Starboard iSonic 2014

Extract from the SB catalogue posted in other thread. Looking good.....
chinookleucate.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/2014_starboard_catalog.pdf




I know I should let it go but their admission brought a wry smile to my face regarding weakness at the wingers on previous models "Secondary wingers are closed off on the deck side, eliminating the full step that can crack under exceptional stress" (yeah like hitting a fish )

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Magnus8 said..

Good point Sausage.

How about everything getting wider again?? The I97 now 65.5 that's getting a bit wide on the hips for a 97L. I thought at 63.5 was about spot on, perhaps the tail could have lost a bit, which they have done....

Yeah the iS90 is now 63cm wide - only half a cm less than the 2012-13 iS97. Sailing in open ocean I'd prefer to have more volume in a narrower board rather than vice versa i.e. I'd be happy with a 60cm wide 95-99litre board (old school, I know )

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vando said..

I was tossing up 90 or 97 but ended up with the 97, just love the 97 with the 7m.

Agree, seems to be the kit I reach for every time. Does it all really.

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Magnus8 said..

vando said..

I was tossing up 90 or 97 but ended up with the 97, just love the 97 with the 7m.

Agree, seems to be the kit I reach for every time. Does it all really.

It's the only kit you have LOL

Hey Bob maybe you should have had ago of my 80wide up at green now that's wide

"I guess it's a case of getting used to it but what is the advantage of wider, they say wider wind range and faster but speed boards are narrow. Does wider mean larger sail bigger fin, if so, the 65cm would be used as that width was before, but with less volume, am I making sense "

Isonics are built for slalom racing... so they have to be super quick in a range of conditions, but also need quick acceleration to plane and be able to carry speed through the gybes and I think thats where the extra width in the tail really helps - To win races.
Speed boards just need to go fast straight...

After this Hr session I had with Benny when we were both pushing pretty hard I really think the extra tail width my board had over his made a big difference, take a close look at bennys tracks exiting the gybes compared to mine.

gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?team=20&date=2013-07-10

The 30 Volt I stole off him may have helped slightly to but Im putting it down to tail width.

I just had 5 new boards come in for GI so holding off on the new Isonics till we move some of the fleet on.
First real session on a pure freestlye board today, gotta say it was a load of fun!!

You're all so volume-orientated saying "What's the advantage of width". I say what's the advantage of volume? My retired Falcon 110 (virtual volume) 72 cm wide, was registered for slalom racing as 96 litres. And even that was optimistic, it's a pretzel, it felt like 90 litres when the wind stopped. At all other times it felt like it was 72 wide.

Volume over rated It the width that gets you planing.
Bob its great going off the wind with a narrow board but don’t you have to come back .
It really depends on what type of sailing you do but I think generally most people sail across and back again and might do the odd bear off. I think the wide style boards does this very well.
gps has change this abit but for me i still like a good old drag race
my 2 cents

No problems Firie - the discussion narrow vs wide is very relevant.

Don't get me wrong I love everything a wide board offers in moderate conditions e.g. getting up on the plane, planing easily through gybes etc but sailing where I do, once conditions become favourable for a sub 100litre board and <7.0m sail, the extra width can make handling problematic. That said the 63.5cm wide iS97 performs brilliantly in the slop although at times I wish it could be just that bit narrower (60cm like an iS90). So if I was to get an iS90 2014 model I'd have two boards the same width but with different volumes.

Even though the width is really the critical factor as Vando mentioned, I'll be interested to see the actual volumes of the 2014 iS models on the ISAF board register - they may not have changed at all though since the boards are noted as being skinnier. What I'm trying to say is that it'll be interesting if SB's increased width effects how people select their quiver from 2013 to 2014 models.

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firiebob said..

Snags I'm surprised your looking at a SB catalogue, just saying

Firie, past experiences still hasn't dampened my love affair with the iSonics

Not wanting to sound like an arse here, but I reckon the extra 2cm average width will be hard to tell for most. The max width to OFO tail width ratio is totally new for 2013.

If we look at the iS97 for example, although the max width has increased by 2cm, the tail width has reduced by 2cm. The iS107 max width has increased by 1cm and tail width reduced by 2cm.

For most, this should feel comfier downwind, easier when overpowered and potentially faster top-end.I personally always felt that my 2011 iS107 would have been quicker/easier with a slightly narrower tail.

This max width to tail width ratio is one of the features that made the original iS117 wide a nice board, easy/quick down wind. I reckon SB have learned and applied this formula to the med/high wind models.

