Starboard is developing a super long board called the Serenity.
http://star-board.com/forum/askteam/read.asp?ID=5536&t=2005125132849
I guess after making the widest boards and the shortest boards, short of making a round board, there was nothing else left to try.
This thing is almost 16 :shock: feet long and only 60 cm wide (by way of comparison, most longboards of the past were in the mid 60's and around 10-12 feet). It looks a lot like a kayak. It is designed for displacement mode performance, not planning. Claims are that in 5 kt or less, it could sail at 8-12kt (GPS). :shock: :?: Pretty darn fast, if true. The guy making the claim is one a starbaord distributor in Martinique, and a former Division II expert. Starboard is talking about it being a way to broaden the participation in the sport, since it has lost visability since everyone has to sail in colder weather and nastier days to get enough wind to plane. (Not exactly true, since with wide boards and big sails you can pretty much sail throughout the summer. 
)
It seems to me that it might not be very suitable for begginers, if that's what they have in mind, as it has to be hard to turn, and at its length and width, it would not be that easy to sail. Still, I could see it being popular with longboard fans, and if coupled with a pretty colored sail, just might work at increasing the sports visability. 
What do you all think?
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
I wondered where board design could possibly go after what we've seen in past 5 to 7 years but I didn't see this coming: a board that is
> narrow and, presumably, rather unstable on width axis,
> almost impossible to transport,
> designed to be non-planing...
now, THAT's the kind of progress this sport needs! Wait a minute...I have a early 80's (or late '70's) old Wayler behind the well house that meets all those characteristics. Maybe I should offer it and my "Best of Abba" album as a holiday gift special.
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
c:706-833-WIND (9463)
It is wierd, but I think Starboards logic goes something like this:
a. When all there was to sail was Waylors and Original Windsurfers, the sport was huge - lots of peeps sailing all the time.
b. Waylors and Original Windsurfers were really long, skinny and hard to sail and wouldn't plane unless it was totally nukin
c. Now that the sport is easy to do, nobody (except a few nutcase in GA) goes sailin anymore.
d. Make a board that is long, skinny, hard to sail and doesn't plane, and ergo, lots of peeps will start sailing.
Maybe the idea is to get back all those peeps that left by given em what they wanted all along? Something hard to sail, hard to transport, and only sails in displacement mode.
Or maybe the idea is to get the kayak crowd into thinking this is just a sail powered kayak. (BTW - a buddy of mine has a pedal powered Hobie Kayak, which he says has a sail as an add-on.)
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
That was done back in the early 90's in efforts to break some light wind speed records. It was wood and looked a lot like one of those olympic rowing boats. It was very long and narrow. I would say it might have been around 50cm wide. My guess is that it was close to 25 feet long. It was a total displacement hull that wouldn't plane no matter how fast you went. It took advantage of the old displacement hull length equation to get the speed. It got a lot of attention but no takers. Planing is what most people want. I have thought that earlier planing could be had with flatter rocker lines, narrow shapes and some creative bottom shapes but that is all it would do. Turning would be a chore. I know, how about a motor? No we've done that also.
I think that Hobie is onto something with their pedal system. You pedal it like a bicycle. They have a video on thier website showing an old guy (50s or so, like me) doing a tug of war against two young jocks - they row and he pedals. He wins hands down. Pretty cool.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
looks fast, bet its a pain to jybe though
Non-Planing Windsurfing????
Can it carry a cooler of beer?
The 06 Fanatic mega cat will be the one to keep an eye on for light wind performance