V10S in Club Layup

Hi All.

I am continuing to agonize over my next boat to switch to from my V7. I am not a racer and have very little interest in competing, but I like to be able to go long distances efficiently.
Our local dealer has a current gen V10S in Club construction. They told me that Epic no longer offers Club except for special dealer orders for rental fleets and such.
I am not too taken with an idea of a super-light boat from price and durability perspective. I do rivers, lakes, questionable put-ins and stuff like that. A little surfing here and there, but not as a main thing (Lake Ontario in our area is only surfable maybe a few days a year).
So probably wouldn't go higher than Performance anyways. Does it make sense to go with Club? They say it's the most durable construction and is about 30% cheaper.

Thoughts on how much am I missing out with this option?

Thanks.

 

If you think it might get scuffed up or damaged in the areas you paddle probably good to go with the club since its cheaper. Never owned a club layup so I don't know the durability of that layup. You stated wanting to be efficient a lighter layup will be more efficient on longer paddles. I don't race much but I would want a lighter boat even for leisurely paddling.

I couldn't find good dealer websites for Canada, but assuming that the pricing is similar to the US, I would say that You could consider other options.

I don't know what kind of an offer is that local dealer making, but if the prices are similar to what I see here for a V10S Club: www.nextlevelkayaking.com.au/products/epic-v10-sport-ski (3 300 USD for 18kg boat) and for a Nelo 520/550 here: eliteoceansports.com/products/nelo-surfskis-2/#prettyPhoto (3500 USD for a 12 kg boat), I would say it's a no-brainer.  Of course, if You are getting an offer of around 2-2,5k for the V10S, then it could it be possible to justify the added weight.

Generally my rule-of-thumb is to never consider a ski that is over 15 kg. Regarding the durability, I don't think the WWR construction will let You down. Only in case if You are planning on doing whitewater and paddling onto rocks etc. I have accidentally dropped my WWR boat many many times and it has bounced back, having incurred no structural damage. I have no affiliation to Nelo, if I lived in South Africa, I'd definitely go for a FENN or whatever makes sense in the weight/price criterion.

I had an ooooold V10 in club. It was my first boat so I didnt really have much perspective at the time. I didnt have any problems with it.

Yes, as a boat starts to exceed 15kg acceleration starts to suffer and the walk to the water starts to become harder (really its the walk back), but its not that big of a deal if you're not overly concerned about top level performance. Just think, most composite  sea kayaks are 25-30kg and its not like kayakers are impaired in their ability to paddle. A ski is faster and attracts the speed oriented paddler, but if that's not your priority and the price is right, I dont think you'll have any problems. My old XT is approaching 16-17kg and although its not a drag racer, it gets along just fine. 

Basically lighter is almost always better if you can afford it, but there is nothing inherently wrong with heavy layups as long as your needs match the boats performance. 

I know all about the walk back. I make that with a V7 on my shoulder Makes me glad I spend all that time lifting weights. 
I would actually say the hardest is not the walk itself but rather a take out when there's chop. Just standing up with boat on shoulder in choppy knee-deep water is hard enough.

I should clarify. I do want good sustainded speed over 15-30 km distances. I don't care much about finishing one minute ahead of the other guy though, but when I look at my Strava run afterwards I certainly want to see quicker times. I.e. if we are looking purely at a small competivive advantage coming up to the next layup then that's may not be important, but if there's a sizeable speed increase or effort decrease over a good distance then I would like that.
PS Sprint performance is of no importance at all.

I guess in theory the Club layup is more durable, but in practice I feel that there is not a big distinction between the layups.  Anything I have struck in the water with enough force to damage an Ultra layup would have done so in a Performance or a Club.  The V10S Club should serve you well.

A lot of paddlers around here (river/lake) keep a V5 or V7 handy for unknown waters or low running rivers.

It's hard to give advice since it's a matter of personal taste, but I can say that we have had both Epic Performance and Ultra surfskis in our kayak club, and nobody uses the Performance models. It's not just because they are hard to carry to the beach, I think it's because they simply feel more dull and boring, and they do not respond as lively to your actions as the Ultra models. It's simple not as much fun, whether on flat water on in waves.
We actually just sold the last Performance versions cheaply, because they were wasting space in out boat house...
And that was Performance models - and not even Club models, as I originally wrote in this post - my mistake!
Regards, Henning

I think I would only buy a club (blue tip) if it were used and cheap.  Performance (black tip), and especially ultra (red tip), is better and more fun to paddle.  You will always be wondering if it is the boat or you that is holding you back, racing or not.  Nobody else will likely have blue tip but you.  If you just paddle solo for exercise and fun and do not have to carry it far, club is fine.  Perfect condition, current version, used red tip V10Sports, which are very durable as skis go, trade for about $2,400 in the US (there is one in southern USA on surfskinews.com).

Thanks all. I guess I am not in a rush to buy that club. It's relatively cheap but not dirt cheap.

Yeah, if it were dirt cheap that's one thing but I'd be worried about resale for sure.  I mean I know I've bought my boat 3 times now already and....... 

Yeah resale. Here surfski space is so small you never know. Somebody may jump on a listing right away or it can sit there collecting virtual dust for ages.

Do yourself a favor and wait for a light boat to become available. You will enjoy it soooooo... much more. You already have a durable heavy boat.

Yeah, looks like I am going to wait.

Thanks all.