Epic V10s - suitable to be raced by 90kg paddler ?

I'm looking at moving on from my Fenn Bluefin soon to a faster boat with a view to start racing. Mind you, I weigh 91kg and I found that the bluefin (and is a great boat to get into the sport) seemed to struggle with someone of my size (plus it's a heavier boat in itself). I was considering progressing to a v10 sport as the next step up but I was worried whether it could handle someone of my weight.

Do any heavier paddlers have any experiences to share ?

I'm a lean 91kg and pretty tall so weight loss on my part probably isn't realistic.

I am the same weight and love the new V10S. For me it is much faster than the "elite" skis as I can paddle hard in all conditions with no bracing or twitchy-ness. I have paddled skis for more than 15 years so I can handle the so-called faster skis but they are not nearly as much fun or as fast on long open water runs for me.

...Roger

I'm 90 kgs and race my sport all over the place
It is such a fun ski

The paddler weight limit is lower on the v10s than it is on the v10. Does it have less volume ? I guess I'm concerned about getting bogged down in it. Is there an intermediate ski with higher volume I should be considering ?

I have a v10 and a sport both in ultra layup. The sport is a way more lively ski than the 10. Last weekend my friend and I took out the two skis and took turns in them. We both agreed the sport was much less likely to get bogged than the 10. It flicked onto small swells easier. On the garmin however the 10 was slightly quicker once up and running.

We both weigh 90 kgs and both had the same experience.

I see the capacity of the sport is 136 kg and the 10 145 kg. at 90 kilos both skis have ample capacity.

Great article about the V10s by former Olympic kayaker and now coach Jimmy Walker.

www.mykayakcoach.com/blog/speed-v-stability

Jimmy is spot on!

Boys - as heavy weights your light weights. I am 130 odd kg. Don't bother to get on the scales these days...To give you some point of reference with respect to myself I'd say I was competitive for my size, finishing 10th to 15th in Molokai the last few years

I currently paddle the 2nd gen V10 and used to paddle the 1st gen Sport. I've also paddled the 2nd gen Sport and find it better than the original. The main reason is comfort, the cockpit has a better feel about it, paddle entry is better and it looks good!

My advice to you would be to go with the boat you feel most comfortable in, but note as your skill levels increase this may change over time...

Happy Paddling!

Roger, good to see your post. You may remember some posts we shared years back over on Standup Zone regarding OC6 and cross training on surf ski. It's funny that I was just referencing our conversation from 2010 on FB recently. I recently purchased a V10S and have really enjoyed the few paddles I've had so far. Looking forward to getting comfortable in it and hopefully competitive for some local racing here in FL. I know I won't be able to hang with the skinny skis in flatwater but am looking forward to the paddle accumen I hope to gain with the new ski. My first goal is to acclimate to having no ama ( lots of OC1) and get used to the twitchiness I feel. The next goal is to learn the good habit of leg pump. Practice....practice, right?

Hay Love2ski,

In flat water, what have you find the speed difrence is between your V10 and V10s to be?

Bill

My fastest ave speed over 10 Kms is 11.2 in the v10. In the sport my fastest average is 10.8kmhr. So I would say about .5kmhr.

That's right around the same give or take between my Stellar SR and my V10 2nd Gen. I'm now the owner of a Stellar S18s as well and it's faster than I thought it would be. It's only down maybe .3 kph on the SR and .8 kph on the V10... Its amazing how close these skis are to each other in a recreational sence. Racing, not so much... But if your just out getting fit, building skills and having fun there very close.

Bill

Oscar raced the V10Sport at US Surfski champs last year.
He is never under 115kg's.
He got a 7th, so clearly there is no problem with the boats ability to handle heavier paddlers.