Fenn Millenium flat water mainly

New to the ski thinking.
I cant afford a new ski or near new one so I might look at a old Millenium.
Im 5`11 tall 85kg. Short legs small skinny butt.
Will I fit alright ?
Are these skis considered to be a fast ski or a bit of a barge? On flat water, mainly.
I paddle a K1 so a bit more stability would be nice, is that a possibility? I paddle in deep rivers (no rocks) but the cross currents and whirl pools are a pain in the K1.
I also find paddling down current in the K1 or my multisport Time Bandit 6.2m long is like having a sea anchor out back, so much drag.
How do skis go in that situation including up current?
Or any other ski suggestion?
Cheers
Gnome.

They are fast hulls but were not adjustable for length , the seat shape was not that good and the separate footwells put your heels higher which will feel bad compared to a K1 . They are old and cheap

and very unstable.

I like your thinking, I was looking at an old Millenium in Carbon for the same thing, races on flat water. Didnt end up doing it after I got an injury but if you can find one to suit your leg length they are a cheaper option.

I wish I could find a cheap carbon Millenium. Even if it was not my leg lenght. Can't be that difficult/expensive to move the footwell...

i used my millennium with foam at the heels to pad it out (was too long, calves hit footwell) for years. Then I cut it all out and molded a single footwell which lowered my CG and made it more comfortable. I'll try to post some pics soon.

Thanks everyone.
Thats a good idea to make a single foot well. What sort of resin is used in the Millenium? If its epoxy then the other resins (polyester etc) wont stick.
Another dumb question
Are the skis all some sort of foam (like Surfboard) under the fibreglass. If so what sort of resin doesn't eat the foam?
So what sort of flat water speed do you get out of it?
Cheers
Gnome

About a year ago, I had my millenium converted to a single footwell. The project was done by a non-ski paddler so he didn't get it perfect in design but it wasn't bad. I only used it a couple of times before I revisited the realization that the main problem with the millenium for me was the uncomfortable seat bucket and the low secondary stability (above waterline flare). Bottom line - it was still a millenium. The new skis are much better. Erik

So if the Millenium isnt much of a ski then if you didnt have much cash what is a super fast ski more suited to flat water (primarily) long distance stuff?
Gnome

Actually, if you're a bit strapped for cash, and if you've got a good line on a millenium that fits, and if you're on flat water mostly or have really good boat balance, the millenium might be your best bet because there are likely to be many of them around for cheap. Just pad up the seat a bit to get you out of the less than optimally shaped seat bucket and you might be happy with it for a season or two. I sat on 2-3 cm of padding that was cut just wide enough to support my ischial tuberosities and which ran from the front of the seat bucket up onto the rear deck under the bungees and it wasn't too bad. The hull is every bit as fast as the newer skis and a good paddler can move it very well on flat or rough water. Just don't paddle the V12, Uno or Elite in the meantime. Erik

I have a V10 as well as a Millenium, paddle a lot on flat water, and regularly use the Mill. First of all, you may find this review helpful if you haven't read it already surfski.info/reviews/item/267-surfski-shootout.html . Although the Mill wasn't as fast as the newer boats in the comparison, on flat water I am just as fast ( or perhaps just as slow ) in the Mill as in the V10. If you are comfortable in a K1 I suspect that you could handle the Millennium on flat water. I've never tried a K1 and therefore cannot compare stability, but if I can paddle the Mill then I suspect you certainly could. You did comment on some cross currents and whirlpools which would be my only concern. I have a few areas of cross currents where the boat is a bit unstable. As to the bucket hard to say unless you try one. I am the same weight as you, height 6'1''. The Mill bucket is a good bit narrower and deeper than the V10. I find fit of the Mill OK but if my hips were any wider the fit would be too tight. If you do plan on paddling in open water at all then you may want to stay away from a Mill, it will hinder your progress in that situation.

