can i get a little starboard 12-6 feedback?
Nov 4th, 2007 by linter
well, bob was going to come visit me in RI and let me try his starbboard but it didn’t work out for various reasons. but the fact that he has one of those boards — and the fact that i saw someone in the lineup today cruising around on one — got me to thinking that i need one myself … i think! i’m riding a jimmy11 now and am about 185lbs all wet-suited up. i’m looking for a board to get me through the winter in a more comfortable fashion than i think the jimmy will; i.e., i’m looking for more stability and more glide and am willing to give up a little surfability in return. i’ve got these old balance issues and the winter is hard enuf as it is. bill, you’ve ridden both the jimmy and the starboard. what do you think? at my relatively puny size, will i be able to swing that board into a turn? there’s a place i found that has s new-but-scratched starboard 12-6 for 1350 as opposed to full retail of 1500. or maybe i should wait and see what the ‘08 boards look like? what do ya’ll think?
You saw my response at Standup Zone. I love the board. They also have a 12 x 32 that should be super stable. I’m starting to learn to turn the 12-6 pretty quickly with a 1/2 step back
That’s a great price, I’d grab it. I really like the Starboard 12-6, enough so that I’ve paid full price for two of the more expensive wood versions ($2000).
The Laird (surftech) that is actually a smaller board than the Starboard, feels like it’s much larger. Part of the reason is how light the Starboard is, and part is the shape. I find the Starboard to be very easy to turn, and it glides amazingly well. It’s got a lot of initial stability and you can save yourself from falling after some pretty extreme mistakes because it recovers well. I think the difference is in where the rocker is placed. The center of the board is pretty flat and the edge transitions are gradual, so it glides really well, in fact as good as I’ve found.
But the rocker in the nose and tail is enough to provide stability and aid maneuvering (one step back and the nose lightens, take another and it comes out of the water). My next post has some video reviewing the board. I’ll get that done this morning.
Oh, and one other thing, it sails great. It’s got inserts to enable you to screw on a mast base and it has a centerboard slot. I haven’t used the centerboard much–I didn’t really need it to go upwind given the length of the board–but it’s a nice feature.
It’s also got double leash fittings to make it easy to add a rear handle and a leash insert in the nose. I’m going to add a rash of inserts to mine because I want to take some long paddles and don’t want to carry everything on my back–a net on the nose is good for that.
I don’t think it would be my first choice for surfing, though I could be very wrong about that. I notice that Gianpaolo has one that he’s sailing a lot, and he probably wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t good. Paolo was one of the pioneers at sailing longboards to surf on light wind days. He inspired me to add a track to my JL 11′7″. If you’re sailing to surf (as he is) instead of sailing to sail then you won’t accept a board that won’t surf well.
bob and bill: thanks for the insights. the more i think about it, the more i’m fired up to get one, esp. since i have a 12′ munoz soft top i could sell to further lower the cost.
bill: i probaby will never sail it. i’m just looking for a board that’s maybe not up to the jimmy in terms of surfing but that can cruise well on those flat days and provide me some winter-time ease. do you know if there’s any different b/ the 07 and 08 models?
bob: i went out this morning and the waves were much diminished and great fun to ride. about 3′ with a 4′er rolling in every once in a while. it was fairly crowded early on but thinned out as folks went to work. hope you got some, too!
and oh bill: please to document and post pix and how-to stuff when you start installing those inserts. i’ve done two on my jimmy (which i should have documented) and they turned out great. covered up the dirty work with my pad, bingo bango you can’t even tell what went on undernearth.
Ditto on the insert documentation. I definitely want to do the same. My board is going to be a fishing machine next summer. I wonder if you could get a ride off a big tuna?
I’m assuming drilling and epoxying in the insert but the thought of drilling into my board sends a shiver and I’m pretty good with tools. I think I’ll let you go 1st.
I’m also thinking of adding some of the clear no slip traction pad to the front. I actually put a small dent in the nose with my face yesterday trying to weight the front. Note to self…don’t step off the pad.
You asked about the 2008 boards, I don’t expect any change, the 12′6″ is pretty successful. If they follow current trends the next board will be shorter. I’d go for that board, I’m really pleased with the glide.
I’m also setting up my starboard for fishing, I made a rod holder today. I knew that new TIG welder was going to come in handy. I’m also working on a camera mount–both nose height and extended to about two feet above the nose. I’m going to make that so it either mounts in inserts or can be suction cupped and bungeed. I plan to use it for the big board test this February.
Hi,
I’ve had this board for about month now, and found it to be the board for me, I’m 6′2″ and weigh 240, I started on a 12′ softop, about 3 years ago(flatwater only) then got an Infinity 12′x30″x5.5 custom SUP board and learned to surf it, a great board! but found I needed a little more foam under me for the what can be a somewhat fickle wave condition in the Strats. I have surfed this board on small days (1′-2′ ft) to chest to head high days and found it to be awesome, as far as stability goes, I took it out on a very windy bumpy day a week or two ago, and was able to actually catch a few waves, I’m sold on the board, an think it would be a nice winter board as well a great fitness/distance board for you, that your friends can learn on in the summer
okay, guys, you’ve got me sold. now, i wonder how i can get it into my shed w/out the s.o. catching wind of it. hmmm.
bill: i’d be very interested in your fishing set up. my experiments so far haven’t been overly successful, probably because i’ve been working on making it so i can have a rod (or at least a fishing apparatus) with me while i’m sup surfing. i haven’t used my addlepated solution recently, but a few days ago while i was in the water, acres and acres of birds began working about a half mile out. if i’d had the 12-6, i coulda been out there and back in no time, with a great big bass (or blue) bungeed to my deck for dindin. yummm.