Training on my Futura Blade

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and have really appreciated the tips I've gleaned from this website. I am hoping that maybe some of you will be able to give me some suggestions regarding a problem I am having.

Problem: I can't stay on my Futura Blade.

Background: I've paddled the Futura II for about 3 years. I took a 3 year hiatus from surf skiing in college. I loved my Futura and found one for sale in the local classifieds; a Futura Blade. I knew going in that the Blade would be tippy, but I was okay with that. I took my new Blade out for a spin and I fell out about 25 times. I was finally able to paddle it for around 5 minutes before swimming by the end of the day. I have taken it out another 7 or 8 times and can paddle for around an hour now, even though I still occasionally fall in. For example, last time I paddled around 60 minutes and tipped over 4 times. The lake I train on is pretty small, no motorized boats or waves. I am falling off in calm water.

Predicament: I am planning on doing a race next spring that concludes with a 5 mile kayak leg. The first 2 or 3 miles are in class 2 river water, the rest is just class 1. I know I could do it in the Futura II, but I couldn't do it right now in my Blade.

Questions:
1. Does the Futura Blade suck? I thought it was a good boat that has won some championships.
2. How do advanced paddlers handle tippy surf skis? What do advanced paddlers do differently than beginners? I notice that if I maintain a high cadence, I seem to be quite a bit more stable. Are advanced paddlers able to stay on these things better because their cadence is so high? Or do they just have better balance?
3. Should I scrap the Blade and just try to find more stable ski? Or, will the time put in now be worth it by next spring and translate into faster times?
4. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 215 pounds. Is this a factor?

Thanks for any responses!!

I have no idea what the Blade is like - never seen one.

But there's no reason these days to paddle a tippy ski.

The Epic V10, Fenn Mako 6, Red7 Surf70 are all fast boats but they're much more stable than the old "top of the line" skis. (I've read that the same is true of the Huki skis but again I've not seen one myself.)

So I'd strongly recommend that you find someone with one of the modern skis & try it for yourself.

Cheers
Rob