Describe your ideal (as yet unbuilt) ski.

For many of us, the skis we paddle are a compromise, the best imperfect fit for our desires. If we were rich, (for Australians, imagine a ski-desiring Gina or Clive or James...... come on, imagine harder.......) and were able to hire a designer and builder to make us a totally bespoke ski, what would it look like? And why?

For me, I want an intermediate ski that is suitable for a small person (56 kg), the Spark being a fabulous fit but a bit anxiety making embarking alone in winter and a rising southerly.

I would lift the cockpit directly from the Spark. The whole ski though would be much shorter. Going along with an analysis of length and speed on this website, for my weight, extra length gives me no more hull speed and will fit better into the average wavelength of my home waters, as well as being easier to carry, fit on car etc. So 5.9, maybe 5.7m. I also need more width at the hips. Not me, I have adequate stability, but the ski needs a bit more for me to enjoy bigger windier days.

(So far, I think I could call my design "the Sparkfish").

I don't want the carry handle at the front of the cockpit but a subtle recess in the gunwales for grasping with cold tired slippery fingers would be great. Could never figure out what to do with bungy straps in front of my feet where I can't possibly reach them, but on the rear deck is handy. Why not preapply protective tape to the hull/deck at the feet where you hit it with the paddle? Rather than me having to add it once I've bought the ski. Footplate adjustment? I give up. Something other than the wretched bilateral springloaded lugs.

What do you want created?

Maybe if enough of us want the same stuff, we might stimulate somebody to build it!

I can sympathise on the weight issue. Most intermediate skis are designed for heavier paddlers, more than my 80kg, and certainly your 56kg. I would be keen on an intermediate ski that dies not sit too high in the water. Also, adjusting your sitting position forward or aft would be a bonus, allowing you to alter the trim on your craft.

Almost sounds like the Carbonology Vault (at least in terms of the hull)

kwhatmough wrote: Almost sounds like the Carbonology Vault (at least in terms of the hull)

Thats what I was going to say

The Carbonology Pulse may also fit the bill. It's scaled down for a lighter paddler, and seems fast. I've only tried it once, on mostly flat water with some boat wake, so I can't speak to its stability in bigger conditions, but it felt very nice. It has great secondary stability, while the decreased primary stability somehow made it more interesting and engaging to paddle than my Swordfish.

My new Carbonology Pulse is the closest so far to my perfect ski. At 44.5 wide it's 25mm wider than the Spark so perhaps a tiny bit more stable and the bucket feels more comfortable for me. It's also not a full length ski 400mm shorter than the Spark. Having said that, I would have my perfect bespoke ski built with even less volume than the current crop of low volume skis, they are probably good for paddlers around 70kgs. But for me at 57kgs. I still haven't found one that I can push down into the water far enough to get optimum stability for any given hull shape. Excellent idea about indents inside the bucket for gripping with cold hands I will definitely instruct my custom ski builder to include those after I win the lottery!!

Forgetting the hull...

I want a boat with...

1. Stellar's footboard and peddle system.
2. Think's handles at both ends.
3. Epic's bucket, footwell and bailer ala the new V10 (perfect for my tush)
4. Huki's rudder system and cables.
5. Huki's customs options like graphics, paint and fitting placements.
6. Internal foam bulkheads about 4 feet back from each end to keep the boat floating in case of holing. This guards against sinking from rudder post damage or bow damage from collision with a rock, log or another boat.
7. Bomber leash attachment points like on Stellar's. One between the legs as standard, one on the back deck and one on the for deck at the edge of the foot well. Perfect for running leashes and or deck lines.
8. In set handles as standard at the balance point in the cockpit like Huki offers, why skis don't have this standard is a crime!
9................. Cheaper.

Bill

Now if we could get all these manufacturers to communicate and work together something brilliant could come out of it, but that would be like expecting Labour & the Coalition or the Democrats & Republicans to communicate & work together!!

Just Imagine - thank you JL.

When you go to dinnner with the boss you might want to dress smartly. When you visit the gym (heaven forbid), trainers and a sweatshirt are de rigeur. When you ...Same body, different clothes.

