Skinny Skis...Its an illness

Disclaimer: I am an average paddler who started paddling about 4 years ago to compete in multisport races. This review is based on MY experience only in various craft that I have paddle during my journey. It is not about comparing one brand with another, simply my experiences in each of those craft. I hope you find it useful.
4 years ago I decided that multisport races would be fun. One problem was that I had never paddle a boat!!! Speaking with friends that paddled opinions were divided; buy the fastest (tippy) boat you can find and learn to paddle it - the other half telling me to buy a stable boat and learn to paddle first!

After lots of reading I started testing boats, bearing mind this was a time just before the introduction of the new wave of "beginner" skis such as the Epic V8, Vajda Oscar, Think Easy and the like.

I needed to find a boat that I could learn to paddle in the cold waters of Tassie and also stay upright during a race after several hours and 2 days of racing. 
I only tested two boats, the Fenn XT which I found too tippy. At 187cm and very long legs I also had trouble with leg length. I also tried the Think Evo and found it a bit of a handful...but decided to buy.
After several paddles and lots of swims in the icy cold waters, I lost confidence and decided to sell this boat after a bad case of hypothermia during a race. In hindsight I should have kept the boat and persisted, I also should have also tested more boats prior to my initial purchase. 


Lesson 1 - Try as many boats as you can prior to making a decision.

I then recommenced my research and decided that warmth and stability was what I needed to finish my race. I then purchased something at the opposite end of the spectrum; a Mirage 580 sea kayak. I found I was faster in this boat than any ski, simply because I was stable and warm. It did the job perfectly, paddling along at 9.5 km and hour, at the same time keeping me warm, and giving me some confidence in the water whilst racing and training. It was also a great boat for the odd fishing and paddling expedition! The staff at Mirage were easy to deal with, made some custom mods as requested and the finish of this boat was awesome. The Mirage was super stable, it has a top speed that is easily reached and maintained with a good level of fitness. What this meant was I could maintain boat speed in all conditions, then recover for the race legs that remained. I might of lost a few minutes on the faster padlers but I would make it up in later legs. I also stayed warm and dry!!!
I still felt as though I had given up on the ski to early and commenced searching for something "faster". I was starting to get a bit frustrated whilst paddling with mates on those fast sleek skinny skis and only being able to keep up for a few minutes. 
At this time Epic released the V8. I paddled it, stayed dry and was hooked after catching my first "runner". Purchase number 3 was made, but at the expense of the Mirage which I was informed had to be sold.


Lesson 2 - Never sell a boat. (Unless divorce is on the cards)

Lesson 3 - Never sell a boat!


The Epic V8 was super stable, allowed me to paddle in all conditions and had a top speed slightly faster than the Mirage. I could paddle this boat between 9.5 and 10.5km/h. It allowed me to further develop my skills, paddle in some rough waters, catch runners etc. The finish of the boat was first class. I purchased the performance version which weighted in at about 16kg, so a lot less than the 19/20kg of the Mirage. The bucket in this ski was comfortable and roomy, and as most of the reviews on this boat attest, it impossible to fall out of!
 After another 12 months or so, I was again getting sick of being "dropped" by those skinny Skis! Purchase number 3 was born when I located a secondhand Think EVO. I was back where I started! For some reason I still never felt comfortable in this boat, whether it was the seating position or just my lack of ability, or just that cold water again, I decided to sell this boat after just a few months and continue my search.
 More Internet research lead me to boats designed and made in Australia by Grafton Paddle Sports. Déjà Vu? Anyway I located an as new Grafton Time Traveler with drop down rudder. My only bad experience was transporting it from Melbourne to Tassie.


Lesson 4 - NEVER ever use AusAir Express to transport anything you want to receive promptly or undamaged.


