Plastic = Fantastic

Went out this afternoon for my first paddle in a Plastic Finn Molokai Mk II I have just bought for some adventure races later this year.

Did the first 2 km at race pace (around 170bpm) and was travelling at just over 12km/hr and just to make sure there was no tide or current assitance I did the second Km in the opposite direction.

I backed off to a really comfortable pace and was still seeing mid low to mid 11km/hr.

The first production run of these skis had a reputation of being really tippy, they must have worked on this as the MkII feels just as stable if not a little more stable than my Vault.

Tried a 20 double stroke surge to test acceleration and while it's slow to get going (weighs around 20kg) I got it up to 13.7km/hr without it hurting me.

I was feeling so comfortable in the ski I kept paddling out to a local surf break we call crystals and found that there were chest high waves remaining from the big storms we have just had in the area. Caught a few waves even with the trailing rudder and felt really stable!

Enjoyed a leisurely paddle back along the coast checking out all the boats washed up along the beach and boats sunk at moorings.

A friend of mine has taken some awesome photos during the storms , this is one of the boats that washed up then burnt.


Looking forward to seeing how it goes in some white water soon.

I take it your also looking at doing the Avon Descent with a ski like that.

Col Campbell wrote: I take it your also looking at doing the Avon Descent with a ski like that.

While it would be a good ski for the Avon with other Adventure Races I've entered this year I cant afford the Avon.

It's not just the entry fee, it's accommodation, fuel, food etc for me and the support crew for each event, so one event can set you back around $800-$1000.

I'm also saving for a new elite level ski, seems like I'm always saving for the next best bit of gear in this sport

I can't believe it... you've gone to the dark side. Is the plastic your new downwind ski or are you going to master the Flash downwind.
I used to skoff at the plastics til one day one disappeared in the distance one particularly lumpy day. Mind you, in the Vault, I don't think that would happen now. The weight of the things is what will annoy you most. I wonder how that weight will go over a longer downwind.
PS my new maxpaddle joiner just arrived. $18 delivered. Time to go to the shed and play.

AR have you paddled a Spirit PRS lately? The popular wisdom used to be the Molokaii and the PRS were the 2 fast plastics, with the Molokaii fractionally quicker but quite a bit tippier. Any comments on comparative speed and tippiness now?

Marieski wrote: AR have you paddled a Spirit PRS lately? The popular wisdom used to be the Molokaii and the PRS were the 2 fast plastics, with the Molokaii fractionally quicker but quite a bit tippier. Any comments on comparative speed and tippiness now?

I owned a PRS up until just recently, but my relationship with that ski was that I "tolerated" it. I found it very stable but quite uncomfortable (sore back and numbness in backside after about 45 minutes) and slow, I trained on it one night and was huffing and puffing to get it up to the high 10's (km/hr)

I bought it with the idea of racing some AR's in it but came to the conclusion I just wouldn't be competitive against other types of craft in these multisport/AR races.

The original Finn Molokai copped quite a bagging when they first came out. Fast, Yes, Tippy, Yes and probably what really caused concern was they were built a bit too light and weren't as robust as one would expect.

The PRS grabbed the ascendancy with an almost bullet proof ski that meets the needs of most paddlers who want a fairly quick ski for events like the Avon Descent and your garden variety adventure race or paddle race.

Both skis retail for around $2000.

So Finn went away and came out with the Molokai Mk II. It has been around a while now but I never bothered taking a look as I had been turned off by all the stories I had heard about the original model.

One of the fellas I paddle with regularly bought a 2nd hand Mk II and I had a quick (5 minute) paddle in it around 6 months ago. I was surprised at it's speed and that it wasn't as tippy as I'd expected.

So when I had to decide on what craft I was going to use for some white water and log strewn river sections of adventure races this year I started looking around at what craft were out there.

I came back to this ski and it appears Finn have got it right with this model, they have managed to maintain it's superior speed over the PRS while beefing the construction up, it really does give bang for the buck in terms of speed, stability, comfort and durability.

It still is probably an intermediate paddlers ski so probably wont ever be as popular as the PRS, but if you are competitive then this is the hands down choice.

Just a quick note on tippyness, this ski is one of those that doesnt like to just "sit" flat, it has lively primary stabilty but as I learnt really quickly, it is all bark no bite , the secondary is great, you can really drop your hip and it feels very stable. I felt so comfortable in the surf that when the trailing rudder lost steering ability I was leaning the ski to use the chines/rail of the ski to steer, something I have never dared in any other ski.

Dicko wrote: I can't believe it... you've gone to the dark side. Is the plastic your new downwind ski or are you going to master the Flash downwind.
I used to skoff at the plastics til one day one disappeared in the distance one particularly lumpy day. Mind you, in the Vault, I don't think that would happen now. The weight of the things is what will annoy you most. I wonder how that weight will go over a longer downwind.
PS my new maxpaddle joiner just arrived. $18 delivered. Time to go to the shed and play.

No decision on which ski will replace the Vault yet. I might have to try throwing the surf rudder on the Molokai and seeing how it goes. I reckon the plastics class in some races would be a bit more fun, I don't do nearly enough downwind paddling as I need too to get near the guys who I am almost with on the flat now.

I am demoing the Flash next week and that will probably help me make my mind up.

Keen to see what you think of the Flash.