I noticed that on the iS110 and upwards, SB have gone the opposite way and closed the gap in max width to tail width ratio. This highlights a clear design difference between the iS110 and iS107 making choice easier.

The specs on paper kinda makes you understand what the design briefs are. iS107 and smaller = increased control in med/high winds. iS110 and bigger = more power etc.

SB state that the 2013 iSonics are thinner. Looking at the narrower tail, increased max width and shorter lengths, I guess that the thickness has only been reduced by two or three of mm. Probably hard to notice. I reckon we would notice more the difference in the new light weight foot pads than the reduced deck thickness.

I also noticed that the recommended fin sizes are unchanged, but I'm guessing that the iS110 upwards will need bigger or softer fins to compensate for the increased tail width. The iS107 and smaller will get away with same size stiffer fins or much smaller soft fins. Might even see the return of G10 fins on the PWA???

I hope your still awake:)

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duzzi said..

sausage said..

Magnus8 said..

Good point Sausage.

How about everything getting wider again?? The I97 now 65.5 that's getting a bit wide on the hips for a 97L. I thought at 63.5 was about spot on, perhaps the tail could have lost a bit, which they have done....

Yeah the iS90 is now 63cm wide - only half a cm less than the 2012-13 iS97. Sailing in open ocean I'd prefer to have more volume in a narrower board rather than vice versa i.e. I'd be happy with a 60cm wide 95-99litre board (old school, I know )

The 2014 is90 is going to be perfect for my size (70Kg) with a 6.6 (although the 87 looks good too). On paper the is90 looks like a "smaller" 2013 97. Finally something to replace my very questionable Carbon Art 58. Yei!!!

Personally I would go for shorter wider boards any time: both for Bump&Jump and slalom. For Wind-SUP in displacement ... a longer board (11') is good

BTW My CA 58 might be 98L on paper (or should I say" fading label" since the specs are quite incredibly fading under the epoxy coat), but in reality (a) that volume is of no importance when the board in used in its intended range, and (b) if I found myself slogging home the board cannot really hold my 70Kg + 6.6 cambered sail afloat ... give me a 231x63x40 tail platform with the same volume and I would float home happily.

Well I was going to say that 80kg + the 97 would be the go and less than 80, the 90 would be the pick. So really they are aimed at different weights. Whether your on the 90 or 97, they are both easily capable of going 35-38 knots+ on a moderate day, with a 7 or 6.2 sail, so what more could you want? I find the whole volume versus width debate, to be more of a balance, seems that mid 60's width with 100L just works, less than 60 wide, that same 100L isn't as effective. Volume certainly plays a part with keeping the board cranking at a good speed, less volume/width ratio, will tend to bog, in less than ideal conditions. Hence have found in real world conditions that, my 7m/I97 combo, is faster than 7m/W54, simply because the I97 is going faster before the gust.

I once tested against a Fanatic 111 litre 69cm wide slalom board against a 2004 64cm wide 110 litre F2 X-Speed in choppy conditions,winds of 18-25 knots.

The 5cm narrower X-Speed won hands down,particularly in the chop! And much less prone to spinout likely due to less powerful tail.


The wider Fanatic would sail higher upwind and plane earlier.

You lose a bit you gain a bit.

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gavnwend said..

The 2014 slalom boards look good l have notice they are a little thinner. (Thickness) lm looking at getting one.

Actually it's the opposite ... in the bigger sizes, most of them are thicker and much WIDER ... the 97, 107, 117 especially. I had a chance to test a few of the bigger ones in Turkey this week and they are really something special. Much earlier planing (you can also put bigger sails on them) and they have a very reduced wetted surface area in the tail (kind of like the RRD's tail from 2013 onwards) so they are even easier to gybe with this smaller tail and also much more control in high winds with the smaller tails ...

That probably sounds like marketing hype, but it's actually my true opinions after riding the boards. I'll most likely take 1 board size UP (going for 87, 107, 117) from my current choices (currently 80, 97, 110) for the PWA next season and expect to get the same performance and control in highwind because of the new shapes... which is great!

Thanks for the feedback Sean, the new tail shapes look interesting.
Just have to wait till i get mine to see how different they feel on the water.
With the new tail shape would you pick the same size fins as last years boards.
Ive ordered a 97 and 110 for this year as my biggest sail is a 7.8.

Hi Sean,
Thank a lot for your opinion in the new iSonics..
Could you also try the new 130?
Or could you get hear some feedback from the other starboard team members?
I'm particular interested in the low wind performance increase and the high wind control, compared to the 2012/2013 iSonic 127.
~Shinobi

All S-

I think everyone is using S- in nearly all sizes of Z-Fins ...