Oscar Chalupsky on the design philosophy of the ChalupSki surfski range

I'm a member of the organizing team of the Bellevue Ocean Race in Klampenborg, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. We just interviewed Oscar Chalupsky about his new line of surfskis he is developing under the brand name "ChalupSki".
Oscar has been building surfskis for 50 years; we wondered what he's doing differently with his new boats. Maybe you'll enjoy the read!

bor-klampenborg-kajak.dk/?page_id=1353

Great interview. Thanks for sharing here. I have, and still paddle on occasion, one of his very early "Chalupski" models made by Bob Twogood in Hawaii. It was my first ski and most certainly did not follow the "stability before ability" mantra as it is a bit wobbly for a beginner. Very fast, though, about like a V10.
I would like to paddle the new skis, but I doubt there are any in SE USA. Any idea how the lineup compares to Epic or Tenn for stability? Which one would most closely resemble the V8 or bluefin, for example?
Thanks again for posting this on this site.

Thanks for your reply! I wasn't sure if someone would be interested in the interview here. It's amazing to hear that you are still paddling the Bob Twogood "Chalupski"!!! How old is that surfski? And how heavy is it? Can you share a photo?
Oscar posted a photo of his Nelo 560 next to an old Chalupski on Facebook some time ago: photos.app.goo.gl/Wi1oTCysYSyjLN9J6

Does your Chalupski look like that ski? I cannot imagine paddling something like that in the Molokai race, with those big waves and current. But Oscar's stability and feel for water is another level.
I haven't had a chance to paddle the new ChalupSki, but Oscar told me that one of his friends in Amsterdam, Arjan Bloem, will host a "Paddle a ChalupSki" event around July 29th this year. I'll go there to try the new surfskis, and will make a video and blog post.
www.kajak.nl/

I'm really curious how stable his new surfskis are compared to the V8, Nelo 520, and Carbonology Boost. And I'm happy for Oscar, that he gets to launch the new surfski line with his own company. My favorite surfskis are the Nelo 540 and 550 at the moment, our club has those boats. They work really well with the small waves we have in the strait between Denmark and Sweden, only 20km wide.

Our club has a lot of Epic boats as well: V8 Pro, V10 Sport, Gen 1 V10, Gen 3 V10, V12, V14. I've only been paddling surfski for 2 1/2 years, I can paddle a V10 in small waves, but don't feel that comfortable in it. Here in Copenhagen, the waves don't get that big, maximum is 4-5 feet.

All the best from Denmark,
Raju

My Twogood ChalupSki weighs close to 40 lbs I would say—similar to my spec ski. Supposedly double fiberglass layup. Seems bullet proof.
I think stability (and speed) are similar to a V10. I paddle a V10sport and the twogood is a little tippier and seems to be as fast or faster than my sport. Exceptional glide, especially for such an old ski. It fits me perfectly, which adds to the speed. I’m guessing it is from about the 1980’s, maybe 90’s. I talked to Bob Twogood about it some years ago. He knew everything about it based on the serial number. The first time I met Oscar, at a race in Mississippi about 15 years ago, I told him what I was paddling and he went out of his way to come see it, and signed it. Really cool.

Wow, amazing, thanks for all the photos! And for sharing your story of Oscar signing your ski! The quality must be really good, the Chalupski has aged so well!

I might have the chance to try the ChalupSki models in Amsterdam at the end of July. Arjan Bloem, a friend of Oscar, owns a big kayak shop in the city, and they'll probably be the first ones to get ChalupSkis in Europe. I'll keep you updated and post some information on the new surfskis in this thread.

If you ever make it to Copenhagen, reach out to me. At our club we can take guests out on the water, and we have a good range of surfskis to paddle. Maybe we'll have a new ChalupSki by then.
That's our club on the beach North of Copenhagen.