Just saw the Starboard ad on the back of the SUP World mag and noticed that the ad mentions two board sizes for the Ace 14' x 25" and 14' x 27". Does this mean Starboard have heard the voice of reason and bought back the 27" Ace??
It's coming back for sure! Lighter (new construction), cheaper (almost 20% down) and sooner than usual for be model Aces. Stock will be on deck early Sept.
Wasn't selling would probably be the main reason.
Also it didn't prove to be faster than the 25" version in bumps as most team guys chose the 25"version.
Select to expand quoteWINDSURFnSNOW said..
It's coming back for sure! Lighter (new construction), cheaper (almost 20% down) and sooner than usual for be model Aces. Stock will be on deck early Sept.
can you give prices for the racing boards yet or are they not available to the public till later in the year.
Select to expand quoteSeaSea said..
Wonder why they are droping the 14x23 ace?
Popular demand for the 14x27. Minuscule market for the 14x23. I've owned all sizes at various times but for me, the 25 and then 27 are best. The 23 felt kind of pointless. Heavier and more volume than the 25, tippier and without any discernible gain in speed.
I've owned the 25 and 23.5 Aces. I actually found the 14x23.5 to be a bit more slippery and caught bumps easier. For most riders, the 14x25 should fit the bill but for some lighter paddlers, the 23.5 is faster. I swapped from the 25 to the 23.5 after trying the narrower board a few times in downwind conditions. I find the 23.5 pretty stable in winds up to 25-30mph.
You must be a very skilled rider. I wouldn't take my 14x25 Ace out in 30 knots, never mind a version that is 2" narrower. But I guess it depends where you are taking it. On a canal in 30 knots would be fine. In the sea in 30 knots would not.
I'm not very skilled at all, but I do have pretty good balance. We have pretty messy downwind conditions here - definitely not organized bumps. My 14x23.5 Ace is my "downwind" and rough water board but over 30mph, I'd definitely prefer to be on something more stable. I find the Ace plenty stable, even in cross chop, but the board is very tricky to surf from the tail due to the narrow pin tail and the raised side walls. When it gets to near 30mph, there are lots of other boards that surf better. I just try to stay on waves and not fall off at that point. We rarely get winds of 30mph around here though, where a decent downwinder is in 20-30mph of wind. The Ace works well in those conditions. If we had lots of over 30mph days, I'd also get another board that would be more fun to surf.
The Ace is surprisingly good in confused chop as well - provided you pay your dues getting used to the board (like a year paddling it). It seems able to get an extra push from any chop going in the right direction, even when surrounded by chop from multiple directions. It almost feels like you're paddling downwind despite chop coming from everywhere. It's definitely a workout and requires full time concentration, but I enjoy it in a masochistic way.
Select to expand quoteSeaSea said...
Any tips or favored techniques for paddling an ace in a cross chop?
Try not to curse too loud.
Messy cross chop requires your undivided attention and concentration. Good if you want to get your mind off everything else. Shorter strokes also help.
Select to expand quoteLouD said..
Have they dropped the volume on the Ace 14X27 or still the same?
Dropped.
Few snaps of the first Ace's in Australia. Also more specs available here: standuppaddlesports.com.au/
That's fascinating - the tail end of the dugout looks like it's back to the future. They've been quite squared off lately but the new one is ramped just like the very first Ace.
PTWoody the ramped up tail is to prevent stalling when going through a wave / chop allows the water to flow out rather than hit the squared out section.
So here it is after a couple of season absence the 14'0 x 27 Ace is back and it looks sweet. The 27 wide allow more of us to paddle the fastest downwind shape available..... excited to get these on the water.
Select to expand quotedave.h said..
can you give prices for the racing boards yet or are they not available to the public till later in the year.
Range released today. Ace is $4099
Would love to know what changes are in the 2017 Ace 14x25, they make it different from the 2015 Ace 25 and wondering if it is worth upgrading?
Also like to hear how the new Ace compares to the 2017 NSP DC ocean race 24.5
Select to expand quoteSeaSea said..
Would love to know what changes are in the 2017 Ace 14x25, they make it different from the 2015 Ace 25 and wondering if it is worth upgrading?
Also like to hear how the new Ace compares to the 2017 NSP DC ocean race 24.5
There are some modifications in the distribution of volume with the 2017 being 307 litres compared to 290 litres for the 2015 so it will surely be more stable. But the main change is in the construction. The new Ace is no longer a carbon sandwich, it's a single layer of high grade biaxial carbon. This makes it lighter which is great, but also just a little more fragile than a sandwich construction. I found the 2016 Ace (sandwich construction) to be bullet proof as the 2015 one was also. That will be your consideration for upgrading - do you want a lighter, faster and more stable board, and if so, are you prepared to look after it a little better?
does anyone have suggestion on best way to repair a ding/ crack after hitting my head on the starboard ace? just bought today, used but like new. first time taking it out in rough conditions!
Select to expand quoteberuvian said..
does anyone have suggestion on best way to repair a ding/ crack after hitting my head on the starboard ace? just bought today, used but like new. first time taking it out in rough conditions!
Sheesh....first of all- how is your head feeling?
My solution for these kind of dings is:
- drill holes in the ding area, dry the ding with rolled tissues fanning out
- inject resin + microspheres in the blank below with a syringe in the holes
- once hard, it is easy to remove the glass on the ding while keeping the rail shape: the blank underneath has become a solid mass. So you can just sand away the old glass but keep the exact rail shape.
- re-glass on it.
The traditional way is to remove the glass, then rebuild the rail shape and re-glass, with which I find harder to keep the rail shape.
Select to expand quotecolas said..
My solution for these kind of dings is:
- drill holes in the ding area, dry the ding with rolled tissues fanning out
- inject resin + microspheres in the blank below with a syringe in the holes
- once hard, it is easy to remove the glass on the ding while keeping the rail shape: the blank underneath has become a solid mass. So you can just sand away the old glass but keep the exact rail shape.
- re-glass on it.
The traditional way is to remove the glass, then rebuild the rail shape and re-glass, with which I find harder to keep the rail shape.
That's a really clever method, Colas. I always use the traditional approach of sanding and filling. But as you say, a repair on the rail and especially on a sharp edge is much more difficult to reshape. The hardest part is often positioning the board after you've applied the resin so that it doesn't run off the edge before the resin has set. I imagine that injecting the resin under the broken glass or carbon means that the glass or carbon will restrain the resin while it sets.
Or you could just hit the easy button and throw on a Puka Patch. Get you through the season and repair in off season.
So when was the last 27 ace before this year and are they very rare as I only ever see 25inch for sale , I have tried the 2017 27 inch and loved it also a older 25 on flat that I think would be too much work for my skill level height and weight cheers ps I found the ace faster then the allstar to paddle 
2014 was the last 27" Ace. I think people just tended to hold onto them knowing there wasn't a new one available. They were fairly heavy at that time whereas the 2017 is constructed differently so it's lighter.
