Hi, I'm interested in doing the doctor coming up and wondering what u would suggest is the better board for me. I'm 65kg. the nose of the smaller seems to look a bit more flatwaterish to me. Any help would be great. Cheers.
Hi Marcus,
The 12'6" (Narrow) Fanatic and 14' Fanatic Carbon racers are two very different beasts. At just 65 kg, I'd say the 12'6 would be better for you but would be a bit more unstable than the 14. If you spend most of the time swimming, you won't be very fast. The wide 12'6" may be an option depending upon your balance, skill and experience.
surf4fun is doing it on the 12'6" narrow and I'm doing it on the 14. body weight plays a big part in it as does balance. Being light and having a lower CG you have an advantage over bigger riders when considering this board.
You are welcome to come on down and demo all three race boards with us if you like.
DM
Hi marcus,
I was in the same predicament a few months ago.
Im 80kg and do predominately downwind races.
I found the 12'6 X 27 to be far better allrounder.
If your doing big long downwinders, go the 14ft downwinder if you want to do a bit of everything (well) go the 12'6.
The unbalance problem will be over come quickly.
(the fanatic 12'6 X 30 is miuch slower then the 12'6 X 27 carbon)
as always tho.
try as many as you can.
Hi Marcus,
I have all three of the Fanatic boards mentioned, for you Id chose the narrow 12,6 carbon.
For your weight and size, it would be a fantastic race, surf and fitness board. Id aim to get on it early so the balance isnt a issue. But to agree with the previous post the wide 12,6 would be a bit slower, but it does give the benefit of better stability.
The 14 is a great down winder but could be a handful for round the cans and surf stuff, compared to the narrow 12,6 carbon Fanatic.
Cheers and good luck at the Doc
if you look at the test the vic guys did on the 12'6" boards there isn't really alot between the fanatic 12'6" x 27" or the X 30", if you don't have to worry about falling in you may be able to paddle a bit faster, their results show the 27" to be 17 seconds faster after 20 minutes of paddling, might worry you if you were up the front, but not if you are only middle of the road.
just on the fanatic 12'6 carbon race.
did a downwinder last night in a solid 30+ knots, with shoulder high runners
a mate was on another, very popular model 14fter.
The fanatic flew ahead.
he then had a paddle on my board and was blown away buy its speed and versatility.
(he's getting one now"
we both weigh 78kg +.
easy choice
Looks like you made the right choice head down for a run with the guys from stand up paddle Sunday port to swanie
Like DM said I have just got the 12'6 narrow as an all round board. For me at just over 70kg the 14 is too much board. Don't get me wrong it flies in DW'ers but when I paddle it on the flat the boys were saying the other day that I had over an inch of both tail and nose out of the water which isn't getting the most out of the board.
In the BOP race we had the other week I was on the 12'6 and Darren was on the 14, over the flat we were keeping the same pace but around the bouys I would put a board or two length on him.
I have also had the 12'6 out on a couple of DW's and after the initial inevitable falls I was away. I have stepped down from a 14 and one thing I like about the 12'6 is the 'sweet' spot of the board is smaller and therefore you don't have to run around on the board as much. This helps when doing long runs as the first thing I find goes when I am starting to fatigue is my footwork.
If anyone is looking for a large stocking filler this Christmas - I'm selling my beloved Fanatic 12'6 x 30.5 to fund another project.
PM me if intersted - will put in buy and sell tonight with photo.
Merry Christmas
Gooch
Not many people talking about other boards like the Starboard 12.6 and Naish Glide etc. Why is this? Is there such a big gap between them?
The SB 12.6 looks like it has a great shape and is only 25.5 wide.
Any comments on these boards as opposed to the Fanatic?