Falcon vs Epic V 10 L

Greetings,
I am a 61 year old female paddler, 5’6” and 140 pound. Been paddling about 2 years and started out in a Stellar SR. I feel pretty comfortable in this boat and will probably keep it for occasional forays into the Gulf of Mexico when it gets a little bumpy. I mostly paddle inshore in SW Florida and am no downwind queen. I recently acquired a Falcon (which I didn’t need but I kind of like boats) and have put about 75 miles on it in the last month. I feel like i have no connection to the boat, unlike the SR. I have fooled around with pads to no avail. I am looking at other boats….I’d like something a little more challenging specifically for flat water. Ive been looking at the Epic V10 L because it seems like a lower volume boat would better suit me. I can’t find any to demo locally. Looking for advice…..

Hi Esteroali.
I am a 51 yo male paddler. 176 cm, 76kg. I don't like big volume skis and I hate big buckets. The V10L has one of the most comfortable buckets I've sat in and gives me great connection to the boat.
I really like this ski for flat water racing and moderate downwind paddling. It seems to me that this ski is optimised for those conditions because it has less rocker than many more downwind focused skis like the V9 and the V10 G4 for example. As such the V10L does nose dive a bit on steep waves. I don't paddle this ski downwind without a wave deflector.
As much as I like the ski; I can't help wondering if it would be better if it was a bit shorter. Although it doesn't have a huge amount of volume above the waterline; it still has a large wetted surface so there is a fair bit of resistance that must be overcome to get it up to speed. Given that it is designed for light paddlers; I wonder how many such paddlers have the strength to get the best out of this design. Obviously with a bit of wind at your back it's great fun but I for one am not strong enough to hold this ski at much over 11 kph for a one hour effort on flat water.
I don't think the V10L was a big seller for Epic. Epic Australia doesn't even list it for sale anymore.

What part of NW Florida are you in? If near Destin area, I would be happy to let you paddle my two skis I keep there. Fenn Swordfish S is probably similar to Epic V10, so you could at least feel the stability of that class of ski. Knysa Racing McGregor Rhythm is more of a flat water ski for me. Small boat, very light full carbon, only 19’ long. It would challenge you, though there is a tippier model in the McGregor lineup (Classic). Leave your contact info if interested (I could not find the private message function).

Sorry, I now see you are in SW, not NW Florida. The good thing about that is there should be plenty of skis in that area to demo. Have you considered Nelo?

NK also is an option to consider. Like nelo they offer their skis in different sizes of the same model.

I am surprised that you are not happy with the falcon. Everything I have read the seems to indicate the stability is close to SR but the speed is better. But the problem with whats on paper vs real life is not always the same. I read somewhere that they are going to make a falcon with smaller seat area. You have alot more experience with intermediate skis than myself so I can not help you with the falcon vs epic v 10 L. The reason this caught my eye is I am thinking about getting a SR or Falcon myself. So I am curious about what your lack on connection to the falcon was???

You might want to talk to a dealer who carries both stellar and epic there is one in Louisiana and Kansas that I know of. In Florida I think you have 2 dealers who have nelo and stellar. Nelo makes low volume skis. Wish I had more real experience with these skis but maybe a dealer that has both skis could steer you in the right direction.

I have paddled the v10L second generation ski on the flat and downwind. I am 5’11” and 165 lbs so at the upper end of the weight range. I loved the ergonomics and acceleration of that ski on flat water. It felt perfect at my body weight on the flat. Downwind I could tell that I was at the upper end of the weight range. It was a decent downwind boat but if downwind is your priority there are other boats out there (including newer epic designs) that have rocker that is more optimized to downwind.

So what intermediate skis are more geared to a lighter weight female paddler? Not doing any big down winds. I actually really like the Falcon but feel no connection to the boat at all. I’ve tried playing with pads but it makes it worse.