Yesterday I was out paddling and bumped into an old windsurfing mate who was demoing a new Starboard 12'6" inflatable that I had never seen before.. We swapped boards and I was first impressed with how light this board is to carry.. and even more surprised at how well it paddled.. It was stiff, fast and stable.. I thought the nose was a bit odd looking at first and I have not seen the new Naish 12'6" inflatable but I think the nose is different on it. It will be interesting to compare the two.. I was very impressed with this Starboard and I took some pictures.
DJ
hmmm been eyeing this one off at my friendly starboard dealer, yep it's crazy light, I'm real curious to try one in the water.
Ok Stu, permission to come and christen another board.
Come and grab it. I'd like your critique on it.
Inflatables sups sure have come a long way since my old uli that I had maybe 4 years ago now. That was a heavy beast.
That one almost looks like a real board.
You say it's light.... What exactly does it weigh?
I just got my Astro Touring and it's a lot of fun. The board weights 22 lbs; very light. Chop and boat wake are no problem. No wobble, it just flexes nicely over and easier then a hardboard. For flatwater touring and traveling, this board will be awesome.
Here are some pics of another Starboard inflatable. It's a 12'6" x 26" raceboard prototype the Starboard Team raced on at the BOP.
Bart De Zwart let me pick one up and this board is super light. He told me he got 20th on the inflatable in his heat (the results show him 16th). The French team rider Sene also rode one in his heat and the Finals and a 14' inflatable prototype in the Distance race. More info on the Inflatable thread on the 'Zone'.
These long inflatable SUPs beg two questions:
Are they ok to surf on, like using a hard SUP raceboard for surfing tiddlers?
What are the options for carrying one on roof racks?
Inflatable would be good for storage and travel, but on a road trip with a heap of hard boards on the roof you might as well chuck the inflatable SUP on the roof too. Can you carry it inflated on the roof with straps around the middle? Fold it long and flat and carry it in a standard length board bag?
BTW The puppy dog's nose look is kind of cute.
at the level they are at and going they might just be that easier to use in rough conditions. i'm wondering if that flex would absorb some of the short chop.
you would surely have to use a pfd for ocean paddling
I was amazed how well they paddle I did 10km exploring around Rotto a few weeks ago it was a lot of fun. Amazingly fast for an inflatable.
Adam borrow the demo board some time and find out for yourself. Its pretty stable.
There should be one in the rental fleet at Pelican Point when it opens up again next week end, so another option to try one
When its inflated just treat it as a normal board when sticking it on roof racks. On long trips or when super hot it is probably worth dropping a few PSI, but generally I leave them fully inflated. As with any kind of inflatable it is best to store them out of UV or they will deteriorate.
Cheers,
Ian
