thanks to Jimmy Lewis Australia 'Rob' for putting up with a customer like me

got the board 7 months ago coming from 26 & 24.5 wide boards I'm 80kg at 5'6 intermediate paddler.

it weighs around 11.6kg without the fin and the quality and finish are nice and solid as you would expect with JL from that factory.

In the beginning, the board felt light, twitchy and somewhat stiff coming from 15kg+ to 16kg+ epoxy and hybrid carbon boards but I won't talk about stable & unstable word co's you know.
Once I adjusted to the weight and feel of the board its so much fun to paddle from calm, choppy, surf and down breeze. The 2nd stability of this 25 width board design is great, surprisingly.
It has less rocker and I like that because I can catch ripples easily though on the surf and down breeze/dw I need to focus on my footwork placing up and down the board.

The bottom channel gets deeper towards the tail and more concave at the tail than at the front. I thought that deep concave could affect surfing but I was wrong, it glides and tracks well on the surf combined with that soft round bottom towards the nose (planning bottom nose with V on top). I tried using the dolphin 9 fin on the surf but I prefer the standard JL 9" fin because it works well on any condition.
the deck grip is softer and sticky than others I tried.
I have a slight sinking in deck midway where the handle which traps some water but a couple of shakes it goes away. Only thing I would like is more mounts for equipment like gopro, front leash plug, and extra handle mounts.
overall I'm happy with this board and so glad I finally found something I can enjoy and paddle on any condition apart cyclones.

I could be wrong but the difference between this and mark II sidewinder are no spare handle, GoPro front mount/plug and diamond grove deck pad with rear kick pad, graphics paint job and the extra weight of custom board than stock board.

I'll do a comparo with DaveSandan board oneday if we do cross path.

Hi Jeg & Dave, this was a custom/proto made for me so the custom models are usually slightly heavier than the full production models & that's also why there are none of the extra things that Jeg mentioned nor why it is finished in the gloss 2 pack paint jobs...It is as tough as nails though & the matt finish does give it a different look but at the end of the day paddles the same...

Hey Jeg, where is the point in the distance? 17kn is pretty good I have been in at around 20-22 and that's my comfort level for now as a maximum. I am still working on my footwork to get back and have tried a few small waves near shore but it's always harder to move a 14ft board. Bay conditions are always a bit tricky as the swell is all wind generated unlike ocean swell, one day I will go ocean and now I am moving to the coast I will get more water time so I can improve.

JEG said..
heya DaveSandan, been meaning to catch up for a paddle with another sidewinder board in Vico. I'm in the west and that point you see is Point Crook.
surfing 14ft board can be tricky but you'll figure it out given more time and effort. Full ocean downwind which I never have done before is more challenging I think.
good to hear on that coastal sea change and will message you when I'm down your way for a paddle ;)