Custom Kayaks Synergy, anyone paddle one?

bussellt wrote:

have a look at my waterways we paddle on as Ocean skis are very big here now
Regards Trevor
Wanda Surf Club
Sydney Australia

Hi, yes, just picked up my synergy 2 which has a number of great changes from the last one but what did you want to know about it?

thanks Rookie, but I am sorted. Collected mine 2 weeks ago but have been saddled with flu since Friday so have not been able to paddle it.

Got a synergy 2 about 6 weeks ago and really enjoy it.

It's not the easiest boat to remount (coming from a lifesaving spec ski) but it's not impossible either, don't let this put you off as after reading a few comments about remounting this ski I almost never bought it.

When I first tested it I must've fallen off 3-4 times every time I remounted and now I get on first time.

Hi yes and love it, I agree completely with Christopher about it not being easy to climb back on so do practice in calm situations before trying to do a down wind race in it...
Having said that I think that they are great and certainly they are build for paddling downwind. Personally I took the footplate about 2 spaces forward (to what I would normally do) to bring my knees down and that helped with the stability of the ski. It is the sort of ski that improves its stability as it goes faster and I found was great after 10km/h and under that more susceptible to side on chop. So in short it is not for the beginner who is likely to stop - start but rather a slighly more experienced paddler who can keep up a consistant stroke.
I weigh 92kg and am 6'2 if that helps.

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the new Custom Kayaks Focus. I have paddled with both the Focus and the Synergy 2, I found the Focus is definately more stable than the Synergy 2 and is as fast. The secondary stability is amazing! I have an entry level Mentor, and felt comfortable straight away on the Focus. It is also way easier to re-mount.

True sorry we should have I picked up mine on a Saturday morning and did a millers run in 30kt winds that same afternoon so there was no time to get used to the boat - you are right it is fantastic far more stable and MUCH easier to climb back in to. The added stability gives you the confidence to keep on chasing the runs something I did not often do in the synergy because if I fell out it was difficult to get back in. The other big difference for me is that the back deck is lower and less effected by the big side chop we had on that day. Still love the synergy but would recommend the focus as new purchase.

Hi
When you say hybrid, what do you mean by it. Is it when the rudder is moved to the back similar to a K1.

Will you recommend using a synergy for river paddling (medium obstacles )

Joe

Hi what do your rivers look like?

In South Africa our rivers are generally shallow in which case the rudder will knock on rocks etc..so not advised to use a synergy
If your rivers are deep and wide then a synergy may be great.

A hybid is a method of construction of the ski:
a standard ski is made of glass fibre - generally referred to as standard or glass ski
The light version of that ski is made of carbon Kevlar - referred to as carbon.
Some manufactures offer a combination of glass and carbon in order to get the weight of the ski down while not costing as much as the carbon to purchase = hybid

the rudder position on a ski is referred to as over-steer or understeer. A ski with a rudder right at the back of the boat is referred to as oversteer rudder system. It is useful if you have to slide over rocks / weirs that your rudder pops up during the process.canoes are a great example of this.
Most surfskis have rudders underneath the ski - understeer. great for paddling in wave conditions but lousy if you hit a rock!
The synergy has an understeer rudder in this example.

Hope this helps
Regards