Starboard's Generation is the genuinely versatile board for paddlers who don't want to commit to a single discipline — equally at home on a long flat-water tour around Anglesey, lining up at a club race, or catching small clean waves on a gentle day. Winner of SUPConnect's Gear of the Year award twice (2021 and 2023), the Generation's hybrid shape combines touring efficiency, race-board glide, and enough rocker for forgiving surf performance. Six sizes from a fast 12'6" × 26" up to a stable 14'0" × 30", giving paddlers from ~75kg up to ~120kg the right fit, in three constructions (Lite Tech, Blue Carbon, Rhino). The right board if you want one paddleboard for everything you do — not the best at any single discipline, but genuinely capable across all three. Free UK postage.

One board: Surfing, Racing, Touring

The Generation can be described best as a touring, surfing and racing hybrid. It is designed to be a simple choice for every condition. A true high-performance all round paddle board.

🏆 2× Gear of the Year by SUPConnect — 2021, 2023

Product features

3-in-1: A true one-board quiver — Surfing, Racing, Touring

The tail is refined to be sharp and equipped with thruster fin boxes, allowing it to perform well in surf and ocean swells.

Controlled glide

Fairly parallel outline gives you a very predictable and controlled glide. The nose gives you fast acceleration when sprinting as it floats on top of the water. The tail narrows into a square shape, allowing you to have very responsive turning in the surf and fast buoy turns.

Round vee bottom shape

Helps lift the board so you can accelerate faster and maintain a higher top speed. It also floats over chop smoothly, making it versatile to handle all conditions. Deep double concave supports the round vee with stability directly under foot.

Bungee tie-down

Directly in front of the standing area make it convenient and accessible for you to store any gear when touring and cruising.

Rail thickness

Maintained throughout the entire profile of the board, giving you a balanced glide from nose to tail. The Generation is thinner than a Touring and Race board, making it lighter to manoeuvre and easier to carry.

Rail tuck edge

The rails are round to avoid you catching the nose, sharpening at the middle to create a stable platform, through to sharp edge at the tail to carve in surf.

Gradual nose kick

Helps stop the board from diving in the surf and downwind, as well as lifting over chop upwind. The curved rocker is fast on flats, smooth in the surf and very capable in chop.

Recessed pad

Lowers your centre of gravity for greater comfort and stability. The flat deck makes it easy for you to move freely around when trimming the board and surfing on the tail.

2-in-1 shoulder carry strap

Making it effortless to carry the board to the water and allowing you to fix your paddle when you don't need it. Included with Blue Carbon. Sold separately for Lite Tech and Rhino.

Fin set up

Provides good straight-line tracking and is easy to buoy turn when racing. A thruster set-up with the 5.5" Armacore side fins proved the best combination for added drive and control so you can turn the board with ease in the surf. Comes with Blue Carbon. Lite Tech and Rhino come with 8" Net Positive fin.

Board sock

Reduces paper waste and protects your board from dust, scratches, and UV damage. Made of stretchable polyester, it fits various board shapes and has a secure drawstring closure.

Sizes

14'0" × 30" / 310L

If you want to maximise your glide and have the most stable ride, this is the go to board. Designed for riders up to 120kg, the 30" width is the most forgiving and stable choice.

14'0" × 28" / 285L

Designed for riders up to 110kg, the 28" is the original size which combines speed and stability, giving you the best of both.

14'0" × 26" / 265L

If speed is your priority, then this is the board for you. The 14'0" length maximises the glide and allows you to compete in the 14'0" race class, while the 26" width is most efficient for riders up to 100kg.

12'6" × 30" / 272L

Being the widest 12'6", it offers the best stability for riders up to 110kg. The 12'6" length being shorter is easier to manoeuvre on and off the water.

12'6" × 28" / 249L

Suited to riders up to 100kg, the 28" is the original favourite of the Generation and our best-selling model.

12'6" × 26" / 236L

The 26" is the fastest and most efficient 12'6", designed for lighter riders up to 90kg.

Constructions

Lite Tech

Light, strong, affordable

• Extra rigidity with the introduction of unidirectional stringer bands and solid with added rail/nose reinforcements.
• Australian pine on the standing area for extra impact resistance and rigidity in the most critical area.
• All inserts have added high-density foam reinforcements.

Blue Carbon

Lightness you can feel

• The best-lightest value ever.
• 2-in-1 Shoulder carry strap makes it easy and lighter to carry the board.
• Introducing light biaxial carbon on the deck mixed with a protective layer of low-weight fibreglass placement resulting in the lightness you can feel.
• Australian pine on standing area for extra impact resistance and rigidity.
• 2× T-stringers on the full deck significantly increase strength against total breakage in waves (Special on Generation board only).

Rhino

As tough as it gets

• Built to last, Rhino is the most durable and hardwearing technology designed for schools and clubs.
• The entire board is wrapped in a thick, tough thermoplastic polymer ABS skin, offering an ultra strong impact resistance and durable shell.
• The full rail is wrapped with a 0.7mm thick rail band to further protect the rails against impact.
• Full EVA deck makes it forgiving and comfortable to move around.
• A tow hole in the nose makes it easy to tow the boards and makes it easy to lock multiple boards together.

Honest advice from us

The Generation is genuinely a "one board" answer — but with an honest caveat: it's the right choice if you want one board that does everything reasonably well, not the right choice if you want the best board for a specific discipline. For pure touring distance, look at dedicated touring shapes. For racing, the All Star or Gen R is sharper. For wave riding, the Spice or TwinFin (in Môr's Starboard Surf range) does it better.

Where the Generation wins: the paddler who tours flat water 80% of the time but wants to occasionally enter a club race or catch waves on a gentle day.

Which size? A rough guide: 12'6" × 26" suits lighter performance-focused paddlers under ~90kg chasing speed; 12'6" × 28" is the original favourite, the all-rounder benchmark for paddlers up to 100kg; 12'6" × 30" is the stable 12'6" option, easier to handle and car-top, up to 110kg; 14'0" × 26" is the race-class-compliant speed option for paddlers up to 100kg; 14'0" × 28" is the touring/racing sweet spot up to 110kg; 14'0" × 30" is the maximum-stability touring choice for heavier riders up to 120kg.

Which construction? Lite Tech at £1,269–£1,399 is the most accessible price point — Australian pine standing area, unidirectional stringer bands. Blue Carbon at £2,199–£2,299 is the premium choice — light biaxial carbon deck, twin T-stringers, includes the 2-in-1 shoulder carry strap and the thruster Armacore fin set. Rhino at £1,199 is the school/club-grade durability option — ABS-shell construction designed for high-use environments, surprisingly the cheapest construction in the range.

For sizing and construction advice tailored to your weight and intended use, call us on 01492 588001. Free UK postage.

About Starboard

Starboard was founded in 1994 by Svein Rasmussen with a clear mission: build the best watersports kit in the world, FOR the world. Three decades on, Starboard is the world's leading SUP, windsurf and foil brand, with World Champion riders across every discipline they make boards for. They're a certified B Corp, run an active ocean-plastic recovery programme, and design every product around sustainability as standard. Built in Thailand at Starboard's own factory.

Free UK postage. 01492 588001 for sizing advice, construction questions, or to discuss whether the Generation is the right "one board" for your paddling.