Length: 252 cmWidth: 75.5 cmTail Width: 48.7 cmThickness: 12.2 cmWeight: 8.40 kgFin: Drake Freeride Power 44 (Tuttle Box)Sail range: 6.0m² - 9.0m²Available Constructions: Carbon, Wood and Tufskin

On the Water:

The 2015 Starboard Carve 131 Wood feels relatively wider than some of the other boards in the test but excels at pretty much anything a board in this category should excel at, except maybe the jibing that doesn't offer as many possibilities as we would have liked to see. Let's go through that step by step.

First up is phase 1: getting planing. The Starboard Carve starts to get going extremely early in the lightest winds, hovering over the water and planing very freely. It works well in passive planing thanks to the rocker and one of the longest fins of the test group.

Then comes phase 2: the plane. The Carve 131 felt very stable, both in terms of lateral and longitudinal stability, while skipping above the water at full speed. It is so stable sideways that the board feels like it's fixed in concrete when you crank the downwind rail. You immediately feel as if you were on a freerace board even though the stance on the ergonomically well-designed deck remains as comfortable as it should be on a freeride board. The Starboard has just the right amount of liveliness in a straight line to give that sporty feeling without feeling out of control.

Finally there is phase 3: the jibe. When applying full pressure on the rail, it slices through water like butter, with a lot of speed and stability out of the turn. Success is guaranteed! There is just one thing the Carve doesn't like: the pure racing jibe where the entire rail length is used.

SURF Verdict:

The Carve is an easy freeride, with strong planing performance and fast, friendly power jibes.