Smaller boats

Does anyone have any suggestions for smaller surfskis? I need suggestions for boats that are fast, not beginner's boats, but that are shorter - say 5.8m (19 feet) - and with less flotation for paddlers under 70kg (155lb). The French built 16 comes close but is out of our budget.

Any ideas (apart from shaping my own)?

Stuart if you could allow for 6.14m (just over 20ft) then the Robberg Express would meet all the other criteria.

Thant one's been suggested and it looks like it could work. Ideally I would like one that fits in a 2o foot container without any mutilation.

The honcho guevara at 5.80m wonld be perfect....maybe check out honcho's website

good luck

You should measure diagonaly in your 20 feet container. If the nose of the ski is on the ground of the container and the tail reach the ceiling, you will be able to fit a longer ski inside.

Sure we could do that but then there is no room for anything else in the container. I do have a very good solution for transporting long skis in short containers but like to avoid doing it if possible.

Maybe I should write a quick article on it.

I do have a very good solution for transporting long skis in short containers

forget about it sawing is easy, reassembling the 2 halves is a lot less fun...

The new Carbonology Atom looks very fast and is shorter and designed for paddlers of 75 kg and under - I'm very keen to try one as soon as a bit of extra cash is floating around.

We have one on order - due to arrive first week in January. Am also looking forward to trying it.

Please do, I'm curious....

Please do, I'm curious....

I'm paddling the carbonology Sport 5.95 long Atom carbon ski. Got it as a second boat but it's clear that once you master this one it is very quick. Narrow catch with a low volume on the front deck, well suited for the sub 70kg person, and very K1-ish. The bow does not slap when going into a headwind, but cuts through effortlessly. Low volume front decks have their place in the ski world. An article is on this site. Watch this boat for sure. I'm very pleased to have this as an addition to the fleet. Not sure now whether I replace the V10L elite with the same or go to the Fenn elite.......hmmm decisions. Comments welcome.

Mine is only coming end of March so will have to wait until then but I'm really keen!

You'll find that the atom will really come into it's own on small bumps, not to say it doesn't cope with large stuff. A couple of heavy downwinds on the atom by a friend of mine is testament to that. I found that unlike many skis you can stop paddling earlier on the crest of the wave and the boat glides over to catch the wave. For bigger stuff you might think of putting a snitch on the deck infront of the footwell to deflect water. The single bullet bailer also makes short work of water. I can't comment much on the stability , but if you can paddle a Fenn elite or any of the top racing skis you will be OK.