3 weeks after getting the 1/5 scaled board here is the real one
Its been glassed today!
I am super excited to try it and with a bit of luck it will touch the water this week end.....
Looks like a one-manned sub!!
Hope it goes well for ya - looking forward to seeing some action pics when she is finished.
Interesting.. After the first couple of pics I was also thinking where's the periscope go.. 
.. Can't wait to hear how it goes.
DJ
Casso, I'm pretty sure it is a 17.
Al, it looks to have a low amount of rocker, which is fine. It will be very interesting to hear how this goes. But it looks like you will have both a great tourer and down winder. Slicing front end. It will do a little bit of nose diving on runners, but that nose and that volume should have the nose stay on course, and pop back out in no time. Plus the rudder for active steering.
Looking forward to the pics on launch day now !!
....on the water this weekend ?
Al, I hear what you are saying about the longer water line !! I'm looking at this board, thinking, WOW big waterline. The Big Bertha of Touring !!
I think you will end up with a close cousin to the S.I.C. F18.
Hey Al.. Are you coming to Merimbula next month?.. I'd love to see that thing in real life.. It looks amazing.
I'm guessing when it pearls/pierces it will not go right under water like the Naish 17 can and maybe that's a good thing.. and I'm also guessing when it does pearl/pierce you are going to have to keep it going straight or it will catch turn and broach much more than the Naish 17 and that's not such a good thing.. btw.. I took my Javelin on a short DW run today and the fast piercing nose let me catch runners with a couple of quick power strokes and it was off like a rocket.. and then it was concentration-plus to try and keep it going straight.. What's the rails like at the rear.. Are they the same as the normal DC DW boards?.. Do you think you are going to be able to surf it and turn it on a runner?
DJ
Thanks for contributing Lacey.
Otherwise, the select few can can Jambos your Thumbos up your Bumbos !
Contributing with thumbs !! Hahahaha !!
The board was finished late last night so the back grip and rudder cover are still missing but I just wanted to bring it back home to try it this morning.
I loved it, basically it did everything I thought it would but easier that what I would have imagined.
The bay was flat and almost no wind. It seemed very fast. Went out to get a bit of chop and it handled very well, it's starting on anything, I could try lots of waves on the way back to the pass and how easy it was to handle on waves was a real surprise. The front does not catch so I don't think I'll be in trouble on runners.
We'll see thursday when the wind picks up.....but I am not stressed anymore, it should really work.
Awesome! Looks great. How does/did it go in runners / down wind ??
Very interesting "bottom lines"!
There's also a dash board to mount your GPS & onboard computer to.
Nice work with the silver pin too. Who chose the peach colour, or is that apricot?! 
hay ) it looks more a Flat water Board how heavy is it my f18 weighs in at 17.5kg yes Bulk Heavy & is bult for speed in da flat or 12knots or less in da ocean.
Great stuff !
Can we nick name yours "The Cutter"!? In combined reference to old sailing ships, and it's clear ability to cut through chop, especially upwind, and also cut up the down wind stuff !
Select to expand quote
G'day Al Hunter
yep very different Downwind board happy for ya ( Eccentric Thinking hay ) it looks more a Flat water Board how heavy is it my f18 weighs in at 17.5kg yes Bulk Heavy & is bult for speed in da flat or 12knots or less in da ocean.
( very happy with f18 results )
Al if you was to paddle this board in da flat with no wind & no current how long does it take for ya to paddle one kilometre.
DW
The board was 15.8kg since then I put a back foot grip so I guess 16kg
I haven't done a 1km yet so it's hard to tell and it will depend so much on the paddler I am not sure I should be the one trying it on 1km
All I know is that everywhere I train, I am concistently faster than with my previous 16. So maybe I got better conditions everytime since I have this 17 but I doubt it.
I have never seen the F18 so I have no clue or opinion. I hope my board will handle lots of wind. That's what I was thinking when we were designing it. I never thought of it as a light wind board.
The thing I am starting to realise is that the board can get a lot more runners than my previous one. Last week I totally blew up on a 10km downwind because I was going for every runners and was not getting any rest.
I guess now that on this board a top paddler will physically make a huge difference with an average paddler as he will be able to handle the intensity better.
I have the same problem when I train with my surfski and have to let the good guys go away because they can go for every single runner for 20km...not me
I am sure we'll meet sometime because we are not far from each other and I'd love to compare both board.
Will your 12'6 be finished for kirra? I'll be there with my 12'6...
Select to expand quote
Very intersting Al , that bow looks like an ocean racing ski , great concept really interested to here how it goes in the runners.I love all this R&D on race boards.
edit: you beat me with your last post , you seem to be a long way back on the that run what's the pressure like on your feet when the nose pushes in.
Rob
Hi rob
interesting remark , we can smell the image producer here
When we did the board some said I should try to put more volume at the back. I did not want to without knowing why but now I am glad I did not.
If you looks at the 1st pic , the nose under water wants to come up because of the volume so it pushes the back of the board underwater as well. And this as long as the front does not pop up over the water. I guess with more volume at the back the board would tend to nosedive more and I will get a lot more pressure on my feet.
I am not that far back on these pics as I did not put any back foot grip yet.
Now I have some and I go all the way back. The pressure on the feet is less than the previous boards because it comes very progressively so super easy to manage. That's actually one of the main advantage of the board.
And you can guess I brought it in the surf, the back foot firmly on the grip at the fin level and it was a dream.
I'll have to stop that though as it can be a costly exercise.....
G'day Al
Thanks for your reply Al, be great to have a chat with ya & a beer. See ya at Kirra. I'll be spectating. My 12'6'' will not be ready Woody let me down too many excesses - like they say talk is cheap - anyway all good
How come it was painted? The raw carbon look, looks great imo. Do they get to hot??
raw carbon looks insane but generate too much heat. Any color does IMO
That's why all my boards get at least a white bottom (so they can stay upside down on the beach or on roof for a minimum amount of time without delaminating) and a fair color if not white on the top. Even the black grip i think a nonsense. I usually use light grey but could get it this time