I absolutely love this boat, my top speed increased again, I felt stable, stayed warm, and on a good day could keep up with and actually pass some of those on skis!! The boat finish was again great, the large cockpit suited my body well and for some reason my posture in the boat was much better than in a ski. The knee braces in the cockpit allowed me to brace when needed and the seating position was fantastic with the small lower back support, just enough to maintain a good upright position without slouching. The boat was great in most conditions although I did feel slight nervous in the surf with only the drop down rudder to steer. A couple of mates have the same boat and swear by the addition of the surf rudder. 
At times a got a little nervous that if I tipped, a long swim would be on the cards. Also entry and exit is obviously more difficult to complete quickly during a race situation. But these minor negative were far outweighed by the positives of this boat. Anyone keen for a fast, stable warm boat to learn in - this would be highly recommended. This would of made a great first boat. The last 12 months in this boat has been fantastic, but for some strange reason I was still drawn to those bloody skinny skis! Whether it was getting dropped by a 60kg midget mate on his V12 or just the sex appeal I kept testing (or tyre kicking as my mates called it) as many skis as I could in that search for Nirvana.


Stellar SE, Stellar SEL - both awesome boats, loved the stability of the SEL, the bucket just didn't suit my bum.
Fenn Swordfish - This was a fantastic boat, stability about the same as the EVO although my skills had improved somewhat, great quality and seating position. This boat was high on the list. It felt like one of the fastest skis I have been able to stay in.

Vajda Orca - I have been able to paddle my mates’ carbon on several occasions. I love the seat position in this boat; the seat feels awesome to sit in. The quality of these boats is second to none that I have seen, and this boat felt fast. I just felt my skills were not at a level to handle the stability of this boat in all conditions. This boat just felt 3 steps above my ability, it will make the list but not just yet.

Vajda Hawx - The initial reviews of this oat got my hopes high, an Orca with more stability? I paddled this boat a few months ago and again the quality and finish was 100% but at nearly 90kg and 187cm a just felt too cramped in this boat, and actually felt more stable in the Orca. Bugger. Some other friends paddled this boat and they all loved it.
Epic V10 sport - A friend bought one, she loved my V8, so we would swap frequently, particularly at races. This was a great boat, I felt stable in most conditions and the boat kept good speed. I wish I had test paddled one of these way back in the beginning, I would have bought one. I was able to paddle this boat at about the same speed as the Time Traveller.
Epic V12 - again some mates paddle this boat so gave me an opportunity to paddle a fast tippy ski. On the dead flat I could stay in this ski and man did it fell fast. Slight swell, and enjoyed my swim. Again I just felt as though I would struggle in race or rough conditions. My long legs also only just fitted in this short cockpit with the foot plate set on the very last hole.

V14 - you have to be kidding!!

New V10 - Boat #5!! The search was over…for now. The quality was great, the Ultra version just under 12kg. I felt relatively stable in this boat, similar to the V10s. Initial stability seemed a bit twitchy but secondary stability is awesome. The narrow catch is fantastic and that small bow just seems to avoid all wind gusts. The seating position is awesome and the top of the seat is now cut away and seems to stop me slouching in the cockpit and also ensuring no rubbing on the lower back. The cockpit seems longer than the v12, still 3 or 4 notches from the end. On the flat water it felt great. In the swell it will take some more practice but I feel as though I will be able to handle this boat in most conditions with some persistence and practice. End story is that this boat fits my body and sits just slightly above my current level of ability giving me somewhere to progress to. At point of writing I have paddled this boat for only a week and covered about 50km loving every minute in it.

Think ION - not released at time of purchase 5 but looking forward to paddling this boat. 


Lesson 5 - Paddle as many boats as you can, read reviews if you like, BUT pick the boat that best suits your ability and comfort requirements. Just because someone else loves won't mean you will. Skis are like running shoes, some you will love, others you will hate for no apparent reason.

Sales and after sales service is also a bonus. We are lucky here in Tassie, all our ski company reps are well respected in the paddling community. They will go out of their way to offer help and support. They attend local events as competitors and sponsors; meaning they are on hand to offer advice and improve your paddling.
Where to from here? My goal now is to improve my paddling fitness (and speed) in my new V10 in ALL conditions. Lots of work to do.
I have kept the V8 which my wife is learning to paddle in; and I still take out in very rough conditions. My Time Traveler I have also kept simply because of lesson 3 and that it will be a great to paddle during our very cold winters. 
How did a former cyclist/triathlete end up with 3 boats in his garage...its an illness.

