Looking at an OC1

So I know its not a surfski, however I know that a number of folks on this forum probably cross over and I could use some help quick. I SUP as well as surfski and love both. Therefore I would really like to round out the trifecta by getting an OC1 to complete my obsession

I have been looking at new boats and around me I can get a Hurricane for about $3700 and Antares for about $4400. The Antares is definitely out of my price range. I forgot to mention that I live in central PA, so 95% of the time, I'll be paddling lakes and rivers. On a good windy day, I might see 2-3 ft rolling swells, but most of the time its FLAT.

That being said, I came across a fella near me that has a used Kai Wa'a Scorpius for sale. Not sure of year, but it looks to be in great shape minus one repair that was done under the seat. He's asking $2400 for the boat with the covers. I would you folks mind lending me your advice? I attached a few pics so you can see for yourself.

Sorry, but the pics re-sized. Tried to get a zoomed in version of the repair. Its on the right hand side, back portion of the seat area.

If you're under 200-210# it will most likely be too large and you'll be pushing it in the flats. Definitely a larger volume OC-1.
Cheers

Glad you brought that up because it was a big concern. I'm 6ft 190lbs. Oh and I will take whatever boat I have to the beach, but it might only be a handful of days during the summer (OC Maryland or Jersey shore). So like I said 95% flat and the remaining 5% isn't big island surf or anything.

Could be beneficial holding onto the doh if using so little or go in halves with someone?
I get the obsession part, must have toys, and for every single possible occasion. Haha

I think what kwolfe is saying is that he'll be mostly paddling it on flat water and only getting to the coast a few times a year. Used outriggers are probably pretty scarce there, so I would probably go for it!

Yes the original Scorpius is a big volume boat, but unless he plans on racing in it, it probably won't make a difference. The difference in speed will probably be less significant than say a V-10 vs a V-10 Sport.

DW.
Yeah, scarce for shizzles and think there's a growing contingent of OC paddlers there. I sas looking at it $2400 vs. a handful of days paddling.

Totally agree and getting out on the water is what it's all about.

Cheers

Thanks DW. I guess at the end of the day, I wanted to make sure that the price was decent and that the volume wouldn't make it a dog in the flats with my 190lb in it.

$1200 can buy a lot of other stuff. Eventually I'd like to upgrade my V8 to a V10sport. I'd also like to trade in my Naish glide SUP for a displacement bow SUP that would work better on the lakes.

The Scorpius is a very nice OC-1. I own/paddle a Scorpius XS, and really love it (we bought the lower-volume boat since my wife likes to use it and she's a lot smaller than I am - I'm 6' & 195 lb). As noted, the standard Scorpius is designed for the bigger paddler, but you'll probably be fine with it unless you need maximum performance for racing. These boats can surf superbly, and it's a blast to paddle something that's so stable while still being quite efficient. And they're incredibly light (not much over 20 lbs fully rigged)! As a side note, while they are incredibly stable leaning towards the left, if you lean too far to the right (and with a very light ama, it doesn't take much of a lean) you'll find yourself treading water surprisingly quickly! The hulls have no secondary stability, and you sit high up, so once you go over-center far enough to counter the moment arm of the ama you'll be over in a flash. On the plus side, it's very easy to reenter the boat. Also, you can lay back and rest on the boat if you get tired.

$2400 is a good price. Mine was $3500 new, and I rarely see them below $2500 - and they're not usually local (I live in NE Indiana - so come out and paddle if you get it).

I regularly paddle a Scorpius on long island sound near New Haven in conditions from flat to 3', though mostly between flat and 18", so small stuff. Im 6'1" and 190 lbs for reference.

I love the scorpius on flat watter and down wind. It picks up small bumps well and is fast on the flats. Overall a good all around boat and is very enjoyable to me. Going up wind is my only compliant. Some outriggers have an Ama with a sharp knife edge, like the Hurricane. This cuts through waves much better than the relatively blunt ama on the Scorpius. Going into waves, the Ama will slap on the oncoming waves and splash water on the paddle when you're padlding on the Ama side.

If I owned the boat (its my 'regular' club boat) I would probably try to adapt a different ama on to it, mostly because I paddle on LIS regularly. Anyways, if the price is right, I dont think you will be disappointed with it. I would consider it for an OC1 if I was in the market.

Cheers

So I picked up the scorpius on Saturday. The boat looks really good accept for one area. There is a soft spot on the right side of the hull by where the seat is. Not crazy soft and no crack but it may have been bumped at one point.

Any suggestions on how to stiffen it up? I saw one video where the guy drilled a hole and injected epoxy mixed with fiber shavings, taped over the hole and then moved the boat around a little to cost the inside. The other method would require me sanding doe the area until I get the to fiberglass and then adding a layer or two of new glass on top and then painting it (its white so matching should be hard). Was thinking about Krylon epoxy spray.

I guess I could try the easy way first and go from there. Doesn't seem like it would hurt at all. As for the repair in the picks, its very solid but ugly so I'm going to clean it up with some wet sanding to smooth and fair it out. Was even considering throwing a strip of 6oz glass or carbon over each seat rail just to add strength where is appears most important.

I suspect the soft spot is exactly where you lift it up onto your hip or on your shoulder when carrying.

Cannot inject if the boat is not a hollow sandwich construction. However if you manage to drill very shallow holes on the outer layer you might be able to inject between the layers with just thin epoxy resin. Not sure how fibers can be injected. This will be extremely difficult to do though.

I do this all the time, just grind the outer gelcoat layer away till you get to the first layer then laminate one layer of carbon with epoxy, preferably uni-directional as that will be stronger, put a piece of peel-ply over that and then compress the laminate with 50mm masking tape over the patch, this will consolidate the patch and force the resin through the pinholes in the laminate through to the baser layers wetting them out making it stronger.

Well I got my paddle from Kialoa last week and got a chance to get the OC1 out yesterday. For anyone that has been itching to try one......do it! Did about 5 miles on a lake near my house. Had a blast. It's kind of like a SUP stroke but the boat glides waaay better.

Did huli once. Didn't realize I had the ama set a little lighter. I must have leaned a little to far into the stroke and twitched the rudder. Next thing I know, I see the ama pop up and over! Very easy to remount even from the non ama side. I'm still amazed at how light the boat is fully rigged. I think its around 27lbs at best.

OC1's are a blast! The ama on the Scorpius boats is very light, and the standard iakos are carbon fiber and very light. Hence, you don't have a lot of compensating moment if you lean just a bit too far right. And with the higher center of gravity in an OC1 you can go over rather quickly if you hit that point. You tend to get used to it, but if you want a bit more stability you can put a pound or so of weight on the ama to add stability. I had someone make a special set of iakos 7" longer than standard and out of aluminum for those times when I want to use a double-bladed paddle. The extra weight/length also makes it more stable, so I sometimes use them if I'm anticipating rough conditions, although now I'm so used to the lighter setup it that I rarely change it.

As a side note, the weight on your boat fully rigged may be closer to 21 - 23 lbs; they are amazingly light.