advice

hey all,

Just got registered to this wonderful forum. I would be happy to get your advice for which surf ski I should buy. I never paddled one, but it seems more to my taste than the normal sea kayaks. In my country I found several brands - Epic, Fenn, and Nelo (maybe there are more which i didn't find yet).

My weight is 137 lbs (62 kg) and my height is 5.6 feet (1.71 meters).

I would be happy to hear any recommendation

Thanks.

Eyal

How old are you? What kind of shape are you in? Serious athlete or consider walking to your car exercise? Any prior paddling experience? Where are you going to paddle:ocean, lake? What country?

hey,

I'm 30 years old, live in Tel Aviv, Israel, means along the Mediterranean sea. I am in a pretty good shape and have been paddling sea kayaks for one year here. Also, in the past, I paddled Norway and New Zealand, mostly in lakes.

Paddling different sea kayaks, I know that I prefer light, narrow, fast kayaks over stability, wide ones, and because i am a quite small paddler, I wondered which surf ski can fit.

I am planning to find a storage in one of the clubs along the sea here, and store it there.

anymore details necessary?

Thanks,

Eyal

Hi Eyal
Your size, weight and experience will dictate the boat you should start with, and it may not be available here.
I live in Karmiel with ski stored at Rosh Hanikra. I can give you some advice on local equipment suppliers and in other countries.
I have been paddling canoe/kayak the better part of sixty years so may know some little bit you can use. I am not in the boat selling business.
If you wish, you can email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jim

any other suggestions people?

Check out the Fenn Swordfish, I have not paddled one but they seem to be pretty stable without being too "beginner" and will probably do you for years until you wish for a change.

Fenn Swordfish or Epic V10 Sport would be great choices, especially "used" if you could find one.Not sure if Nelo makes anything stable enough for starting out? Might be hard going in the beginning(swimming) but definitely skis you could be happy with for a long time.Paddling a surfski really requires a wing paddle.You need it to be adjustable and you need a small blade at your size.An example would be an Epic Mid Wing Small 205-215cm.

Hi. The best advice is to get to the Med and sit in a surfski and try it out first. There is a big difference between a sea kayak and a surf ski(flatness under the seat well). Hire one or borrow one and paddle it first and then make up your mind if it is for you. You have to invest time in the boat and paddling. It can be quite daunting when you first try to paddle the surfski. I had two students this weekend who failed dismally. Conditions wern't ideal, but those were the conditions that one has to paddle in more frequently. You later progress to down winds which are the ultimate.

Cheers,
John

I'm a bit bigger than you, but I come from a seakayak background, where I also found myself at home in skinnier faster seakayaks.

About 3 months ago I bought a epic v10s and am very happy with my decision.

The learning curve wasn't as steep as I expected, however I thought I had a great stroke in the seakayak, but I'm still struggling to get consistently faster on the ski. But I'm loving it and not swimming too much anymore.

By all accounts from this forum the latest V10 seems to be both stable and fast. Even if learning curve is a bit steep intitially there doesn't seem to be much pain to grow into such a boat. Agree also about the Swordfish, have paddled one briefly I found it to be stable and quite quick. Haven't come across any bad reviews to speak of.

As an aside have just inherited from mates one ZX 9R Kawasaki (Ninja), a 900 cc motorcycle 1998 model - that is it's 15 years old. It has been well looked after however despite its age the old dame kicks some serious arse on the road after all developments in bikes over that time. In fact doesn't look like old dame at all. It handles brilliantly, is a top sports tourer, has envible stats and though I would never have chased after one, am absolutely wrapt in my new toy.

Point of the digression is that it's easy to get caught up in what's newest, latest, a la mode as though whatever has gone before is somehow sub-standard. There are plenty of older model skis out there in reasonable nick which do whatever it is you want of them if you isolate appropriately. Look I even cast an eye down the dinner table the other night and thought to myself, she's still a filly at heart. A new one is not always a good one, k?

Enjoy the journey.