147 testing

[<marek>]

Sukhdev, any further comment on the 147 handling/speed  and fins etc?

[sukhdev]

marek, been caught up in slalom, will be back to formula again as the winds seem to have wound down (sadly). Tested a r13h 70 on the 147; seems to work good on the board. talked to kookiat quite a bit about the board, since he has hull number #3 (literally); his feeling is that its very fast on the reach compared to the previous boards and handles high wind sailing better than the X; i'd concur with that.

personally i think its going to be a while before the impact of this design is felt. its clearly a more efficent hull and needs some rethinking on fins/rig settings etc. i enjoy sailing it.

[<Sven>]

Suhkdev,

Do you state that the board is not the giant leap that some say? In the Nationals of Australia it is obvious that the board is competitive for shure but it is not a giant leap cause otherwise it would have been second. Phil can't be beaten when he is on this pace.
We are up to a very interesting year of formula racing. Could even be better then Formula 1 car racing.

[sukhdev]

quote:Suhkdev,

Do you state that the board is not the giant leap that some say? In the Nationals of Australia it is obvious that the board is competitive for shure but it is not a giant leap cause otherwise it would have been second. Phil can't be beaten when he is on this pace.
We are up to a very interesting year of formula racing. Could even be better then Formula 1 car racing.  

Sven, giant leap or not I can't say, but it is very different in feel from previous Starboards and the difference is positive in my opinion. I definitely changed my rig settings for the board. The nature of the rig changes and the feel of the hull lead me to believe this is the way forward - a more efficent and "free" rocker.

I've had the privelege of racing Phil (or watching his rear dissapear rather) and Mike Nelson as well. At that level of racing its hard to envisage a huge breakthrough, after all its a good thing for the sport that relative differences in performance are narrowing. I think the real impact of the 147 will be felt when rigs/fins become optimally tuned for it. Can't wait to get my Nitro IVs to test with it.