Our playground is so dynamic. What fun (especially for the fidgeters among us) it would be if we could have boats with MORE variables.
Mmm, today I am doing a big downwind so let me slip that stabiliser thingy in, or, Mmm, I will be doing a race on a 'lake' and will need all the speed I can buy so I can jettison that bit and change my centre of gravity by sliding this thingy etc.

Sounds like an engineering students dream project and a boatsellers nightmare. What, Just one boat!

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
― John Lennon

The new Epic V10L is sounds pretty close. Just got one and it is sweet.

Ken

Thanks K and Rod. Yep, I got quite excited reading about the Vault a couple of years ago. Then when I tried it, it just felt kind of blah. Still too much volume in the nose, sides too high. Felt like a vault in terms of bank rather than a vault in terms of leap. Maybe it was me, who had a blah day. Maybe it was Melbourne, which had a sticky damp kind of cold rather than our crisp Tassie sort.

Anyway I would be interested to hear other ideas about how skis should be different, other than making better scaled down ones, which we seem to agree is a hole in the market.

Hatches, I want some freakin' hatches, forward and rear. Yeah, there's a few skis out there but they are mostly based on the box rule of 18 foot kayaks and I want something faster. I want to be able to go a few days unsupported in a surf ski and not in a kayak. camping gear, water, food …… and the speed of a real surf ski. Is this too much to ask?

oh yeah, a mount for a white navigation light behind me, on a pole, over my head. I paddle at night a lot! or very early in the mornings .

spidennis wrote: Hatches, I want some freakin' hatches, forward and rear. Yeah, there's a few skis out there but they are mostly based on the box rule of 18 foot kayaks and I want something faster. I want to be able to go a few days unsupported in a surf ski and not in a kayak. camping gear, water, food …… and the speed of a real surf ski. Is this too much to ask?

oh yeah, a mount for a white navigation light behind me, on a pole, over my head. I paddle at night a lot! or very early in the mornings .

Maybe it's time to go to Sweden!
www.nordickayaks.se/en/breeze.php

Physio - Either you are a gnome and those are indeed hatches for your camping gear, or those are just hatches to confirm when your stringer has snapped?!

I am 5'7, 54kg - older but very athletic.
I too would be looking for a shorter boat than the Spark.
Don't get me wrong, I really LOVE the Spark for 80% of the time.

Yet, it would be nice to have a boat like this:
Lower volume bow (think 2/3 of the volume of the spark)
44cm in width
Very Narrow front-end - width only in the rear.
Short: 5.50 m in length
Higher seating area: old people can't sit with feet higher than the heart, so raising it by 2cm would great.
Draining system of O'Krea - so as to lower the feet by another 0.5cm
No handle, just a whole for the hand to slide into - at mid-weight
Front towing plug - so that I can tow my girlfriend when the tough gets going
Water deflector, built-in
Weedless rudder, as an option, but sold WITH the boat TOO
Leash mount - center, between legs
Built-in T - for a GPS mount
Last, but not least: "We thank you in advance" !!!!!!!!

Yes, lets drum up more support for the "SparkFish"

Spark dimensions on a Swordfish skill-level boat.

Something for 74cm and less inseams.... 80kg or less weight... that an intermediate paddler can enjoy.

One day I'd love to know what people mean when they say "Just lean forward onto the wave", "Use your weight" etc etc...

Every new ski I buy is my ideal until the next one. Just ask my wife
There would be no fun in shopping for new skis or trying anything else if you had an ideal ski

I agree…It's a conspiracy - I believe that surfski manufacturers purposely build the near-perfect skis so that we can just keep buying the next near-perfect one.

I know somewhere there was discussion about ideal skis& thoughts about possible combo of K1, kayak & ski. The NZ built SK1 was mentioned but there's not much on their website. advanced-fibreglass.co.nz/kayaks/sk1-elite/
Here's some more photos, of one that's for sale. Every one I've known about has not been kept for long & has been onsold. Have heard their quick on flat water but dreadful as alternatives to multisport kayaks in rivers where people have tried to use them as alternatives. www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=781243330