More testing to come but so far I'm impressed. Seems to have the flat water speed and ability to pick up lifts and runs as my precious Ace but with the bonus of being able to move freely about the deck.
Going to be some amazing skinny little boards on the water this year with new Ace, All Star and of course the Fanatics. Many more I'm sure can be listed but not on the skinny end of the spectrum.
Which will be fastest? I don't know but probably with a bit of luck the best paddler will still win. Choice might come done to versatility.
Sam.
Sam, This board seemed surprisingly stable for a 23" when I paddled it on the weekend. It really slid through the water. What a year for choice. Thanks for the demo ...and the use of your Ace in the race.
I think in needs a winged keel 
That thing looks fast for a capable pilot ... I've really got to get my skills up, I want something like that one day.
yep their all getting skinny.
we had bop training last saturday in some really rough onshore close period chop past the rocks at the alley.
except for the 'gun paddlers' most of us started seeing a guy on a 'old naish glide' get more in front as the session went on.
choose wisely, most races are held later in the day, not in morning glass
These things look unreal in the flesh. This one arrivred today, if you're on the Goldie drop in for a peek.
Had my first downwinder on the Jav LE 14 yesterday arvo. I only had the Go Pro on for the first run but in the second and third run I started to move around the board more and got rewarded. Not surprisingly she's different to the Ace and both are very fast boards. Will hopefully get some proper back to back testing done soon.
Sam.
How's the new board go paddling upwind Sam? Reckon with it being light, thin and the nose shape it would go alright compared to other boards.
Seemed to be pretty happy punching through the water - the nose submerged and didn't slow down at all.
Thanks Sam, an LE showed up down here yesterday arvo at RPS so may be able to snag a paddle sometime soon when Warwick takes his eye off it
Jumped on it briefly today. As Sam hinted, head-to-head versus the Ace, it is very fast in the flatter conditions and especially into the wind and cross chop, but with the least amount of wave action coming from the rear, the Ace managed to regain the upper hand. It's damn quick off the line though.
Apart from the obvious colour, construction and cost, what is the difference between this LE Javelin and say the 2010 white Javelin. Is it a new design, tweaked or just a re-make?
It heard it has DNA from the 2012 Glide and the original Javelin mixed into a very narrow 23 3/8 shape which is supposed to excel in both flat and downwind.
Very keen to hear what would be the upper rider weight limit. They say 85kg - have any heavier riders been able ride it?
Also keen to see if this board will be competitive against dedicated downwind and flatwater boards. Fanatic is going the same route with a "hybrid" one-does-all shape.
Starboard seem to be sticking with dedicated boards with perhaps the All Star being the "hybrid".
Kai Lenny's been quick on this thing - imagine what damage the 18' could do - even on a flat course?
It will be at least another month before we see the 14's here in SA........
The little 70kg egg beater was flying along on it on dawn patrol this morning, in the relative shelter of Beaumaris bay. He was a speck in the distance in no time. Tried to get on his wash early on but there wasn't any...
I have read what I can online...here, SUZ, Naish site, and google.
What is so different about the LE from the MC OTHER THAN width,volume,fragility and price?
Do they have different rockers?
Is the LE way lighter?
Can anyone compare these to the Falcon or the 2013 Starboards?...which you would go with and why.
Thanks!!
The LE rocker is different to the Jav - LE has more lift in nose which allows it to go downwind in stronger winds than the Jav.
Weight is similar to MC but because it is not hollow-core it will be more fragile. (Hollow means less foam more glass/carbon ie stronger at same weight)
Rails are harder in tail on LE - helps with stability and release on runners.
Our pricing will have LE at a little less than MC.
I've only had a cursory look over this puppy, but I have to say that it looks to have been designed by a bunch of scientists in lab coats - whereas everything else from Naish could have been hand shaped by a craftsman in a beach shack.
This is not a negative !
It's just that this thing looks extremely technical - right down to the perculiar nose. Wish they made one for fat fellas like me 
I'm with you on the fat boy option Ken. Seems I will have to lose about 10kg if I want to paddle the fast stuff 
Or we could just feed Kai up on KFC and Maccas when he gets to OZ...
hmmmm not so sure - we only have the MC here at this point, LE coming Dec so we will only be able to test then. The LE is narrower but because of the pulled up nose it loses some waterline length which is crucial for flatwater speed.
In pure flat I reckon the MC is still fastest, we'll see........
The LE is a lot more stable the width let's on. A subtle single concave on the bottom running from about 80cm from the tail through to about 1.3m from the nose gives the board a very solid footing on the water. The much harder release in the tail of the board, the very full rails and now standard Naish subtle deck recess and you have something you can stand on.
Compared to the MC at rest I think stability is about the same but once moving and particularly once downwinding the stability and ease of use is higher. Just step back a little and she's fast and relatively easy to manage.
On the flats she feels faster the MC. No solid testing yet so nothing conclusive but with a GPS on doing a run each way I got numbers that I don't think I could have got with the MC or wider JAV.
Don't get me wrong, this board like the skinny Ace won't be everyone's cup of tea but if you get a chance to paddle it, do it as it'll probably surprise you.
Sam.
wow, looks impressive. I don't paddle downwind/BOP or distance of any sort, but this outsider is wondering if there will be a time when the winner will be the guy with the best balance and reasonable technique, vs best paddler?
I guess it could be argued balance is a component of SUP racing and to be the best all-round paddler you also need to have great balance. Hmm.
I just hope it all doesn't go the way windsurfing went, becomes too technical, and builds a requirement to have a massive quiver of boards to remain competitive in every given situation, which alienates a large number of participants.
I paddled the MC the other day at training and at 73kg don't think I was doing the board justice. It was commented as soon as I was on the board that it looked like I was a long way back, when in fact I was just in front of the handle. It had plenty of glide, liked going in a straight line (didn't like the side wind much) and felt reasonably stable after half an hour or so of paddling.
I think I would like to see someone apprx 85kg on the MC as I think they would initiate the nose a bit more and therefore maximising the design of the board in the flat water.
Surf4fun - I'm 85kg and ride the MC/Jav. We have lighter guys riding it as well 65kg, 70-75kg, you are never too light for the board, you just have to move forward until the nose just engages. If the water starts going over the nose you are too far forward.
Wrt the boards going too narrow - I'd also caution against the trend to some degree as what we're experiencing is the need to go narrower increasingly favours smaller riders to a point where the competition scene is at danger of becoming a teenage-feast.
Case in point is last weekends Stand Up World Series in Hawaii - not sure if anyone over the age of 20 made the top 10? BOP, I think, had 6 teenagers in top 10 and it's only going to get worse as more kids get into the sport.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the kids competing, its great for the sport, but if their 20th birthday means their careers are over (like gymnasts) then it's too specialised.
The solution is a couple of quite simple rules - minimum width and minimum 14ft.
