Picked up a new 2015 Starboard Futura 124 Wood last week from Windsurfing Gear's shop in Hervey Bay and headed down to Lake Cootharaba for some fun. First-up, here's some pics of the board...
The 124 litre board is 246x76cm and comes with a 48cm Venom G10 fin. I had 3 days of sailing on the lake in pretty inconsistent northerlies from 6-18 knots. I had the GPS on and my best speed was 28 knots with the supplied fin and 29 knots with a Black Project Type-R 40cm fin. Sail was an 8.6 Severne Overdrive R5.
Over the past 2 years I've been using a 2012 Exocet RS5 (122 litre 230x76cm) as my light wind board and the first thing I noticed with the Futura was how "cruisy" it was. Just much easier to sail allround. The wood construction was also noticeably quieter and smoother in the chop from the carbon RS5. I frequently found myself cruising along with only one hand on the boom and looking around while singing a song. I must have been enjoying it! I can see myself getting some nice distance PB's on this board.
Surprisingly, getting onto the plane was not noticeably slower from the RS5 and when carrying the board back up through the park, I didn't notice any extra board weight. Maybe that's because I still had plenty of energy left at the end of the session? Gybing was also easier and more forgiving than I expected. Overall just "staying on the board" was way easier and I managed to get back to shore still dry each day.
The extra length of the Futura was much more "chugging" friendly through the lulls and wind-shadows. This is an important feature where I normally sail at Urangan and getting in/out through the wind-shadow close to shore. The 29.0 knots I got on KA72/GPSTC was my best speed ever on a 76cm wide board, even better than the old carbon slalom board. So, I'm feeling this board has got plenty of speed ability.
Overall, if you're looking for something quick and comfortable, I'd certainly recommend the Futura. Five out of five happy faces from me! 
Nice review Andy !
Could you tell what difference the large cutouts made whilst you were sailing ?
ie could you see that these areas of the tail were clear of the water
The cutouts on the iSonics have multiple tiers and I can see that they would make a real difference, however are the Futura cutouts more of a cosmetic or marketing thing ? It looks to me like they could be another 5mm deeper.
Hi Glen! Well I could see the pattern of the cut-outs in the wake - just like you do on the modern iSonics. I found the cut-outs did their job on the Cootharaba chop and certainly better than the RS5 cut-outs which are deeper (although the RS5 also has a wider tail).
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..
What do the cutouts do?
Good question. I'll have a stab. The ideal bottom shape is not the same as the ideal top shape. Too much bottom at the rear pushes the nose down when you don't want it. Too little on top deck and there's not enough room to put footstraps in the ideal location. The best rail shape for turning is also further out. But why the cutouts aren't just designed with a set square? That is probably just cosmetic.
Select to expand quoteIan K said..sboardcrazy said..
What do the cutouts do?
Good question. I'll have a stab. The ideal bottom shape is not the same as the ideal top shape. Too much bottom at the rear pushes the nose down when you don't want it. Too little on top deck and there's not enough room to put footstraps in the ideal location. The best rail shape for turning is also further out. But why the cutouts aren't just designed with a set square? That is probably just cosmetic.
Ian, I recently also thought that the shape of these cutouts are cosmetic and for marketing, but have since been told that Starboard go through an exhaustive cutout tetsing process.
Would be good if someone in the know could confirm or otherwise.
