Stellar SE mod

Stellar owners may find this post useful.
I have had my Stellar SE for almost a year now and generally very happy with it. Previous skis have been Red7 Surf70 and Epic V10. My only (but significant) gripe with it was when surfing. The steering was virtually useless when surfing. Once on a nice big fat wave it was very difficult to get off it. In comparison, my V10 was great for surfing (IMO), so I decided to fit a 9" Epic rudder to my Stellar to see if steering responsiveness would improve. It improved dramatically. last week I managed to get on to some decent waves and was able to a.swing around much easier to get on to a wave, b.change direction and trim along the face, c. get off he wave before it broke. Prior to fitting the new rudder I would not have used it on breaking waves. Out on our Bay, it is tracking much better in windy, beaming and quatering conditions and when paddling downwind it is much easier to quickly change direction to jump on to the small wind waves.

Very happy with this mod and would reccommend it to anybody who likes to surf their ski and/or play around in the windy conditions.
Cheers

G'day

I am just entering the world of ocean ski's and was wondering whether the SE would be suitable. I have paddled Spec skis albeit a while ago. I would appreciate your feedback.

Cheers

G'Day back.
Can't answer that one. Way too many variables. The only option is to try and demo as many as you can.
the Stella SE has a big cockpit so would suit a bigger paddler but you can always pad it out.

there a couple of places to demo skis if you live near the Gold Coast. Adventure Outlet in Southport and the currumbin paddlers often have dem days.

Thanks for the reply. You're right the are lots of variables and still trying to get my head around them all very confusing. The SE was recommended as a stable ski and comfortable. I am 177cm and 80KG so I think the SE size wise would be OK. I live in Bris but travel UP Mooloolaba regularly there is a distributor up there I will contact.

Regards
Marcus

Stellar now does ship all their skis with a new ocean rudder. The new rudder is a dramatic improvement over the older version.

hey marcus-I live in sandgate and train in these waters and up the coast as well-We are on the creek(cabbagetree)sat morn-with the canoe club- 730am-I have a stellar ses -you can take that for a burl if you want-just ask for bev-

Marcus,

I think you may find the SE's cockpit too big as it is. I am 6'4" with long legs (had to put the foot step at the last available notch to fit me barefoot) and am 85+ kilos and I thought the cockpit was too lose a fit for me, especially in the legs area where to get any contact with the sides of the ski I had to splay my knees out like in a sea kayak, which is OK to brace but you can't effectvely paddle like that. Padding may be needed.

Primary stability on flat water I thought was a bit lower than an Evo II but I would not be surprised if in some chop the Stellar gains a notch or two of stability since it has quite a bit of flare above the waterline. I also thought the width of the ski at the catch area was a bit too wide for a close paddle catch.

Try for your bum-fit though - we are all different...

agree with Kocho on all points, i am 6'3" and have the foot step out at max. I was 96kg when I purchased the Stellar and found the cockpit ok but would have prefferd a bit snugger fit like my V10. i am now 86kg and have had toadd some pads.

My paddling buddy is about the same as you and finds the cockpit of my Stellar to be huge.

Whenever possible, i paddle out in Moreton Bay and can confirm that the Stellar has great secondary stability in quatering and beaming wind chop.

At your size, Kocho's point regarding width at catch is also worth considering. Depends on your paddling style but i definitely need the 100mileperhour tape to protect the sides.

cabbagetree creek is agood place to paddle out from. Last time I was there I paddled straight out into the Bay for an hour into the wind so that I could race back in with some wind and windwaves. It was this paddle that led me to the surf rudder mod.

You will find with all the Stellar skis that they all are wider from the cockpit forward and offer more room all the way to the footwell where there is plenty of room even in the SES's. they don't taper as much as most the other brands of skis which in part add to there stability. Of the 25 skis I have owned there has been only one that i did not pad out in some fashion. Namely I would put padding where my calves would hit the ski for a better ergonomic paddling position(legs straighter,not splayed at all, more like K1 position) and this would also increase my stability since it is another contact point with the ski. I also padded out the hip area as well alot of my skis. It is better to get a slightly wider ski and then pad it out to get to perfect fit. So far me the padding of a ski is the norm and not the exception.

The SEL, SE low volume is now out with a much narrower catch, slightly narrower seat, and much,much less volume. The SE2(double) is out also which has about the same fit as the SEL but is very low volume as well.

All the skis as someone mentioned come with the "balanced rudder now which improve the handling and the 2011's in all models steer better(more responsive) than the first years boats.

Are you sure about the seat being narrower on the SEL than on the SE? I've heard exactly the opposite from a Stellar rep - that the seat on the new SEL (not the smaller SES) is actually wider than that on the SE but with more vertical sides.

Bev

thanks for the offer i will try to get down there in the next week or so. I work every 2nd weekend, I get most of my time to paddle during the week. I will give you a heads up when I can get down there.

Cheers

Hello,
I like this conversation about Stellar. I bought a Stellar ski which is stable, fast, comfortable and cheap. I think its an awesome boat that been extremely well made and is very competitive. My only gripe is that I find the seat a bit uncomfortable but I have solved this with a seat pad so its all good.

________
Yacht Dubai

i have just fitted these
www.oceanpaddler.com/store/kani-paddling-gear/kani-seat-pads/
They look very professional. i haven't spent much time in the boat since I fitted them so I can't comment on how effective they are yet.

Hiya

I took the SES out for a test run this morning only my 3rd ski tested (paddling 3 weeks now and loving it just gotta find the right boat), the cockpit on me was very comfortable not much wiggle room and I found the higher walls a bonus in terms of keeping balance using legs to brace rather than paddle. There was definitely no need/room for padding in the hips mine are approx 36cm across and I am only 177cm so for me it was a good fit. They all now come with an "EPIC" type surf rudder with it pinned 1/4 way back so it was very responsive and tended to self correct rather than having to use oppposte rudder to straighten which for a novice was great as I could concentrate more on my paddling rather than also trying to steer straight.

wesley wrote:

Namely I would put padding where my calves would hit the ski for a better ergonomic paddling position(legs straighter,not splayed at all, more like K1 position) and this would also increase my stability since it is another contact point with the ski.

Hey Wesley, any chance of a few pics of this modification?