To be continued.....

//grumpytex.blogspot.com.au

Good reading, thanks for sharing.

Grumptytex you may have avoided some hard times (Lessons 1 through 3) if you followed Rule#5 at all times (rule5.org/). HTFU!

Re boats and paddling, follow Rule #12 - correct number of bikes (boats) to own is n+1. While the minimum number of bikes (boats) one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes (boats) currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes (boats) owned that would result in separation from your partner. (See The Rules www.velominati.com/the-rules/).

Love your work GT, and no having x+1 boats in shed is not an illness, just a condition we share who love what we do.

Boy can I relate....triathlons for 30 years...then I caught the paddling bug...first, Necky Dolphin...then Current Designs Kestrel...then a paddle board...but I wanted something faster...bought a Fenn Mako XT (which I also felt unstable in the ocean)...sold the XT...just bought an Epic V8 which I love...

Watto wrote:
Re boats and paddling, follow Rule #12 - correct number of bikes (boats) to own is n+1. While the minimum number of bikes (boats) one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes (boats) currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes (boats) owned that would result in separation from your partner. (See The Rules www.velominati.com/the-rules/).

Lol... Made my day..

Thanks Watto! I have been reminded of rule #5 many times by my paddling mates. You sound just like them!!!

You are very correct, I have a sneaking suspicion that this addiction only gets worse and this story is far from complete. Having fun and loving it!

Cheers Tex

Hey Tex,

The best way to get comfortable in your ski is to stretch yourself when conditions are favourable. The easiest way to do this would be to chat to your epic dealer about the 'Butt Pad Training Set' it is made up of four separate layers of foam that are connected by Velcro. so the idea is, you start with 1 layer, and keep adding a layer as soon as you have mastered the number you have. for racing simply take out the extra.

So effectively you can train in a tippy ski and race in a ski that will then feel super stable, and it takes a few seconds to change the number of layers of foam.

Hi Ranga,
can you get the epic seat pads in WA as they don't seam to be available from the local dealer?

Spencer

2walt wrote: Boy can I relate....triathlons for 30 years...

15 years of triathlon for me before trying one of these adventure race thingo's

Now 5 years and 8 skis later

Still not 100% happy...it's a slippery slope this paddling gig

I started almost 2 years ago on a Honcho Guevara without ever having sat on a surfski. I was told it was a great beginner ski - nonsense, I kept falling out and could never get back on - I almost gave up the sport completely. I then joined Dawid Mocke's Surfski school where I managed to try out a number of skis - Epic V8, Fenn XT, Custom Horizon etc etc

I then bought a 2nd hand Custom Horizon which was very stable and bullet proof, so bullet proof that it weighed in at a hefty 19 kgs. A great surfski, but as I am the wrong side of 60, and was struggling to put it on my vehicle's roof single-handed, I decided I wanted a lighter ski. I had also taken part in the short course Surfski series in Cape Town and felt that a lighter ski would give me a bit extra speed. I tried the Custom Focus and the Fenn Swordfish and felt decidedly unstable although I thought with perseverance I would eventually master them. Bounced this off Dawid and his comment - "never sacrifice stability for speed", so bought a Fenn XT glass vacuum ski which was a bit more unstable than the Horizon, but it was not long before I was feeling quite at home on the ski. I still managed to fall out occasionally (3 times on a Millers run in a stiff SE), but managed to remount with ease.

Next step was to try out a double as my wife expressed an interest. I bought a mint condition Fenn XT double - problems!! Not with the ski, but with us. It was almost impossible for the 2 of us to load it on my Double Cab roof and we were very unstable - my wife accusing me and me accusing her for wobbling. Exit double, enter Fenn Blue-Fin for my wife. What a great ski! incredibly stable, I would say as stable as the V8 but faster because of the extra length?. I was convinced it would be slower than my XT because of the extra width and extra weight - it was not glass vacuum as is the XT. I took it for a test run on flat water, after a warm up, over my measured 1,7km loop. SURPRISE - I knocked 31 seconds off my best XT time. I have since beaten that time on my XT after many attempts probably because I am a touch fitter now. Bear in mind that that was on flat water and in a choppy sea, the difference would have been greater because of the stability.

