Vajda Orca

Sorry back again and no I cant demo any boats so the questions keep coming.
I could get my hands on a Orca in fibreglass. How heavy are they really 15 or 18kg whats there real width as the Vajda website say60ish and other sites say 43cm
Are they reaaaallly fast or just average in the new ski terms.
For flatwater.
Cheers
Paul
Im 83kg 180cm tall

Review coming.
These boats are about 1.5cm skinnier than a V10, pretty much the whole length.
Very narrow catch, very narrow bucket, narrower than anything else I have sat in.
I fit well, width wise in a V10, the Orca is tight, and I mean tight on me.
Speed will be revealed when I have finished trialing them.
But a quick sprint in the basic version in the broadwater yielded a top speed of 17.9kmh.

The test boat I paddled had been repaired, so a weight taken of it would not be representative of a production boat.

Thanks for the reply
So the quick sprint was what, paddle as hard as you could then back off, so just a short sprint? I assume the Broadwater you you mentioned is flatwater?
What is the width of the bucket?
Im about 350 across hip to hip, Most people say I've got a skinny arse.
how long till you intend doing review?
Cheers
Paul.

Probably doesnt answer your flat water question but I just found this video review (from I'm assuming a sponsored paddler) .

I was going to demo a boat here in Western Australia...until I found out the price

$5290 for the 11kg
$3950 for the 14kg

Still looking forward to seeing one in the flesh at a race

Out of interest Gnome, where are you based? You might be surprised as to whose got what boats and where!
Owen

Thanks for the replies.
Gord there exy
Tassie.

Several sprints, just trying to get maximum speed.
Egged on by trying to hit the seemingly elusive 18kmh mark.

Basically flat except for a few boat/ jetski wakes and pitter pattery wind waves that develop across the kilometer wide space, just high enough to splash into the bucket.

There's a dearer 8kg version too.....
Pricing is much more competitive than the rrp suggests.

I can check the actual bucket size next time I get near it.

Rightarmbad wrote:

Pricing is much more competitive than the rrp suggests

Hmmmm, curious marketing strategy then , those RRP's certainly scared me off from even wanting to demo !

Look forward to someone writing up a review with pics!

I recently got an Orca basic.

The width is about 42.5 at its widest point and the bucket is 38.5 at its widest.

I'm 188 cm and 88 kg and for me the bucket is very comfortable and a good fit. It is not a wide seat and I reckon that if I was 10 kg heavier (fat not muscle) it would be a bit tight. I note they claim the ski is for paddlers upto 120 kg, but there is no way someone that size would fit in the seat unless they were an absolute tank with a super skin arse compared to their upper body.

I'm really impressed with the ski. The finish is nice and it has good stability. I've come from paddling an Unfair Advantage spec ski and the Orca is much more stable and a lot faster.

I haven't weight it yet but it feels lighter than the spec ski.

I have trouble getting my backside in a Fenn Elite and have to chock the bucket with inches of foam just to fit in. My backside is not abnormally large and I am not fat, just genetically larger frame with more muscular than the typical. The Vadja website claims that the "the cockpit allows superior comfort that you can paddle for hours". Do you subscribe to this view? How does the bucket width and height compare to the Fenn Elite? What about rocker?

I used to paddle a fenn elite and the seat width on the vadja ski is significantly wider than the fenn. But more importantly, not as deep as the fenn. It's the depth of the fenn seat that bites, and many paddlers pad the seat to rise up out of that to free up their hips but in doing so lose rotation. This is definitely not a problem in the Vadja. The rocker is, according to Epic, similar to v10 but who knows?

Interesting, I paddled an Elite, but never found the bucket tight, the Vajda however had by hip bones hard on both sides of the bucket.

The rocker could only be described as identical except for the very front of the nose. And then only slightly different.

I haven't spent much time in a Fenn Elite and not paddled one recently. However, I seem to remember the seat being wider than the Orca.

I find my Orca to be very comfortable. My longest paddle so far is about 2 hours though I feel that I could sit in it for much longer without any problems.

Jsanders....I would definitely recommend test paddling the Orca. If the cockpit is wide enough for you then I think you'II find it a very comfortable ski.

I've been very pleased with my purchase. I think my dream ski would be an Orca elite (8kg version), but with a bailer like the Epic V12.