Re: Surfski weight

An image of "Our Surfski"

Hi Robert ,Is that a photograph of you on your ski ?, Its looks like a Hayden with Force Field stickers ,unlike the blue ski behind which does actually look like an older model Force Field. Where was the photo taken ? Ian

Hey Ian,

No it's not me on the ski, it's a a friend and teammate! That ski is bought as an Force Field Splender, as far as I know

www.force-field.de/default.php?thisID=98...l=10&CMS_LANGUAGE=EN

This photo was taken during the Victorinox Cup 2006 in Seewen, Switzerland.

Regards, Robert

What would you consider to be a generally accepted weight for a standard glass layup competition surfski?

I bought a new surfski and am a bit disappointed with the weight, but don?t know if I have any reason to be.

Jacques

Anything from 16 to 18kg. My glass Mako6 weighs 18.5kg which I wasn't too happy with but which is still considered "within limits".

Thanks for the info. My new V10L weigh a whole 19.2kg. On your surfski shootout the V10 weighed 17.5kg. Was this the South African manufactured ski?

The ski we used on the shootout had started life as a light carbon ski - but it had been through an extensive repair which resulted in it weighing 17kg plus. So that wasn't a representative ski at all.

19kg is at the top end of acceptable I would say. Is yours a Kayak Centre build? If so I'd discuss it with them and ask what their standard weight is.

In regards to ski weight, iv always wondered whether it really matters that much. My point being, is that because a ski is supported by water, wouldnt the effects of weight have minimal affect on ski performance, etc? And also, if one is really concerned about their ski being a couple of kg's heavy, couldnt they just lose a couple of kg's instead? I always wonder when I see someone who is 'big' (for example 100kg) be concerned about ski weight and spend extra money getting a lightweight ski when they could always just drop a few kilos?! (provided they are not 100kg of lean muscle!)

I must admit that, I would always prefer a lightweight ski over a heavier one, but I believe the only real factor is its just a 'mental thing'. Is this true, or does ski weight actually make a difference? Any thoughts anyone?

I've heard two reasons why carbon skis are different to glass skis - the first is weight, but other is stiffness. The way I've heard it explained, a stiffer boat responds more directly to the paddle - flexing absorbs energy so a stiffer boat sees energy translated into speed more efficiently...

From my own experience, I much prefer my carbon ski - it "feels" perceptibly lighter and more responsive and seems to accelerate better. I broke my carbon ski and, while having it repaired, bought a glass one. I figured I'd use the glass one for social & training paddles and bring out the carbon one for races. The truth is I love the carbon boat so much I've hardly used the glass one.