Whenever the conditions at sea are choppy and tricky and if my wife isn't paddling, I use the Blue-fin and never have to brace. On Wednesday I took it for a downwinder, and I am not sure if it was that the conditions were not great, but I felt I would have done better on my XT on a downwinder. Cannot swear to that though. Having said all that, I will stick with my XT in all but wild conditions when I will use the Blue-Fin (wife permitting of course)

Just fyi - my wife had never paddled before. In April this year, she did Dawid Mocke's ABC course followed by 2 extra sessions. She has since paddled to Robben Island and back (obviously) in ideal flat conditions - 15km, Buffels Bay to Cape Point in swell, and Fish Hoek to the Lighthouse in decidedly choppy, lumpy conditions. She has never fallen out (except coming in in the surf)

For the record, she will be 65 this year and I will be 68. Never too old to enjoy the sport provided one has the appropriate surfski.

Hi, had a good laugh about paddling doubles and arguing about who is not sitting straight/ wobbling the ski/ not pulling their weight...

This may not be the right forum but I have often wondered why more paddlers in the cape do not paddle doubles. While i agree off/ loading a double in the wind is tricky and learning to cope with a new partner can be challenging. (after a season my new partner may have a few other words for it ) for me the fun of it has always outweighed the challenges. I have a number of friends that refuse to race singles only using their singles to train during the week. for me there are 4 simple rules:
1. The front paddler makes all the calls.
2. The back paddlers principle job is to keep in time with the front paddler.
3. Both have to learn how to laugh
4. The front paddler makes all the calls.

enjoy

After a good 10 years of blaming various partners, I recently found out that I have a shorter left leg, and almost no left Glute. so, it was me.

I agree. Paddling the double should also be fun!

Fuyang Guy wrote: After a good 10 years of blaming various partners, I recently found out that I have a shorter left leg, and almost no left Glute. so, it was me.

Fuyang do you experience greater than usual numb leg and butt pain. I have an under-developed glute on one side and despite a number of padding and leg length experiments struggle to paddle much longer than one hour.

Hey GRFo,

Fortunately I do not suffer much from numb leg.
I do have to pad seats a fair amount, or I can feel my sitting bone rubbing. I tend to pad down the middle a fair amount, to take the load off my sitting bones, and keep me centred. I also like to have padding behind my but, but below the belt line. this helps me sit more upright and reduces the lower back pain that stops me from spending all day in a boat.

Thanks for a very interesting report.
I have been through similar progress stages to yours it seems and also find the V10 S the best of all skis that I have owned. I had the club version and it sucks a bit lugging and loading it to and from the beach so I bought the much lighter Ultra reading that I would find it much tippier. I hardly notice the difference but what a pleasure carrying the boat and catching runs a lot easier.
But it amazing how fickle we can be when a new model hits the headlines like the more stable new V 10. If sanity were to prevail I should focus on my current ski but I probably end up testing the new boat when it arrives here in South Africa.

Hi Wayne,

Unfortunately once you have paddled the new V10, the only sane move will be to buy one, it is an awesome boat.
I would suggest you get hold of the Epic agent in SA and express your interest, I'm sure the more interest there is, the quicker the boats will get there.

Ha! Now I have paddled the new V10 a half dozen times and I like it more every time. Definitely has more top speed than the Sport it replaced for me (in the same Performance layup).

The little ergonomic updates that Epic made are perfect for me (some of them might not be as fitting for others with different size/shape compared to me) and an improvement over the previous models (the cutouts, the longer cockpit, the seat shape and width, the taller foot plate, the way the strap and rails attach and give a bit wider foot area while keeping volume lower than before, etc.)

Paddled today alongside some K1 paddlers and it seems to me the V10 required more effort to keep moving at whatever speed we were moving (75% effort the coach suggested). But I could still hang on alongside padlers of similar abilities as me. It looks huge though next to the K1s as it is a lot longer... Also, noticed that the K1 paddlers could rotate a bit better than I could - the hump is a bit restricting in terms of full rotation...