Today down at St Kilda I got to paddle the very new 12'6" Starboard BOP board and compare it to my new 12'6" Naish BOP board.
From a distance they seem pretty similar.
Up close you can see they are very different boards.
From the rear you can see how the Naish is super boxy and thick and the Starboard is much thiner and swoopy-doopy.
The upside down nose and deck ridge is extream on the new Starbie.
You can see here that although it looks like a flat water board it actually has quite a bit of rocker.
Viewed upside down the nose looks almost normal.
The rails are very rounded and soft with a tucked rail towards the rear with an edge in the last foot or so.
There is a fairly deep single concave running through most of the board that stops about 5-6" from the rail where it slopes towards the rail in a sort of chine.
Just before the fin it turns into a double barrel concave.
Stepping on it felt very stable and felt fast.. You could paddle it hard and it just went faster but paddling really hard caused it to do something odd.. It did something that we called 'the sprinkler' because there was s fine sprinkle of water coming off each side of the nose.. backing off turned the sprinkler off and the water flowed smoothly around and over the nose.
If you look close in this pic you can see the sprinkler effect coming off the nose.. it doesn't seem to effect the performance at all.
Slower speeds had a nice pealing wave.
I liked it.. The lower volume in the rails will cause it to tip over if you are a heavy person where the secondary floatation on the Naish is much more solid.
Jonathan is going to take this demo board on our next down-winder and see how it goes.
Hey DJ, great pics. But can you please convince me that a 25.5" 12-6 board can be particularly stable? What is it, do you think, that makes this board stable despite such a narrow width (and soft rails, no sunken footwells etc etc)?
Was it more of less stable than the Naish?
I notice you seemed to be paddling in glass - have you tried it anything more technical?
Thanks for your review. As always, you are the first with everything...
Hey DJ, great pics. But can you please convince me that a 25.5" 12-6 board can be particularly stable? What is it, do you think, that makes this board stable despite such a narrow width (and soft rails, no sunken footwells etc etc)?
Was it more of less stable than the Naish?
I notice you seemed to be paddling in glass - have you tried it anything more technical?
Thanks for your review. As always, you are the first with everything...
It's a bit hard to see in that pic but it's the 28.5" model ( they also do a 26.5" version ).
I only paddled it in those calm conditions but when you first hop on it feels solid and stable.. Maybe even more so than my 30" Glide ( because the Glide has that funny quick tip thing happening ) but once you tip a rail and put pressure on it a heavy person (me) can make the rail tip deep into the water where the Naish with its high volume stops tipping very quickly.
I hope we can test it in rough conditions tomorrow on our 20-30 knot down-winder.
Hey DJ, great pics. But can you please convince me that a 25.5" 12-6 board can be particularly stable? What is it, do you think, that makes this board stable despite such a narrow width (and soft rails, no sunken footwells etc etc)?
Was it more of less stable than the Naish?
I notice you seemed to be paddling in glass - have you tried it anything more technical?
Thanks for your review. As always, you are the first with everything...
Thanks for the great review DJ, so nice to bump into you yesterday and have you do all the hard work And thanks Paul from The Zu for letting me demo the board.
GREAT board, I'm seriously thinking about getting the 28.5 as a very friendly all rounder, trouble is that lately my boards have gone a little too 'full on' and when friends new to SUP want me to take them for a paddle it doesn't really work on the 25" Ace or even the Gun. Only problem is that little voice inside me that keeps saying the 26.5 will be faster - get that one - must fight that urge!
So nice to paddle something I don't have to concentrate on and the BOP is a fast board, be really interesting to line it up beside some of the other 12'6 boards out there. The description says its faster than the Starboard Race boards in flatter water and I believe it, in our totally unbiased scientifically valid university tested 12'6 test...the Starbie Race 27.5 was even-steven with the Fanatic 12'6 and the Javelin, these BOP boards will be right up there or even faster without going to the full on Ace Pro flat water style. As I see it this thing will be fun to surf and downwind on as well as being good on flat water. I'd be gripping that sucker all the way back before it hit the water!
Funny thing in our 12'6 test, my favourite board to take home if I was dead honest would have been the Coreban 12'6 because I just love the way that thing surfs and downwinds - sure it was pretty slow in the flat but not too bad. I'm really not into ultimate flat water speed much more about feeling like its not dragging in the water and being fun. Think I've just found something to push that baby aside
Funny how getting onto something new re-invigorates the passion, my head has been full of surf ski's lately. This board just re fired-up that whole cruising around with your friends having fun thing that SUP is really about. If I get one it will be the cheaper AST so I don't have to worry about it, probably even wack a bit of tape on the rails so any newbies can bang away to their hearts content and I won't give it a second thought. Bit like the old days with my first SUP the Starbie 12'6 Cruiser, still miss that board, should never have sold it...
I was lucky enough to have a paddle on one (along with a heap of other Starby's) up at Kitestock last weekend in good BOP type conditions (thanks Ian, Stand Up Paddle Sports).
I found it top be very stable and loved the way it punched through the mainly knee high, occasionally bigger waves on the way out thanks to the nose shape. I caught a few waves back in and again it handled very well, picking up waves with ease and as long as you stepped back far enough you could surf it enough to be able to cut which ever way you wanted no worries.
