What should I buy

G'day Everyone

I am new to this forum and also to Ocean racing skis. I am more intermediate than beginner and am looking to buy a new boat, but am totally confused.
The following skis have been recommended:

Ozflyte R21
FENN XT
Stellar SR/SE
EPIC v10 sport

So far I have paddled the R21 and will be trialling the Stellar's in the next week or two

I will be paddling more regularly both on the river and Ocean can you help please.

Many Thanks (in total confusion!!)

In addition I am 177cm and 80kg if this makes a difference.

Welcome, you have come to the right place

Firstly, without trying to be rude, it wont be until you start paddling that you will know you are a beginner or intermediate, it has more to do with core stability than it does with general fitness. I was very fit when I came to ski's after a triathlon background but still had to do my apprenticeship in a more stable ski....

that being said, you have the right list, the Fenn XT and Epic V10 sport are two of the more well known stable ski's.

Depending on which Stellar they can be stable.

Then there are the Think Evo and Evo2, and depending on where you are you may find other lesser known ski's such as the Dorado.

If you are fit and dont mind a weight penalty the plastic Spirit PRS does most things well and has launched a few ski paddlers into the sport.

If you are looking at being competitive in the longer term dont buy new....pick up a second hand one as you most likely sell it in a season and then you can splash out on a new ski once you "really" know what tickles your fancy.

or if you are going to be more of a weekend warrior/social paddler get the nice shiny boat and enjoy.

Whatever you do, paddle as many boats as you can, they all have sublte and not so subtle differences in comfort, adjustability, stability and the list goes on.

more importantly if you are planning on paddling in anything over 1-2 foot ocean chop, paddle the ski in it, some boats feel stable on a river but as soon as you get into chop you will know if thats the case. If you cant (some dealers will only let you demo on rivers) look for passing boat traffic and try to get the boat wash to hit you from side on to see how you handle it.

If you let us know where you are we may be able to point you to a group of paddlers that could help by giving you a paddle of thier craft after a group session.

as you find out more keep coming back and asking questions, we all went through the same journey you did although in the past few years a lot more boats have come onto the market which can make the choice difficult... and yet there are probably a lot more used ski's out there for sale as we have moved up with experience.

have fun

If you are in Australia, there is also a huge amount of spec skis going second hand.

Strong enough to handle a few mistakes in the surf, still have good boat speed, and if you keep it as your second boat you will always have a ski for when the surf gets scary in the future or you just want to embarrass the others on their 'cheat ski'.

Being shorter, they are easier to store and transport too.....

If you want to buy new like I did, part of my choice was to be a well known brand/boat that would have no troubles selling in the future.

But as said above, the single best thing is to demo the boats.
Every person I have approached was happy to let me have a paddle.
If a retailer won't let you demo, then go elsewhere.

Then the only real obstacle is your own lack of paddling knowledge, and there is no shortcut to that.

I don't think that anybody will buy the correct ski first up, if only for the fact that there are a lot of new skis hitting the market as well as the established ones.

So in twelve months time when you do know what you want, there will be a much broader and probably more refined market of skis, as you will find a lot of manufacturers will upgrade their current skis with better/ more fittings, better finishes and a larger choice of boats.

Have fun!

Hey Guys

Thanks for the reply. No egos here so no offence taken I expect I will have to serve my apprenticeship in the new craft and will gladly take all the advice I can. It's awesome that such a resource exists and people are willing to share their experience so thankyou.

I live in Australia (Brisbane) but I am up the Sunshine Coast at lease once a week. Any suggestions on where I might start looking for a second hand ski and are there any paddling clubs around?

Cheers.

You're not going to buy what you haven't paddled so keep trialling. Add the Think Evo to your list.

Having done a bit more looking since my post do any of the above have a better resale appeal?

Try www.geartrade.com.au for second hand ski's

I own both the V10Sport and the Stellar SES. I am smaller than you so the Sport was very big for me. The SES fits me much better. That aside, The Sport was my first boat and I am very confident in most conditions in that boat. If I am nervous or unsure about what the race day conditions might be I will take the Sport. The SES seems noticeably less stable than the Sport but it is measurably faster in calm conditions. The SES seems more affected by wind than the Sport so I do sometimes struggle in weird winds in the SES. I run the big surf rudder in the Sport and the small weedless rudder in the SES so that has an effect on stability too.

I enjoy longer sessions in the SES more than the Sport because of the comfortable fit. As I get more time in the SES I am feeling more and more confident and will eventually probably sell the Sport but I have no regrets about buying it. BTW my Sport is the older performance version my SES is the Advantage SES.

My recommendations to you are to pay attention to fit comfort. If you can paddle the boat for 60+minutes you might start to feel any pressure points etc. But you also need to feel comfortable with level of stability too. I could paddle the Sport right away and had many hours of fun without struggling because of its strong initial stability. The Sport is much easier to remount than the Stellar too. Forward stroke mechanics are the same in either boat but while the SES rewards good technique more than the Sport it's also less forgiving if you get sloppy.

Enjoy your new boat.