#3.. and get yourself a good paddle (if you don't already have one)

Btw a brand new GS 14' Glide would be worth considering.

DJ

And I have 2 good paddles already.

You live in the ACT and you are looking at downwind boards WTH???

I might be out of line but a flat water board would be a way better option.

DC, Fanatic, Hobie, etc one with no rocker and a cutter nose.

Only DJ thinks the Naish 14 is the best board in the world. It is average on flat water (not that good DW either IMO but I am 105kg)

If you are paddling in no wind get a flat water board not a SIC or Naish 14/17.

But if ACT has good DW conditions I am wrong.

Hi SSSimon

I recently brought my Coreban Edge with similar motivations. I am not really a racer but just wanted something fast and fun for 15km plus paddles along the coast in mild conditions <15not

I have had a few weeks with it now and learning its subtleties. It's most at home in flat water. It has lots of glide and tracks straight as an arrow. Last weekend was glassy and a boat was cruising about 10m to my left going just a little faster than me. I could ride it's wake for little 10 second bursts. Maybe this is called no winding

I am finding foot placement is very important to keep it all working when the winds get up though. I find the wind wants to push the nose around so I move a little forward and lower the nose to keep it going straight. When dealing with wind and paddling across the chop I have started standing well back to free up the nose otherwise I end up doing 100% paddling on one side. Still trying to figure all this out as it's my first displacement board. I would welcome suggestions from anyone with more experience with displacement hulls.

Stability on the Coreban is extremely good, I still haven't taken a swim. I was caught out badly one day by not believing the weather forecast (stupid I know, but it looked so good in the morning). Wind was over 20 knots and the wind vs tide vs reef made the chop real big and messy. It got me home dry but really sore from paddling on one side trying to keep the nose points away from the rocks.

I think if you are looking to do any serious downwinding the other boards are a much better choice. The Coreban will do small stuff as it doesn't bury it's nose like you might expect but the Naish and SIC will cane it on a proper run. If you are paddling the lakes and rivers the Coreban is going to have an advantage as it's very efficient through the water specially upwind into chop.

As boring as it sounds the soft flat deckpad that doesn't put your feet to sleep and the nice handle and bag should be given weight. It just makes the board easy to live with.

Hope that helps a little, Let me know if you have any specific questions about it.

You can't really go wrong with any of those boards. The SIC boards sound tempting. I would love to have a custom SIC one day. I think I am turning into a gear head

In my opinion, a 17' Glide in flat water is a 14' board with a whole lot of extra weight at the front that never touches the water and is therefore a bit useless. Great DW board but not the best choice for flat water. The F16 is similar. The Bullets are a little different in that some seem to really work in flat water. Having said that, I am far from an expert on SIC boards so happy to be corrected.

The 14' Glide in its current incarnation is pretty good in flat water but the previous shape had way too much rocker to really work outside of downwind. I haven't spent enough time on the Coreban to really know how well it would work for you.

No such thing as a lake, river and DW board and most of your options favour the DW when you want to spend 90% of your time on flatwater. Either buy a board for each, perhaps a 12'6" for the DWing, or get an all rounder in the 27" width bracket.

But if you're going to choose from one of the ones listed anyway, IMHO 14' Glide is the closest.

Thanks all.

I think it will be down to the 2 17'ers or the Glide 14' GX now - I do paddle a fair bit in windy condtions, like again today, and so are discounting to Edge to a certain extent now.

The G17 is looking attractive, good buying low price, fin/steering system easily modified.

The SIC Bullet 17 does come with a steering blank off plate.

I'm going to take a strap and spring scale and weigh the boards.

If the 17's end up being just too big/heavy to handle it'll be the G14 GX.

Hi Scotty, we've already had a chat at Molonglo! Funnily enough I'm not a subscriber to FB.Thanks for the info though.

THE RESULT

14' COREBAN EDGE

I could not resist the fact that the Coreban Edge is a 90% flat water and 10% downwind board. The quality of the design, finish, heavy duty bag with 4 handles, shoulder strap, vent inspection flap, double zipper, UV reflective bottom, and price for an ex-team rider board, EPS-carbon weighs in at just over 13kgs. Also the slightly sunken deck which sinks further as you go back.
1st paddle did not disappoint either, on the harbour in a strengthing sea breeze. OK there is a bit of windage at the front, but I'm sure I'll develop the skills to handle it. It does not feel corky, and when you drop a rail, the bouyancy on the side seems to increase to resist the downward pressure. So I found it very stable, no swims yet.

I'm now looking forward to more paddling tomorrow and Monday (PH is the ACT, & Vic & SA),

Spent today (Sunday 10th) paddling in Narrabeen Lake in a light NE wind blowing down the lake.

Will wash the salt of in LBG on Monday!

Thanks for that. Time will tell I guess.

So far so good, but I haven't been out in the open ocean yet.