Red 7 Valheru. anyone own? info???

I have a Valheru. I love it. I am trying my best to balance with it, although I tip often. Has anyone else paddled this boat and become comfortable in it?

Just wanting to get some info about this boat, any and all.

Thanks

I'll speak up since noone of authority seems to want to. I have a single-footwell Surf70, shipped to me in mid 2006. The prior year's surf70 I believe had the Valheru hull, according to a friend who had one. But I think mine is a one-off intermediate design, as i'ts 45cm beam does not match any published red7 spec I have seen. Same with the length (don't recall
the exact numbers).

Yeah its pretty tippy, and not easy to remount.
I have trouble racing my best in it usually unless in
protected water or really flat conditions. But downind it feels
great and catches the tiniest swell or wash. Truthfully
I mostly use it for flatwater training when my weaksauce K1 skills
are overwhelmed by wind. So I had a great little 4" rudder made
(thanks DK!) and pad up the seat an inch or so for ergonomics and
hump clearance, and it pretty much feels like K1 glide except A.
I can remount it, and B. it is a bit heavy (even though its carbon/kevlar).

I should trade it for a k1 but I can't seem to part with it yet
... just wish it was a bit lighter.

I forgot to mention, if you can see my avatar photo, it's the hull on the left.

lost john wrote: I forgot to mention, if you can see my avatar photo, it's the hull on the left.

Hi lost John,
Thanks for the reply. This is kind of funny but I think you actually paddled my Valheru on Green Lake. I am in Hawaii now, and if you recall how tippy my boat was on the lake just imagine it in Hawaii waters. I went out this morning and flipped 23 times. With that said I am very comfortable in an Epic V12.

There is just something about this boat that makes me love the challenge. Like you said it jumps on everything, even the smallest bumps.

Because I flip so often I get plenty of practice remounting. Side saddle is only possible in very calm water, its just too tippy to get the leg over in any kind of wind or ocean swell. So the straddle technique must be used and my boat gives me plenty of opportunity to master it.

I emailed Red 7 a few years ago requesting info about the Valheru and they did not respond. Oh well, if I ever develop enough skill to race this boat I'll let you know, and would love to hear if anyone else has already reached that level.

hey good to hear from you man! I heard you were back in Hawaii and wondered what happened to your red7. I heard you got another ski too, whats up with that? And lets be honest you flipped 23 times in WARM water, haha... the only ski I've really paddled much in HI was a v10s, around diamond head, that was just right for me.

Yeah I emailed red7 to order a ski ... first they referred me to the wrong dealer, then sent me the wrong color. New ownership now though.

I thought yours was a little tippier, and its seemed lighter and stiffer so I think it was all carbon, talking to the previous owners. I remember asking one why he was selling it, he replied "well if you need k1 conditions to race it, you may as well paddle a k1". I've raced it a few times across Lk Wash but I can't imagine trying it in ocean conditions except for laughs.

Hey next time I visit the islands I'll rent a ski and we'll have to have a paddle!
John

Hey John,

Great to hear from you man, I thought that was you. Yes WARM water, I guess I can't complain, although I will say that I have huge welts on my knees and bruises all over my body from straddling that boat and getting slapped around in rough water over and over again.

The boat is in fact carbon, nice and stiff. I shipped it here on Honolulu Freight for a little over $300. Firstly because I love this boat and secondly if I tried to sell it and gave full disclosure I am not sure I could get anywhere near what its worth. The feedback you gave is just what I am looking for, thanks. It seems really difficult to find any info about this boat.

Thats really cool that you raced the Valheru on Lake W, I didn't know. I am going to continue on my mission to get good enough to race it in Hawaii water. I will let you know if I ever advance beyond shark bait.

Definitely get in touch the next time you're in the islands and we'll go paddle. Take care my friend,
Rob

Red 7 no longer produces surfskis - the Valheru is a fast ski but yes it is unstable. What I did with mine is drop the seat deeper into the ski it is now as stable as an Epic V10. It is quite a mssion to do but well worth the effort. The ski is very buoyant and the original seat is high - hence the lack of stablity. In the early days both Dawid Mocke and Matt Bowman used to paddle a Valheru.

Cheers

Anton

antonsa wrote: Red 7 no longer produces surfskis - the Valheru is a fast ski but yes it is unstable. What I did with mine is drop the seat deeper into the ski it is now as stable as an Epic V10. It is quite a mssion to do but well worth the effort. The ski is very buoyant and the original seat is high - hence the lack of stablity. In the early days both Dawid Mocke and Matt Bowman used to paddle a Valheru.

Cheers

Anton

Anton, thanks for the info. I have a guy locally that can definitely drop the seat for me, just a matter of price, but I like the suggestion. So were Dawid and Matt able to paddle the Valheru unmodified in big water? If so that is simply amazing!
After dropping your seat did you notice any compromise in your stroke?
Thanks again.

Dropping the seat actually helped my stroke as I could consentrate on paddling rather than balancing. Yes Dawid and Matt did manage - just shows the skills of the top racers!

Drop the seat as far as possible as you can always build it up with foam butt pads.

Enjoy this vintage ski.

Cheers

Anton