Stellar SES v Fenn SL for stability

Hi shortyakker,

I have the smaller bucket size of SES and I had the rails moved back to suit short short people. It would fit you at 5ft. Nothing else out there probably would (I feel your pain).

It is for sale (I have upgraded to the spark) if you're interested...depending on where you are I guess.

Please tell me how the Spark compares for you, I suspect its the next ski to add to my collection.

Shortyakker, my wife is a wee bit over 5 feet tall (with short legs). She paddles an SES with the rails still in the stock position and pedals/rest adjusted back as far as practical (3rd mark on rail) whilst still letting the bottom clamp grip the rail properly. She has a little padding on the bucket which raises her slightly and moves her forward about half an inch. She's a regular racer and gets full rotation without any "hump" problem.

Hi, Oceanwahine:

Im in Florida, and it seems you're in Sydney Boo hoo, because your SES sounds like it would fit me pretty well.

Would you say the Spark is a more advanced paddler's ski? Tippier than the SES?

Thanks!

Hi, Owenw:
this is good to know that your wife, who is my height, can fit into the SES without much modification. I think I am going to find someplace in Florida to test paddle one. We don't have any Stellar dealers in my area though, so this process will take me awhile.

Kayaker Greg, just did some measurements sitting in my ski. From the back of the bucket to where my knees are is 19 inches. I would like my knees to be a bit higher though, so let's say 18 inches. Then from my knees to where I WISH the foot brace was is another 14 inches.

But I'm not sure if that makes much sense. I know for a fact that I have a 26 inch inseam.

Putting the pillow behind me does allow me to reach the brace and the pedals, however it forces my bum up into an uncomfortable part of the seat, thereby putting more pressure on the back of the upper thigh. I feel I'm working extra hard to sit up straight.

Ok I'll run the tape over my SES either tomorrow if I paddle it or on Sunday (its Friday evening here now).

Ok Shortyakker I've done a measure up, my inseam is 31", the top of the hump is 19 1/2 inches and using your measurements in my SES the footplate would need to come back 5 inches (19" + 14 inches) my footplate is currently at 38" from back of seat. Now remembering that my SES is the early one and the later ones came with a different bucket.

The bottom track appears to be bonded to the ski and it would not be a major task to make an alternative bracket so the lever that clamps the footplate was forward of the footplate rather than at the rear. This would achieve the 5" needed, no more. The bracket would need to be made of stainless steel, and if you were to take the original bracket to a sheet metal shop they should be able to knock one up in 15 mins if you explain the angle needs to be 180 degrees the other way and allow room for the lever to work. Probably would be a good idea to take your ski with you so they can see exactly what is trying to be achieved.

The top tracks have only 4" of available adjustment to get to the shortest setting. But the tracks could be relocated back 2" giving you 6" when you only need 5". I would do this by drilling new holes in the track and two new holes in the ski (one each side) at the rear. Not a major really. The two holes at the front which will be obsolete will need to be filled with epoxy or an extra screw each side, even some aqua seal so when you sell the ski the track can be moved forward again.

After all this you might need to run a thin pad under your butt anyway and slightly up the back of the bucket to shift your self a little forward, not a major and my ski has such a pad to prevent rubbing and I've had skis that I've had to move the seat forward 50mm, so all doable, bearing in mind the later SES might be slightly different but would all be doable in my opinion with a little application and if you have someone capable of doing the work for you if your not a tool girl.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

Shortyakker be a good idea to try a Fenn Spark as well, I paddled one yesterday and liked it a lot. Of course I don't have any measurements to see how it would fit you, perhaps Oceanwahine could advise on this. Unfortunately the bucket was about 10-20mm to narrow for my thigh bones, I'm really gutted as I really liked the low volume of this ski. Even been considering getting one and knocking some holes for my hip bones and re glassing it.

Greg, Other than the Spark being a bit narrow in the bucket, how did you find it against the SES in terms of stability and speed ? I have an SES and I'm tempted to try the Spark as well.

I have no idea on the speed as it was quickly apparent that I did not fit the bucket (could get no rotation as I was jammed in there) and I came off the water the day before feeling a little flat so planned to rest that day with a race tomorrow. So I paddled out only a short distance with the importer/retailer talking before we turned around and headed back.

