about how fun a rockered downwind board can be. I had an SCC V1 and sold it. And almost immediately regretted selling. It felt like a mountain bike, like It could handle whatever conditions came its way. I’m still keeping an eye out for a good specimen to come on the market. That’s also what this M14 is... a V1 alternative. Kinda.