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Scott Warren
I caught up with the fantastic Scott Warren ; he ’ s been a racer of both 12 ’ 6 and 14 ’, worked in distribution and is now one of the Directors of our GB SUP National Series .
“ I started paddling in 2009 , and I first got on a race board in 2010 . Back then , a race board was typically 12 ’ 6 by 28 ” and a big heavy shape at that . It was a slogfest and a real shoulder killer for a 70kg paddler as I was then with minimal skill . Compared to what we have now , these shapes were monstrous to paddle for lighter paddlers , that ’ s for sure ! Interestingly , my first proper race season was on a 14 ’ back in 2012 on a 14 ’ x 25 ” Starboard Ace Pro . 25 ”, which was very narrow at the time . Still , the board was extremely light , so it was easy enough to handle until it got too choppy .
“ 2015 the 12 ’ 6 class was full of the lighter paddlers , so I jumped ship for two years , and we had some great racing . Some of the longer distances were a slog . Still , overall , it was competitive , and the boards were easy to handle in all conditions .
“ 2017 saw a shift to 14 ’ boards and the brands responded with lighter , lower volume options , with my race board being 21.5 ” wide at the time . It was a joy to paddle and is still the quickest board I ’ ve been on ; it just worked everywhere despite being flat water-focused . For the most part , the other 14 ’ boards I tried at that time were easy enough to use as well . Sure the 12 ’ 6 was still an excellent option for tech and beach racing , but with some practice , I felt quicker everywhere on a 14 ’ at this point . I ’ ve been on 14 ’ boards ever since and would only really consider a 12 ’ 6 for fun paddling now , personally .”