So, with a V10 available, why would I use my Millennium as much or more on flat water? Well, the are several things about the boat I really like. Construction of mine is carbon lay up which is light enough and stiff enough for me, yet much more impact resistant than the ultra construction of the V10. At 5 am when I head out for a morning paddle I'm not always so careful and tend to bash the boat around a bit. The Mill doesn't care. I love this construction although it doesn't have the low weight of the cored boats. Also the V10 tends to keep some water sloshing around in the foot well while the Mill footwell is bone dry. Not that big a deal but in winter nice to have a dry footwell. The Mill rudder tends to collect less weeds than the original V10 rudder which was a factor until Epic made weedless rudders available. Finally tippiness of the Mill somehow seems like good training for when I can hit the open water

So any way if I were in your situation I wouldn't rule out a Millennium but certainly would not purchase without trying it first.

i have a fenn Millennium and have been using for about six months now i got a single foot well in it and now it is incredibly comfortable and feels a lot more stable

Diiedel,
I have a Twogood Mako Pro I am thinking convert to single foot well
also. Is yours fixed length or adjustable?
Could you please send some pics if possible?
I am mostly paddling my Mako Pro on flat to moderate conditions to keep balance skills sharper and when water gets rough I use
my Fenn Mako Elite.
Also on flat Mako Pro and Milleniums are really fast.

Mine is Fixed it bugged me at first but i added foam into the seat and the back of the seat and now it feels fine.
i will try and post some pics of mine up soon.
i paddle mainly on the river and it takes a while but as soon as you get your balance right the millenium is incredibly fast i think that the single foot well conversion helps balance also.
I think that it is a great cheap but fast surf ski

Diiedel,

I started converting Twoggod Mako Pro (very similar to Millenium)to a single foot well. Cut out the center divider with adjustable pedal assembly which I never liked because was so uncomfortable.
All that adjustable junk weighted 4.00 lbs. So I am converting
to non-adjustable pedals. Just keep it simple and light.
Also I will convert it to closeable drain (Andersen style like
Epic V12 has).
The bottom of the foot well where heels are resting will drop
almost 2 inches ) making it more stable and comfortable.
And I will install leash anchor in the cockpit also.

Attaching picture with the divider cut off.

Edge
That looks great and yeh mine are non adjustable the bottom of my foot well was dropped as well and it makes a lot of difference the picture looks great
im thinking about selling my millenium soon though so i can buy a ski to go down white water and shallow water (something with a rudder that is adjustable) maybe a finn molokai or something like that

Finally finished converting Twogood Mako Pro to single foot well,
single drain, stainless steel cables for a rudder.
I used Interlux Brightside polyurethane white paint. Paint worked
awesome with very nice glossy finish.

I took the ski for a spin this afternoon in the bay and it was sloppy water. Ski was noticeable more stable and more comfortable
mainly due to lower foot well and solid foot board with foot strap.
I am planning to spend some time paddling it.

Looks really nice. Did you apply the Interlux with a brush? West Marine has a review of Intelux posted on 07/29/2012 by "Mako" describing tips for application of Brightside on a surfski. Would that happen to be you? Reason for asking is that I've got an old clearcoat V10 in need of refinishing and have been considering using Brightside. Hope mine turns out as nice as yours did.

jsowers
Yes that was me posting review on West Marine. I did use brush only with Interlux Brightside thin out 10% with Interlux 333 thinner.

It took almost 2 qts to paint the ski with 2 coats.
If I would put 3rd coat on it would look even better. But I was
happy with 2 coats.
Mako sure you use good quality brush and work on small sections
to be able to blend (flow) the paint together. You have to work fast.
I clean the brush after each painting with Mineral Spirits.

I did upper deck first to the seams and then the bottom haul.

Good luck. Interlux Brightside is awesome paint, just need some learning curve how to apply it.

Thanks. You answered my next question as to how much paint is needed. Will try my hand at it about a month from now. Hope mine turns out as well as yours did.