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Starboard Futura 111

STARBOARD FUTURA 111L CARBON 2013 TEST REVIEW

Stats Volume (L) 111 Weight (Kg) 6.5 (inc. fins & straps) Length (cm) 240 Width (cm) 65 Construction Carbon Fin Drake G10 42cm Price £1499

STARBOARD FUTURA 111L CARBON 2013 TEST REVIEW

BEST FOR
Given its heritage it’s unsurprising to find the Futura as perfect for wannabe racers, especially in dirty or gusty wind situations.

RECOMMENDATION
Starboard recommend using two fins to compliment the whole sail range. But, unless you’re out in super-marginal winds, just one smaller fin will suffice. Sails with too much forward pull resulted in harsh back foot pressure suggesting compact, draft-further-back foils are best.

BRAND CLAIM
Starboard describe Futura freerace boards as “Like slalom boards but with more user-friendliness and more comfort. They are the sports cars of windsurfing”. Starboard also offer the Ultrasonic as a lightwind-specific freerace board, the iSonic for full-on slalom and, of course, the Carve for freeride use.

OVERVIEW
Outline: The widest board in this test, the Futura has a wide, blunt nose and very parallel rails with ‘hips’ in the stance area.
Deck: Heavily recessed deck, domed at the rear with an aggressively forward-sloping mast track.
Rail Profile: Tucked rails along the whole length until they sharpen at the rear-straps with wingers.
Bottom Shape: Moderate double concave to slight vee to iSonic-inspired cutaways at tail.
Rocker Line: Continuous rocker from nose up to under front straps where it flattens off with virtually no tail kick.

PERFORMANCE
Underfoot: Very lightweight and stable off the plane thanks to the width, which also helps at an idle.
Early Planing & Acceleration: Effortless. One minute you’re not, and then you are! It all feels surprisingly easy.
Top Speed: Excellent, with amazing acceleration, particularly off the wind. Feeling very attached to the water it’s only when massively overpowered that we ever felt like being on the edge of control.
Gybing & Manoeuvres: Pleasantly easy and forgiving to gybe, especially given the lack of tail kick and general ‘full-on’ appearance. The width adds an extra stability through the turn that inspires confidence and the thin forward rails help in initiating turns. Responds well to changing the arc of the gybe, something you might find yourself doing in a racing situation.
Handling & Ride: Super smooth across all water states. Planted in chop but the fin hydrofoils well over swell and gives confidence to bear off deep. Slightly more technical to sail upwind.

THE VERDICT
Inspired by title-winning designs, the Futura’s a fast and unbelievably early-to-plane race-biased board that’s way more comfortable and forgiving to turn than a full-on slalom shape.

www.star-board.com

READ THE OTHER REPORTS:

Fanatic Hawk 111 Ltd
RRD Firestorm 111
Tabou Manta Pro Team Ed 106

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