Bonito vs Jester vs Splash

I'm looking at moving into surfskis from sea kayaking but being light (62kg) I was thinking of a short ski. The 3 surfski's in the subject line interest me, but from the pictures available seem to fit in two very different camps. Both the Knysna Jester and the new Fenn Bonito have the paddler sitting much further back relative to boat length than the Carbonology Splash, and the Jester at least has a much higher volume bow than the Splash. If these were sea kayaks I'd guess that the two shorter surfskis with the paddler further back would not catch small waves as easily but would resist purling more and be a drier ride in higher, steeper waves. Can someone with experience of the effect of different paddler positions on surfski behaviour please comment?

Simon

I've got a Jester - bought it for my thankless kids...

Yes, it's got lots of rocker, a big volume bow, and the seat seems to be further back than optimal for flat water. My guess is that the design is optimized for small surf and you'd rather not have your kid bury the bow and go arse over teakettle continually. Very maneuverable. Flat-ish hull, so quite stable.

I'm 5'10", 195 lbs, and I can just barely fit in it, but I'd be uncomfortable after about 30 minutes. Nice, light ski though. I think it would be fun in and around small surf. I suspect it would be relatively slow as a flatwater trainer.

Thanks Nell, that's very helpful. Now if a Splash owner could just comment, that’ll help my decision. I’m wondering if at the other end of the short ski spectrum the Splash doesn't bury it’s nose too easily even on long runs. That bow does look to be very low volume indeed

Simon

We sell Splash here in Sweden. Splash is not a beginners ski like the Knysna, it's more a intermediate ski. In our club the kids have four Splash and I think its the most popular among the youths. They also use Boost and Nelo 530. I paddle Splash from time to time, 170cm 74 kg. The Splash is a pretty fast boat for its length, a bit faster than the Boost on the flat. Its also more tippy. The volume in the bow is not a problem if you don't have too much weight, we have choppy short waves here and I haven't felt that the nose don't lift in time to keep the cockpit dry. Splash feels like a real surfski and a bit demanding if you are not used to paddling, but kids learn fast.

Jester which we also have sold is a more stable boat and slower. The models we got had a way too big hump for short legs. But I think(hope) that is changed now.

/Leif Aterra

Thanks Leif,

That's really helpful. At 62 kg it sounds like I’ll be fine then in a Splash

Simon

Both my wife (@ 52Kg) and another lady friend (@ about 60Kg) tried the Splash, but each (totally independently) settled on a Carbonology Vault. Both these ladies are "middle aged" and reasonably experienced paddlers/racers. My wife has been paddling her Vault now for over 12 months and is very satisfied with its performance. Her previous ski was a Stellar SES, which she found was just too big in anything but really calm conditions.

Hi Owen,

That's very interesting. What was it that your wife and her friend found less appealing about the Splash than the Vault for their weight, please?

Simon

Found the Splash too slow (when compared to the Vault), a bit "tippier" in the short chop when side-on and did not run as well downwind; (she is a fairly experienced ski and K1 racer). In my wife's case she found the size and volume of the Vault perfect for her (5'2" and 52Kg) although the foot rest adjustment had to be back on the extreme rear position. I guess another consideration was that the Splash was a bit of an "orphan" with very few of them sold here (Sydney area Australia) whereas the Vault is now one of the most popular of the new style of skis. For me, the Vault is simply too narrow for my wide (EEE) feet, although it still goes great with my weight (83Kg) - I paddle a Stellar SEL and an SR.

Hi,

I thought I would give my two cents seeing that I was once the owner of a Splash.

I weighed 62 kg's when I owned my Splash and I actually sold it because it felt too twitchy. This was because of my weight as the Splash's capacity is only up to 60 kg's. It's also not a beginner ski but an Intermediate ski for smaller paddlers. Kids do very well in this boat because they weigh less than the limit of 60 kg's. I also haven't' tried the Bonito and I can't find much information on it so not sure what the capacity is.

I found the Carbonology Vault less tippy and the Fenn Swordfish was the best. The Think Jet's capacity is up to 70 kg but I have not tried this yet. I still need to try the Think Zen and the Boost LV. In the end, I'll have to choose between those two ski's and the Fenn Swordfish S.

thinkkayak.com/kayak/think-jet/

Good luck!

I just compared the boats above. But as other say a short boat has limits. I think you also should consider Boost LV and if you have better balance maybe Vault but it might be to tipy.

Thanks Meerkat,

Looks like I should wait for a review of the Think Jet to come out. I hadn’t heard about that one

Simon