John R. expressed an interest in hearing my impressions of early planing board demos at Bartons. So I figured I’d post this for all to read. If anyone else has spent some time on the early planing boards, I’m interested in their impressions too. Has anyone tried the Allstar 70?

Apologies for the long post... hey... you can always skip over it if not interested.

Last Sunday was the perfect day to demo, winds 5-10 early in the day, then building to 25 late. I tried the Seatrend Allstar 70, Protech Race 140 and the Starboard Formula 155. I spent about the same time on all boards and
used the same sail (Mana 6.8) the whole day.

General Impression
The early planing boards are easy to sail, and fast. Many people have already told me this, but I could never appreciate the dramatic changes in modern boards until I tried some. In the past, I though I would never use a board larger than 120 liters except for practicing tacks in light wind. IMHO, modern early planing boards in the 130-140 liter class are just as
maneuverable as older slalom board in the 100 liter range. And, I guess I'll state the obvious, they make planing in 8 knots a reality.

These boards are geared toward those who are fully engaged in the harness and ready to stand on the rail. If you're not there yet, don't waste your money on this light wind gear. There are three skills which work in concert to make modern light wind boards work: rail pressure, fully engaged harness, and board trim. Subplaning these boards is not fun. I imagine learning to use footstraps or the harness on these boards would be very difficult.

Inward placement of straps (front and rear) is useless. Only marginal planing conditions would make me comfortable there, maybe. If I am powered up (planing), inward mounted straps make me ride with toes pointed and feet fully extended. If I ride like this for 30 minutes or more, the ligaments and joints in my ankles and feet start to hurt. A little later, I mention an exception to inward placement of the back foot strap.

Seatrend has a good thing going with the Allstar 70. I never expected to be pleasantly surprised with a Seatrend flapper board. It was easy to sail, fast and turned so much easier than I imagined. I started predisposed, biased against "the flap". I had some concerns about replacing damaged flaps. Also, I believe in principle with how it works but not that it would
make a difference when compared to boards without flaps. It turns out I could not distinguish any differences between boards which I could attribute to the flap. Although, I liked the AllStar 70 so much, I no longer consider the flap a deterrent to a purchase.

The Formula 155 had the highest surprise factor. Big Surprise 1: The Formula scared me to death fully powered off the wind. Very unnerving. My back foot wanted to be placed near the center rear of the board, but I did not have
the cahunas (sp?) to ride fully powered off the wind without my back foot firmly planted in the foot strap (on the rail). It surprised me that this board could be designed without inward rear footstraps for deep reaches. I saw someone on the beach with a custom rear center strap which ripped out during a race. He apparently had similar concerns. Big Surprise 2: Formula was an upwind planing machine! It screamed upwind better than anything I've ridden. Because of all the good press, its upwind ability was not surprising. But, I was surprised at how it achieved this strength. IMHO, the simple fact that foot strap placement further from the center line than any other board makes sheeting in on the Formula comparatively easy. A "normal" stance on the Formula takes you upwind. Shift weight forward, straighten the back leg, and you point even higher, and fast, and without risk of getting pitched. In all fairness, I must say that I was fully powered, if not over
powered, when testing the 155. I am sure lighter winds would make deep reaches more manageable. I believe the 155 wins races because it's the first boat to reach the windward mark.

The Protech 140 was a very comfortable board to ride. I attribute this to the domed deck (only on back of board) which placed my feet in a comfortable position in the footstraps. It turned easy and did not feel like a race board (IMHO). Protech Race was the easiest board to initiate turns. At least for me this was true. Another rider didn't like how the Protech turned. Since the Protech is a race board and the Allstar 70 is a freeride style, I imagine the Allstar should have taken the top spot. However, my rider preferences must have made me select Protech over the Allstar for most
maneuverable. Protech did not loose speed into transitions to either to windward or lea. It’s domed deck put my feet in a comfortable position where I could foot steer the board. Foot steer was more tricky on both the Allstar and the 155.

Jibes
All boards required concentration to stay forward through the jibes. Any weight on the tail (or back) then the boards stall. Protech stalled the least. I made the most mistakes letting my weight move back on the Allstar.

Tacks
All boards were very easy to tack. The Protech sunk (occasional wash) the nose the quickest but never effected balance in tacks.

Down Wind
The Allstar was the easiest to push hard off the wind. This trait made me enjoy riding the Allstar the most. Balance and control were such that I felt comfortable dragging my front hand in the water fully powered on a DEEP reach. Dragging the hand for a few seconds on reach is one thing, cranking off the wind is another. This level of control made the Allstar my top choice. Although, I must not forget that I need to get back upwind sometime.

Upwind
Top dog: Formula 155, then Protech, then Allstar. I was disappointed that the Allstar 70 did not point to weather better.

Conclusions
As with any other equipment review, ratings are subjective. If I were to buy one of these three boards today, I would get the Allstar 70 mostly because of ease of control. The Allstar was the worst upwind and was the only board
which had a tendency break loose with the slightest excess pressure on the fin. If you want to win light air races, buy the Formal 155. The Protec 140 is a perfect compromise between the two boards.

Recommendation to John R.
Do not buy the Protech 140. I can not keep up with you now. If you get the Protec, I won’t stand a chance of EVER catching you. Seriously though, this board might be a bit big, but it will keep you dry on Jordan. The Protech
will plane much earlier than your Explosion. Try it as a demo next time at Bartons. I suspect you will want to buy one.

People with Modern Light Wind Boards Please post your reasons for buying your board. What you like the most and
the least. I’m interested because I’ll be buying one soon.