this review was done over multiple sessions with the 11'2 up at Gnaraloo (head to waist high day) as well as some fun waist to shoulder sucky scarbs waves and a magic little session out at Dutch inn - the reef to the south of the groing - a great litlte waist to shoulder high right hander purpose built for Stand Up!
To give some perspective I am comparing the 11'2 to the Starboard 12'6 and naish 11'6 - which both surf pretty well - especially for such big , easy to use boards-i'd say close to on par with each other for different reasons.
While both of the larger boards above are predictable and provide a great trimming experience in the surf i found the Starboard to offer better flat water paddling glide with its smoother rocker - The naish had a slight stability advantage due to the fatter rails. As i said before - both are great all round SUPs - especially when you factor flatwater and new riders into the equation.
With its 30 inch width -The 11'2 wasnt alot different to the 12'6 in the standing Stability department. Even the Starboard 9'8 and 9'0 (available in future - review coming soon) hold a 30 inch width - 30 seems to be the magic number!
the 11'2 -due to its shorter length -had a bit less "glide" than the 12'6 Starboard - but still fared better than the heavily rockered naish 11'6.
Paddling you definitely need to switch sides more often as the board has less directional stability - no doubt due to its shorter waterline.
Picking up waves was a cynch - once onto them the 11'2 was definitley in another league to anything i have ridden for surfability - you could really feel the bottom and top turn rails intiating and transitoning from one to another. you can actually "pump" the 11'2 down the line- just like my old trusty 6'4- to gain more speed.
To give you an idea of how surfable the 11'2 is- you will be Looking for the breaking section to reo or floater it. And it lands em pretty easily - so your confidence grows pretty quickly!
All up i can see the 11'2 being a definite best seller as it maintains most of the flat water paddle -ability of the 12'6 while delivering surf ability in Spades!
I would probably prefer the 12'6 if i lived in an area with smaller waves and more flat water paddling. Or if i were 100kg
But if Surf starts to become more than 50% of the equation i would say go with the 11'2!
We have been targeting some skilled longboard surfers to get some real feedback on the recently released Starboard 11'2s
We had a magic Boxing day session in Perth - Rotto swell was .8 m
4 of us out
- The banks between city beach and scarbs were still throwing consistent waist to chest high waves. 40 degrees with a super clean glass off made this one of the best sessions yet! stand Ups are wave magnets!!!
Nose rides - sweet- experienced mal riders add a degree of style i havent really seen yet - walking the board for perfect trim at all times. aparently the lie down coffin ride is a great way to get barrelled in small waves!
360s / helicopters work beautifully thanks to the rocker that is fast enough for good glide but curvy enough to deliver good turns and not catch the tail when riding and sliding fin first backwards.
reos - the board is so loose that you can put it into a reo or floater with confidence!! you will stick the landing!
- had lots of rights breaking into an oncoming left - providing a great reo section- basically You can approach the wave in a similar way that you would on your 6'4 in a beachy!
Stability - there is NO DOWNSIDE to the 30 inch width - the boards are stable to paddle - but are incredibly loose!!
stability is trumps at the end of the wave as you pull off the wave and make it through the next wave !
Marco pulled a sick headstand ride!
Easy to face backwards on the board - or spin around - the stability lets you do what you want
And the verdict from our new longboard / mal converts - super stoked!
Excellent review
I was going to buy the 12'6 but now reading this I feel the 11'2 would be the board for me?
Hey does the 11'2 have a mast track?
Or the only Starboard SUP with a mast track available is the 12'6?
Am I right in saying this?
YAY! Im currently now very excited
Just gotta make up my mind between the 11'2 or 12'6
Can I demo the 11'2 and 12'6? Saturday morning?
Is the 11'2 the ultimate blend board?
Because the Starboard SUP site says that these boards have no mast track?
Are they all coming out now with mast tracks?
Thanks
every Starboard national distributor has the option to choose the accessories that come on their board - we have gone with the mast attachment option (its 2 recessed nuts that you can hardly see ) on our ozzy boards as they dont add much cost, arent a big ugly track that will put off surfers and dont add a signifigant amt of weight to the board.
Even though we see Paddling and surfing as the VAST majority of SUP usage we didnt want to exclude windsurfing it.
The 9'8 and 9'0 have the potential to aggressively wave sail pretty well - Scotty Mckercher rates em - while the larger boards seem to windsurf well as their refined rocker lines dont just plough tons of water around - so they glide up efficiently.
I finally paddled the 11'2 and 12'6 back to back this morning and Id have to say that both these boards are super fun. Keep in mind I have only SUP'd 3 times now (I'm no pro) and I do not work for Starboard
Both these boards I found stable although the 12'6 felt easier and easier to balance on as I kept swapping back and forth from the 11'2. It did take abit to get it but once wired they are easy boards to paddle.
With only the middle fin in both boards still paddled fairly straight but heading into the wind required more changing sides. I was told that by putting in the side fins in this will help straighten up the board for just paddling on a nice flat day.
Paddling for the waves only needed a good couple of paddles on one side to catch them although the experienced SUPer need only one deep paddle on the 12'6 and could even get the 11'2 onto a wave with not much more effort than the 12'6 although for me it definately seemed easier getting the 12'6 onto a wave. In saying that after I got the hang of the 11'2 I was catching more waves.
There were just rolling tiny knee high waves with some crumbling ones sneaking through.
The experienced SUPer had both these boards dialed but obviously rode the 11'2 really well. Both glided well but the 12'6 definately had more glide.
I think that the 12'6 would eventually be too big for me and the 11'2 would be needed.
I still think that the 11'2 can be a board to learn on and will never be too big or even out grow it for the waves here in perth.
Also I found that a good paddle makes a MASSIVE difference in paddle power and even felt like the board performed better.
Worth spending the extra to get a carbon paddle
After the paddle this morning for me being 68kgs, a beginner and wanting to SUP during summer in small waves the 11'2 is by far the board for me.
Hope this helps others out there like me trying to decide which board would suit them.
Two thumbs up for both these boards
