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The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

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davesails7
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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby davesails7 » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:20 pm

windfreak74 wrote:with all this hydrofoil craze would it be posible for this board to come with inserts for hydrofoill.
I thought about that too, but probably very difficult to put a flat plate style hydrofoil on this with all that concave. Maybe if you had a spacer that matched the concave of the board on top and was flat on the bottom?

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby John B » Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:53 pm

Had a chance to get out on the Duke the other day with a 10m Flite. I would consider light winds (normal 12m-14m for most).
Such a light feeling board; (first thought was ‘it rides like a Mako’) at least the smoothness of it. Other than that it is completely different in that it is a directional. Motors upwind very nice locks in yet it is loose. The lightness was a subtle change for me switch stancing tho I got used to it quickly. So far so good :D

I want to get it out into the swells as soon as we get a good day!

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby NYKiter » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:01 pm

Second sesh on the duke, 8m gusty with knee to waist-high, cross up slop.
Way more stable than a surfboard. Cranked some hard bottom turns with no sliding to off the tops and back down for redirects....no pearling.... yummmmmm
:jump: :jump: :jump:

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby ORSales » Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:54 pm

Strekke wrote:@75kgs: 17m Flite + Duke = cruising around and riding easily up wind in 7/8 knots? Cause when I talk LW I mean sub 10.
Strekke, classic answer / non-answer: wind speed does not = wind strength. 8 knots of cold air is far more dense than 8 knots of warm, plus a wind meter on the beach reading 8 might not be recording 10-12 knots aloft.

Anyway, short answer yes, you should be able to have fun but depending on where you are (if the air is warmer) you might be slogging... It would be really helpful if someone from Florida who has experience with the Duke + Flite 17 could jump in on this as I know we have a ton of these in circulation down there already.
windfreak74 wrote:with all this hydrofoil craze would it be posible for this board to come with inserts for hydrofoill.
Others here correctly identified that for now we are concerned that this would a) mess up the bottom flow of the water when in "board" mode and b) would add weight, throwing off the balance of the board. However, never say never...

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby madworld » Mon Apr 20, 2015 7:15 pm

davesails7 wrote:
windfreak74 wrote:with all this hydrofoil craze would it be posible for this board to come with inserts for hydrofoill.
I thought about that too, but probably very difficult to put a flat plate style hydrofoil on this with all that concave. Maybe if you had a spacer that matched the concave of the board on top and was flat on the bottom?

And what kind of box would they use?
Plate mount 90mm, F box with one screw, F box with 2 screws, Pro box, Standard tuttle, Deep tuttle ! Nothing is standardized, including how some masts like the Alpine have bends in them
and foot strap positioning will be off.

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby ORSales » Tue Apr 21, 2015 5:07 pm

We have a couple of Dukes here at Waves Village in OBX right now. So far we have had a good chunk of people at the Crew Event get out on them. Synopsis of feedback is more of the same - extremely stable, easy, forgiving, and fun.

Will hopefully have some video testimonials and comparisons. Although this is an Ocean Rodeo event, we have lots of riders here using other brands of kites and boards, so they should be able to provide a lot of good feedback for those out there who are looking for Duke details.

Stay tuned!

PS - if anyone is in the area and wants to give one a try, come swing on by and take one for a spin. Our last day kiting will be Saturday the 25th.

Ned - Ocean Rodeo

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby adamj2281 » Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:11 am

First impressions..... a great mix between a surfboard and Mako. Ocean Rodeo has really outdone themselves on this one, I've been waiting/asking for a Mako oriented surfboard for awhile, and this board is a perfect mix. I've ridden all of the Makos at one point or another, even the Mako skinny, they are all great boards, but I've gradually moved away from them towards riding surfboard more, just because I want a more directional feel if there's waves, and I'll ride a more traditional twintip when I just want to jump and do tricks.

So.......this board is ideal because it's oriented towards conditions we are generally in, wind-driven waves that are typically not as steep (unless you luck into side-off conditions) and there's generally some sort of chop to work through. These type of conditions I would say summarize 90% of the waves we get, up to head high, short period, spilling type waves.

