2018 SIC RS

does that mean the 24.5 will be for sale :-)

for the right price. I could make a trip

Interesting. Which bayonet are you talking about?

Yes, the 26 RS is crazy stable. My balance is really poor and it even feels stable to me. It's more stable than the Bark Vapor, and that is generally acknowledged to be a very easy paddle indeed. I would think that few semi-serious competitors would need to go wider than the 24.5 unless they were real heavyweights. But I'd prefer to trade stability for that extra 0.01% of speed since I'm just a recreational paddler, not a competitor.

Having said that, I'd actually like to own both a 24.5 (for FW), and a 26 (for choppy ocean and DW).

That will be a fascinating comparison. I'm not sure about "halfway house" downwind designs yet (e.g. rocker intermediate between a race board and a full-rockered DW-only elf-shoe type design, moderately high volume noses). It is possible to find conditions that the Bullet V2 finds pretty awkward - more so than the Bullet V1, even if the V2 might be a bit faster in conditions that really suit it. So I'm wondering if the bayonet might be like that: really superb in just the right conditions for it, but with a fairly narrow tolerance outside them. In which case, you might as well use something like the RS. But Mark R really knows his stuff, so I'm keeping an open mind. Let us know how it goes!

Bayonet and Bullet V2
Took Bayonet on short DW today and was impressed. 20knt + but no predominent swell so just low wind driven as it was across a bay. Bayonet was quick and linked the low bumps with ease. my friend was on the 24.5 RS, he is a much faster paddler than me in all conditions and was .3 mph faster average with a max of 9.6 to my max of 9.3. Not sure that both boards are needed. My other half paddled the V2

Thanks TJR, and for the pics. The Bayonet looks like it has a little less nose rocker than the Bullet V2 - or is that just a trick of the camera?

I haven't taken out the RS in bigger DW conditions yet (and with the collection of DW-specific boards I've got I can't really imagining wanting to). But my guess is that at some point that big floaty tail is going to become a bit of a handful to control, once the bumps get steeper. So maybe that's the point at which you'd need the Bayonet. A reasonably slim tail can be quite reassuring when conditions get unruly.

How does the RS compare to the Bayonet for surfing? Wouldn't it be odd if the RS was actually as good (or even better)?

Btw, TJR, are you using the standard 8.3" Weedless with your RS?

if so, and you want a bit of extra speed, try a smaller fin. The SIC Weedless 7.0 would do it. Or the VMG Mako 35.

And for surfing, I prefer a FCS Fat Boy or a Squirrel Cutaway (True Ames or Fluid Foils) in 10": more control and manoeuvrability.

The only problem is that you might need a bit of adjustment of non-SIC fins to fit the box. The only irritatimg thing I've found so far about the RS is that the finbox is a tad narrower and shallower than e.g. a standard Futures 10" longboard box. So a bit of sanding is needed before some fins will fit.

I really do wish that the industry would pick a universal standard (hopefully not a Chinook or else none of my fins would fit!) and then install the boxes very carefully.

Having said this, the finbox issue with the SIC is not as bad as the fit with e.g. my Starboard Ace. But still... when I bought a custom DW board not so long ago (Grey Paddleboards) virtually every fin I tried fitted beautifully first time, and the fit with the screwless designs like the FCSII Connect is perfect (some sanding and struggle is required for the RS). So it's annoying that I can get a custom that's perfect whereas at the Cobra factory they are probably trying to save a few pence by fitting cheaper boxes, or doing it more sloppily. And for that the board owners have to suffer a daily irritation.

Please, Mark Raaphorst and BIC, get the Cobra factory to fit genuine Futures 10" boxes, and get them to do it carefully. I don't mind paying the extra 50 cents it would cost. It's one of those aspects of a board, like the handle, where a tiny bit of extra money and care makes a massive difference to the ownership experience of the board. It's false economy to compromise on it.

This board is so much fun. Catches every little bump so early
www.facebook.com/nuno.p.desousa/posts/10215934230606417

I just tried a 2018 AllStar 26 from a friend and there is no way I would ever again buy a board that make you stand so high above the water. I felt like a pig on a walking rope compared to my Bark Vapor. I am loking at the specs of the RS and it also look to put you very high on the water. For flat and chop I might just go back to my initial idea of a dugout like a Sunova Allwater.