There was a bit of swell on a reef out the back down the beach a bit so I went for a paddle down there and back and it seemed fairly fast and stable.
There was next to no wind but I would like to know how it handles a downwinder because I think it could be a very versatile board. I have a 14ft glide which is great for down winding when there is a bit of wind/swell but I think this would compliment it well for some flat water cruising, playing around in small waves and downwinding in flatter conditions. I might have to see if I can borrow it again and give it another try with a little wind.
Great review DJ, Starboard are bringing out some good looking new product. Starting to go more the direction of other brands in some ways dare I say.
Interesting you say that CMC, have to agree, Starboard have pushed so far into that 'clubbie' nose shape on the race boards I really felt that there was a whole end of the market that they had missed. Don't get me wrong, in rough water those 'clubbie' nose style boards are just amazing the way they pierce but retain buoyancy without slowing the board, and they have really evolved that and created something quite unique. Maybe so unique that it puts people off buying them on looks alone....
The BOP boards to be honest have a very distinctive looking nose, not unattractive just very 'different' and a little bit 'stealth'. In flat water it works like a charm, I'll be really interested to see how it goes on a wave and down-winding. From the side the board looks very thin and the rails are super rounded until a long way back, certainly won't be catching on a wave - I guess that's crucial in a BOP race. So you can rest assured, even though this board is more 'normal' Starboard are sticking to their formula of being just that bit different.
But they feel much more like a regular board and they look much more like a regular board and for just cruising around I think they are spot on - I'd kinda forgotten what it felt like to be on a flat deck race board. It just felt huge to me like I was on a 32" wide board because there was so much real estate to walk around on and it was so stable.
Looked down at one stage when I was paddling hard and realised I had my feet about 6" apart and slightly pigeon toed as if I was standing in the footwells of the Ace trying to smooth out the bumpy churning rough water I've been paddling in lately. Had a chuckle to myself when I realised I could lighten up and relax
This is the first starboard that from looks alone I wouldn't mind trying. It actually looks quick and I think (from looks alone) that it will be quite quick for those sub 80kg guys in dw conditions.
Thanks DJ, Your pics and reviews of new boards are are very informative and a great way for us all to catch up on what's up with the latest SUP.
Does anyone know what the weight difference is between these in AST and Carbon? Is carbon worth the extra $1000? How much does the AST actually weigh?
If the weight is like 3-5kgs less then I would almost think it is worth it, but if it is only 1-3kgs less I think it is not worth it. You would save that much weight by just doing a crap and a pee before you paddle!
Does anyone know what the weight difference is between these in AST and Carbon? Is carbon worth the extra $1000? How much does the AST actually weigh?
Brushed carbon 9.90 kg AST 12.62 kg
2.7 kg so the difference just falls within the piss and a poo criteria, stick with the AST and save your money
I had the 12'6 x 26.5 brushed carbon Surf Race from 2 years ago, just sold it, really nice board in rough stuff but I'm dead sure that this 28.5 board is way faster on flat water. I reckon the 26.5 BOP would be a really fast 12'6.
Oh by the way, I had to step a long way forward of the handle to get the nose to engage on the flat, DJ said it still had the tail just touching the surface. With DJ on it seemed much easier to get the whole 12'6 into the water but he was still forward a fair bit.
This is the first starboard that from looks alone I wouldn't mind trying. It actually looks quick and I think (from looks alone) that it will be quite quick for those sub 80kg guys in dw conditions.
Siiick looking board!! Def has the lines of a great BOP board. Great review as usual guys!
There were a few guys on the new Carbon BOP (I think mostly the 28.5) for today's 12 Towers Race on the Gold Coast with young Lincoln Dews coming in 6th overall on this board (top 6 were all 12'6 class). Would be interesting to see how the guys felt it went for a downwinder.
to me it looks pretty surf friendly. i can imagine that nose slicing through waves and foam very nicely. the all soft shape means not to much is going to 'grab' it.
Good review guys. Looking forward to the downwind verdict
Not so great.. Do'able but not as good as the Naish and Fanatic BOP boards.. The 12'6" Starboard Race goes better on the DW'ers according to PT.
It was very wild out there today.. but it was the same for everyone.. It will be interesting to see what Jonathan thinks of its DW performance.
DJ
If you want a Starboard for DW, get the Race rather than the Race BOP. It's better suited for sure. Mind you, we were out in 45 knots so hardly ideal for a 12'6" board regardless of the shape.
Heard a line on SNL last night - the two words most foreign to your average American: medium and small.
When I'm in Maui and snooping around Sports Mart looking for bargains and checking out the crossbows and high-powered rifles (seriously) often end up in the kids department to get paddling shirts that fit (also seriously!) asked the giant local guy serving if there are any small sizes and he explained that they just don't bother carrying them and looked at me kinda weird...
Heard a line on SNL last night - the two words most foreign to your average American: medium and small.
When I'm in Maui and snooping around Sports Mart looking for bargains and checking out the crossbows and high-powered rifles (seriously) often end up in the kids department to get paddling shirts that fit (also seriously!) asked the giant local guy serving if there are any small sizes and he explained that they just don't bother carrying them and looked at me kinda weird...
And thanks Paul from The Zu for letting me demo the board.