However, the day was windless with glassy water and left over swell, the kind of bump that I find hardest of all to paddle in my SES. We both agreed that these were the trickiest conditions for most of us. I leaned the ski over a couple of times to check its secondary stability and I was able to lean it over enough for water to come over the sides and it was rock solid. I handled the bump without any problems where in my SES I would be rolling around from side to side. My SES is the light Excell 11kg version, this Spark was a heavier fibreglas version 14kg. The carbon version would be a bit less stable but to me it felt like it was sitting down in the water with my 73kg and its lack of volume at the ends, I really liked the feel of it, but didn't really give it a good test because of the fit.

After not being able to get this ski off my mind, I am seriously considering getting one and making some modifications to the bucket, I think it is a great ski. Try one if you can.

Thanks so much, Kayaker Greg! It sounds like I can at least narrow down my test paddling to the ses and I'll give the Spark a look. I plan on doing this over the next month, since it involves some travelling.

Ive resigned myself to the idea that no ski will fit me without some modification. Just a fact, I suppose.

Again, thanks for the info. It has been extremely helpful and could save me a lot of trial-and-error work.

When I finally do get something that works, I'll be sure to post my findings in the forum. I'm certain there are other miniature surfskiers who could use the info.

Shortyakker, why don't you just contact the distributers of the boats in your area and custom order a boat with the footplate rails set further back. Most manufacturers will be able to do this. Organise a list of low volume boats and send each manufacturer an email. Most would be keen as mustard to help. Fenn, epic, carbonology, stellar all have low volume boats. I'm not sure about Think.

What low volume boat does Epic have? You must mean the V10L, I wouldn't call that low volume for a small paddler anymore than my SEL and the hump height and positioning rules it out.

You are talking about the nearly 10 year old Epic V10L!

The new one is due very soon, early next year and specifically designed for lighter paddlers.

I would not be doing anything in terms of buying a new ski till I saw that one.

Ranga wrote: The new one is due very soon, early next year and specifically designed for lighter paddlers.

I would not be doing anything in terms of buying a new ski till I saw that one.

My wife got sick of waiting. The paddling season is now well underway so a couple of weeks ago she abandoned her old (too big) ski and is now enjoying her new Stellar SES.

Shortyakker, I'm in South Carolina, and I have a Fenn Elite Spark in carbon, in pristine condition for sale. You are welcome to come try it if you like. I am 5' 6.5", and it definitely has a much lower hump than any other ski I've paddled, but I find the bucket just a tad too narrow for me. That boat is also incredibly light, with a very narrow catch.

I've paddled a few other skis mentioned in this thread that people are speculating about. Carbonology Atom and Vault, Fenn Elite SL. The Atom is meant for a light paddler but not a short paddler. It has a pretty high hump and high sides. The latter makes it hard to remount for a small person. I like my Atom a lot, but for someone shorter it would not work well. The Vault is similar, plus being wider (bother overall and the bucket) and higher volume, might be a bit loose-fitting and big for someone small. The Fenn Elite SL is not made for a small person at all, and the hump is big. I do admit that I love the bucket on that boat, and am rather attached to mine, but for anyone much shorter than me, it wouldn't work at all.

Carbonology is coming out with a new model, which I believe will be called the Pulse, which aims to address some of the problems shorter people have with the Atom. I have one on order.

I have heard that Epic plans a redesign of the V10L, but no word of it yet.

I wonder how the new Carbonology "Pulse" is related to the "Switch" that has been discussed recently. And, I'd be curious about a relative ranking of the speed and stability of Carbonology's line of skis from Vault to Flash to Switch / Pulse.

The Switch has features that are designed for people doing downriver paddling, such as changing to a trailing rudder and different bailers. I think the Pulse will be more of a standard ski. The Switch is based on the Atom, but they've modified it a bit to make it more stable. The Pulse, from what I understand, will have the same dimensions as the Atom, but a lower hump and shallower bucket. I do not know if it will have the added stability that the Switch has, although I would not be surprised. The Pulse, from what I know, was designed specifically to address the issues smaller people had with the Atom.

As far as speed goes, the Atom is one crazy fast ski. I am faster in it by far than any other I have tried so far. The downside is that it is less stable than other elite skis. I would guess that the Switch will be almost as fast, and the Pulse will be about the same as either the Switch or the Atom, depending upon what they do about stability. I haven't paddled the Flash, so I'm only speculating when I guess that it would come in somewhere between the Vault and Atom. The Vault is actually a very fast boat for an "intermediate" ski, and at 19', pretty easy to move.

Hi Do you still have your Spark Elite for sale? Thanks I am also a small paddler 5'9" and 155lbs. I love paddling K-1's and think this would be the perfect boat. Thanks