20" wide surfski?

Is there a 20" wide surfski out there?

I've had a mako xt, 19'x19" ........
and my CD extreme (sea kayak) is about 22" wide .....

and to throw in yet one more snag,
it needs hatches for storage.

I want a boat that fits inbetween the mako and extreme.
Fast like the mako, hatches for gear like the cd extreme.

My plans are to do the Texas Water Safari (tws) with it,
plus to use it as an all around training boat,
and use it for overnight trips out to a spoil island on the ICW.

While I haven't paddled anything 20" wide it seems that is what I'm needing.
The mako is a bit too tippy for the tws the cd is quite stable but too slow.

Does such a boat exist?

Try the Carbonology-Sport Cruze. I ordered one for my wife and daughters and they find it super stable and have never fallen off it. I dont paddle it much - I'm trying to get better on my Vault - but when I did I fell off, intentionally. I was paddling fast up to some rocks where I turn when paddling my Horizon and a wave picked me up and nearly surfed me onto the rocks which I just avoided by falling off. So the Cruze's surfing capabilities are excellent. It is 22" wide. It doesnt have much storage but most surf skis don't. It would be good for training because you dont need great balance at all. I paddled an XT too long ago to compare but my guess is the Cruze is faster. There is an article on this site describing it.

Stellar S18S? There is a review of it at sea kayaker mag:

www.seakayakermag.com/PDFMagazine/SK_FEB_2013klpo.pdf

I don't know of a longer ski with real storage like in a sea kayak. Don't just look at the width though. There is a big difference between the 21.5" on a CD extreme vs the same on an Epic 18x - the latter is faster. I had an Extreme a while back and it is fast for a sea kayak but slower than racing sea kayaks like the 18x or other similar kayaks. I also had a Rapier 18 Valley kayak - about as fast as it gets for 18 feet (similar to 18 foot Epics/Stellars) but tippy compared to Extreme, probably not much different from your Mako. Good storage though. I felt more comfortable on a V10 Sport than on the Rapier even though they have similar stability - falling off the ski is no big deal, rolling back up on the Rapier did not work perfectly every time for some reason (cockpit ergonomics mainly).

THe Nordic Kayaks Breeze is maybe, unless to far away

www.nordickayaks.se/doc/kayaks.php

Here is a ski 19.6 inches wide and should fit the bill.. If only you could get one. I don't think there is a distributer in the states.

www.nordickayaks.se/doc/breeze.php

I myself would love one.

Funny I see fredrik just posted.... Maybe it's time for a group buy

Oh, and there is the Point 65 18' ski with hatches. Forgot the dimensions, info on their web site. I've seen one for sale in the US at Annapolis Canoe and Kayak. Don't know how it paddles and if all of them have crappy rudders or just a few have broken off

There is an Epic V6 ski that has hatches, I can paddle that at 10 km/h with ease and it is very comfortable and stable.

Why not just put a few small round hatches in a ski like a Mako XT? A lot of the light weight skis are not really made for running into things. I've got a Mako XT that weighs about 36 lbs but she is built strong (sorry the boat is not available) Also you might want to have a over the stern rudder on your race boat like your sea kayak or a very short skeg rudder. Good luck!....I have read a little about that race but enough to know it's pretty crazy!

Hi Dennis,
Carbonology-Sport do a crossover version of the Cruze that sounds perfect for what you are describing. Email them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and they will send you some images and description of the ski. It was developed for the Scandinavian market with 40L dry storage and dual rudders with deck cords etc. for day/weekend trips.
Regards,
Hein

I though about putting hatches into my mako xt back when I had it but at 19" wide it is just a bit too tippy for the Texas Water Safari. After paddling nonstop for days I figure my balance isn't gonna be too good?!

this is certainly a contender!

This is certainly a contender!

heinvr wrote: Hi Dennis,
Carbonology-Sport do a crossover version of the Cruze that sounds perfect for what you are describing. Email them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and they will send you some images and description of the ski. It was developed for the Scandinavian market with 40L dry storage and dual rudders with deck cords etc. for day/weekend trips.
Regards,
Hein

Newbflat wrote: Here is a ski 19.6 inches wide and should fit the bill.. If only you could get one. I don't think there is a distributer in the states.

www.nordickayaks.se/doc/breeze.php

I myself would love one.

Funny I see fredrik just posted.... Maybe it's time for a group buy

this is another contender! cool .........

Kocho wrote: Stellar S18S? There is a review of it at sea kayaker mag:

www.seakayakermag.com/PDFMagazine/SK_FEB_2013klpo.pdf

I don't know of a longer ski with real storage like in a sea kayak. Don't just look at the width though. There is a big difference between the 21.5" on a CD extreme vs the same on an Epic 18x - the latter is faster. I had an Extreme a while back and it is fast for a sea kayak but slower than racing sea kayaks like the 18x or other similar kayaks. I also had a Rapier 18 Valley kayak - about as fast as it gets for 18 feet (similar to 18 foot Epics/Stellars) but tippy compared to Extreme, probably not much different from your Mako. Good storage though. I felt more comfortable on a V10 Sport than on the Rapier even though they have similar stability - falling off the ski is no big deal, rolling back up on the Rapier did not work perfectly every time for some reason (cockpit ergonomics mainly).

this is a real possibility too! and maybe easier to get? maybe even get a test paddle session in it?

My Review when the 18S came out.

surfskiracing.org/2013/02/the-new-innova...stellar-18s-surfski/

wesley wrote: My Review when the 18S came out.

surfskiracing.org/2013/02/the-new-innova...stellar-18s-surfski/

surfskiracing.org/2013/02/the-new-innova...stellar-18s-surfski/
that link didn't work for me but it's the same as what I just cut and pasted? huh?

anyway, nice review ...... and another contender!

Is is all very good! Back a few years ago none of these types of boats existed so I can only gather that others besides me have been looking for this? cool .......

I see that a couple of boats are hybrids of their kayak based brothers, and so fit into the fast kayak class for some of the races. good in a way I suppose if that's the thing you're looking for and if that's the type of races you're entering. The Texas Water Safari (tws) and Everglades Challenge (ec) don't have those types of classes but I'd use the kayak version in the ec and the surfski type in the tws if in fact the hulls really are the same and are the same speed.

Now I got to put these boats together in a list and examine the details ......

The Think Eze is 20" wide. I think it has the same hull as the Think Fit, which is decently fast for a sprint/K1 trainer.

Had to revisit my thread because I'm still looking ......
20' x 20" would be about the perfect dimensions,
20" as I think that would be stable enough
and 20' because that's the longest that would fit in my garage.

Think Eze:
thinkkayak.com/boats/think-eze-surfski/
only 17' but no hatches ....... interesting boat though.

So it appears the only boat still (available in the usa) is the Stellar S18S?
It's getting some good use out there, winner of the MR340
and has been used in the Everglades Challenge (EC300) and such.

I still have no info about of storage space in the S18S.
I have contacted the racer of the EC300 and he'll discuss it with me
but it's the start of the EC tomorrow!
So I have to wait until he's finished this year's race.
He's in a different class this year, a different class every year for him!

19.29" wide www.flowkayaks.com/site/surf-skis/surf-skis/

Got to use a Stellar 18S in the Ski to Sea this past year and managed a first place in my division. It is surprisingly fast and stable.