The Duke has exceled in the two sessions I've had, it's fun to carve, it seems to sit really well in the wave. Another thing I noticed was that on my surfboard I had to be pretty powered up to ride back on the board with my rear foot near the pad bump. The Duke seems to ride nicely with that foot placement, and it makes it really easy to carve and slash.

Upwind was better than expected, I actually struggle for some reason getting upwind on my Litewave Quad, but had no such issue on the Duke, very happy about that. Changing stance was easier than I expected as well given how light the board is. Deck pad is really comfortable. No comments on the straps yet, probably won't get much use. Overall construction is top notch.

So, I would advise this for anyone who rides a directional in less than ideal waves. It's definitely oriented more towards a directional, which is exactly what I wanted. It allows for deeper carves than the Mako King without losing the rail. I would say that if you typically ride the King in twintip stance, this board will definitely feel different. But if you are riding a surfboard or Mako King in directional stance, this board is definitely worth checking out.

Thanks OR

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby NYKiter » Thu Apr 23, 2015 12:42 pm

Weve already had a ding on the demo here. A bruising caused a spot on the rail to push in and the rampart skin (seemed like thick paint?) bubbled up. Had to peel it back and place some rubberized glue on it. The inside was the translucent fiberglass. Not sure how to handle dings - we can see using something like solarez but dont know how that would do with the skin.

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby ORSales » Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:13 pm

adamj2281 wrote:First impressions..... a great mix between a surfboard and Mako. Ocean Rodeo has really outdone themselves on this one, I've been waiting/asking for a Mako oriented surfboard for awhile, and this board is a perfect mix.
Adam, we've been hoping to release this board for years but it took us a very long time to get it right and we were very aware that we not release a board that was only half way there as 1st impressions count. So far, we feel quite vindicated as everywhere these initial demo boards have shipped we have seen immediate stocking orders from dealers and great feedback from consumers.
adamj2281 wrote:So.......this board is ideal because it's oriented towards conditions we are generally in, wind-driven waves that are typically not as steep (unless you luck into side-off conditions) and there's generally some sort of chop to work through.
Precisely what we were aiming for - make the everyday conditions a blast to ride.
adamj2281 wrote:Upwind was better than expected, I actually struggle for some reason getting upwind on my quad
Can't speak to the shape of your quad but rocker line on the Mako Duke and the deep concave help drive the board up wind. . .
adamj2281 wrote:Changing stance was easier than I expected as well given how light the board is. Deck pad is really comfortable.
I've found - and we have been told by many riders - that the Duke is far more stable than most directionals, making it very easy for footwork....
adamj2281 wrote:Overall construction is top notch.
We are really happy with the overall fit and finish of the boards and are really excited by the new production techniques we are using. As NYKiter identifies below the boards can still be dinged but the Rampart Skin has already shown to be far tougher than a simple epoxy fiberglass finish.
adamj2281 wrote:Thanks OR
Thanks Adam!
NYKiter wrote:We've already had a ding on the demo here. A bruising caused a spot on the rail to push in and the rampart skin (seemed like thick paint?) bubbled up. Had to peel it back and place some rubberized glue on it. The inside was the translucent fiberglass. Not sure how to handle dings
NYK - the Duke is an EPS foam core with epoxy resin and fiberglass that is then baked under pressure to adhere the Rampart Skin. Once damaged, the skin can peel back but should be easily repaired with any epoxy putty. If you are concerned about aesthetics you can dye the putty orange but otherwise, back fill with putty and sand. Could also paint over afterwards if you wish...

The Rampart Skin acts as a great barrier to everyday dings and scuffs but all foam core boards will ding if hit hard enough. We have had some damage to some of the local boards too but overall we are very happy with the durability of these boards given the conditions and beaches they are being used on...

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Re: The Duke - A Nobel Addition To The OR Mako Family

Postby droffats » Sat Apr 25, 2015 9:32 am

Here are some closeups of the Duke to get a better perspective on it. We won't get on it until tomorrow at the earliest to know what's the what.

for comparison sake to a Cole Firefly by Aviso:
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Little or no toe in:
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