Bluwave Carbon Race 14 27" SUP review
During the summer of 2016 I had to purchase a new paddle board. For many reasons this turned out to be quite a pain. I started with a Level 6 12.6 touring but quickly found issues with that board which I could not live with so I looked to a local vendor Bluwave Paddleboards for a solution as everyone's stock was very limited halfway though the season.
I liked the 12.6 length but really wanted to try a 14 as I have heard they are faster and this is the direction that I decided to go. I chose the Bluwave14 foot Carbon Race as I wanted the lightest and fastest board they offered but still stayed at 27" as I was not ready for the 25". Below is a picture of me on the first night.
I purchased this board and got on the water as fast as I could. I immediately found that it was faster than the Level 6 but I was not used to the 27 inch width yet so I found it a little tipsy at first.
Within a few weeks I was up to speed on its handling. The board was very responsive to leaning side to side so I at first found myself weaving side to side more than I wanted to until I learned how to control it. I also found that the tail does not have a lot of volume as shown in the picture below. The rear also has a little rounding V for release of water so it does like to roll. It is good that they put a kick pad on the rear as I often found myself at a higher angle that anticipated and learned to control the twist side to side with an offset foot.
The rest of the board is pretty flat except for the nose where the slightly inverted piercing nose tapers to a slightly rounded bottom before it goes flat. It is interesting that the top of the board is more rounded than the bottom. The rails are pretty soft until the last 3 feet of the board.
The flat bottom and piercing nose makes for a fast board. When at the 2016 Paddle for the Cure I was able to catch and then draft off Larry Cain when he was drafting a sailboat at around 7-9mph. Since I was in a a wake behind his board which was in the large sailboat wake I had many instances that I lost the draft but was able to power back up and get back on. My GPS said I topped out at 11mph. I think this is really good as I was only paddling for a few months and my technique was not great and does confirm that the board has potential. It is also the most winning board of the Ontario SUP race series as well.
In flat water I found the board is best with your weight in front of the handle to get the max waterline and ensure that the nose is piercing the water. If going downwind make sure that you get that weight back fast as it will pearl pretty easily with its small amount of front rocker. It is not built for downwind but can do it but if that is all you do I would not get this board. Again this board was not designed for this and if you are racing then you are most likely good enough to compensate.
Also this design is not great in big side chop, especially if it is accompanied but high winds. I was out one day that I was killing myself just to keep it strait as every wave would undo anything I did to paddle or lean the board to steer into the wind. The large flat side of the nose was caught by every wave and the wind would just multiply this effect. It is not just this board that has this issue as any piercing nose board has this issue but the new large volume/profile nose designs just makes more sail/surface area. My wife has a Jimmy Lewis Stiletto and it does this as well just not as much as the nose does not have as high of a profile.
The large volume front drops into a flat deck area. The pad is pretty flush with the top of the board so it does not hold water in a pool as some boards do, think Starboard Allstar, if they do not have a drain hole. Also the pad itself is closed cell so it does not weight down with water. The light blue pad did not collect much dirt and would self clean quickly when on the water.
Customer Support was very good as I had a small issue and the owner of Bluwave responded very quickly and it was actually him. This is still a small company so expect that you will be personally taken care of if you have any questions or issues.
I liked the 12.6 length but really wanted to try a 14 as I have heard they are faster and this is the direction that I decided to go. I chose the Bluwave14 foot Carbon Race as I wanted the lightest and fastest board they offered but still stayed at 27" as I was not ready for the 25". Below is a picture of me on the first night.
I purchased this board and got on the water as fast as I could. I immediately found that it was faster than the Level 6 but I was not used to the 27 inch width yet so I found it a little tipsy at first.
Within a few weeks I was up to speed on its handling. The board was very responsive to leaning side to side so I at first found myself weaving side to side more than I wanted to until I learned how to control it. I also found that the tail does not have a lot of volume as shown in the picture below. The rear also has a little rounding V for release of water so it does like to roll. It is good that they put a kick pad on the rear as I often found myself at a higher angle that anticipated and learned to control the twist side to side with an offset foot.
The flat bottom and piercing nose makes for a fast board. When at the 2016 Paddle for the Cure I was able to catch and then draft off Larry Cain when he was drafting a sailboat at around 7-9mph. Since I was in a a wake behind his board which was in the large sailboat wake I had many instances that I lost the draft but was able to power back up and get back on. My GPS said I topped out at 11mph. I think this is really good as I was only paddling for a few months and my technique was not great and does confirm that the board has potential. It is also the most winning board of the Ontario SUP race series as well.
In flat water I found the board is best with your weight in front of the handle to get the max waterline and ensure that the nose is piercing the water. If going downwind make sure that you get that weight back fast as it will pearl pretty easily with its small amount of front rocker. It is not built for downwind but can do it but if that is all you do I would not get this board. Again this board was not designed for this and if you are racing then you are most likely good enough to compensate.
Also this design is not great in big side chop, especially if it is accompanied but high winds. I was out one day that I was killing myself just to keep it strait as every wave would undo anything I did to paddle or lean the board to steer into the wind. The large flat side of the nose was caught by every wave and the wind would just multiply this effect. It is not just this board that has this issue as any piercing nose board has this issue but the new large volume/profile nose designs just makes more sail/surface area. My wife has a Jimmy Lewis Stiletto and it does this as well just not as much as the nose does not have as high of a profile.
The large volume front drops into a flat deck area. The pad is pretty flush with the top of the board so it does not hold water in a pool as some boards do, think Starboard Allstar, if they do not have a drain hole. Also the pad itself is closed cell so it does not weight down with water. The light blue pad did not collect much dirt and would self clean quickly when on the water.
Customer Support was very good as I had a small issue and the owner of Bluwave responded very quickly and it was actually him. This is still a small company so expect that you will be personally taken care of if you have any questions or issues.
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