Fenn LS spec ski

Hi ,I'm about to order a new Fenn LS , and have been struggling to find any in depth reviews on it. I don't have the oppurtunity to test paddle one, so I was just after some feed back from people who have paddled one. I have had plenty of ocean skis , but never a spec ski, so any comments on how different they are would be appreciated!

Thanks

Bit of a no brainer, at the price you cant go wrong.

However with an adjustable ski it will like all adjustable skis carry a bit more water than a single footwell.

Seem to have proven very popular as club skis given the adjustable leg length and the price.

As Ranga pointed out the super serious guys will look for a competitive edge and when racing these things the last thing you want is a footwell full of water at the start of the race.

I haven't paddled the LS but have done most of my paddling and competing on spec skis. I think that people sometimes assume that because they're the same length and width as beginner and intermediate ocean racing skis they're similar to paddle.

It's important to remember that although things like weight, length, width and rocker are tightly controlled (I once had to add weight to a ski that was 17.8kg instead of 18kg) most of the other factors aren't and these days manufacturers are getting quite creative in their designs. The LS is a good example of a ski that looks quite different to the "traditional" spec ski.

Consequently, you can get spec skis that are tippy and faster and spec skis that are stable and slower. I'm not sure what end of the spectrum the LS is at but I assume its been designed to race!

In terms of dynamics, because spec skis are required to have more rocker and are designed to race around the cans I find they tend to be much easier to change directions.

G'Day,

The Fenn L.S.. is a fine fun stable surf ski, at least with the deep bucket as the one I have used the past year Mine was ordered at a weight of 33lb as we have no real Spec ski racing about the cans here in Fl.so 39 lb. not needed.
As far as bucket draining the LS works fine for my self a full bucket is about + or - a bit 20 stroke M.T. for myself, the only time a full bucket may happen is leaving the beach in large surf break, the ski would not be a flat water racer but on the run and slop and chop or to weather in wind and chop a fun ski to be on and will hold it's own with a good driver.
Good Luck. Cheers Joseph

Today I hired a Fenn LS from the girls at Noosa Kayaks. I Paddled it for an hour on the river in wind chop/boat wash conditions only. This is one of the most comfortable, stable skis that I have paddled. I currently own a Epic V10 which I love but if I had a need for spec ski this would be my pick. The seat was super comfortable (low seat model) felt a lot higher in the seat than the swordfish which I paddled the day before. The sides of the ski also seemed to be slightly lower than the Swordy which I had trouble hanging my legs over the side in, this wasn't a problem in the LS.The seat position seemed to be between my K1 and the v10. The ski is the standard 18kg but did not fell heavy in the water whilst paddling. It glided well and the gel coat finish is superb.
Not sure what the height difference is between the low and high seat mode.
Stability was fantastic - between a v10 and v10s maybe. The ski had excellent primary and secondary stability.
The adjustable foot plate is a great idea and I adjusted it to my length in a few seconds. The foot well drained quickly with the dbl venturis.
At $2500 these skis are top value and I would recommend them. Looking forward to trying the Elite S.

I've had mine for about 6 months now , and it continues to impress me , it is surprisingly fast , particularly downwind , and will pick up any assistance from waves very easily, and has great stability in the surf...in fact on many occasions i've been expecting to come out , but the boat just keeps it's cool and rides things out...very confidence inspiring.
The only thing i have found is the low sides do let water on board easily, but the upside to that it is very easy and stable to remount, and when stationary the foot well fills quickly, and will slop its contents into the bucket , having said that it does drain quickly as soon as you are under way.
At the price I think everyone should have one !

Hi GoldcoastKiwi, I bought a low seat LS and about six months ago, as an upgrade from the Bluefin. Im new to this paddling caper.
Im looking at a swordfish now and paddled one last weekend. Im very tight in the bucket from having wide hips, but see the new swordy will have a wider bucket.
I see you had or have a swordfish.
Can you give a detailed comparison between the two?
I want to know if its worth the extra money for the swordfish.
Cheers
Mark

Hi Mark

Sorry for the delay in replying.
We still have the Swordfish and the LS,the Swordy is a vacuum glass one , and my wife also used to have a vacuum carbon one.( it was just too light for her 50kg weight and bobbed about like a cork..much better with 75kg plus on board)
The Swordy is faster , both in acceleration , and top speed on the flat, obviously it is lighter than the LS , certainly offers a drier all round experience, I find both boats very similar stability wise , the Swordy perhaps has a slight edge in primary stability , which I think is more to do with hull shape than width.
To my mind the Swordfish is one of the best do everything skis on the market, and most people would never need to upgrade from one.
The LS is great fun , particularly in the surf zone and the rough, but does suffer more in cross winds etc with its higher bow presenting more windage , and its more rocker.
It largely depends on where your plan to paddle, but I would suspect most situations would favour the Swordfish.
We do plan to get one of the new models as well , as the lower hump and bigger cutaways will make it an even better fit for my wife.

I have had one for a couple of months now and love it. I started paddling in a Gibbons GRX and talk about extend the learning curve to the horizon...

Anyhow, I got it for the right price but wasn't improving very quickly, sold the GRX easily. Hunted around and got recommended an LS and in short, I can't fault it.

Beautifully made (Aussie spec ski manufacturers take note...), solid, the bucket does fill quickly when stopped (I have the low seat model) but drains quickly and makes that cool fizzing sound when empty and roaring down the face of a wave

Highly recommended, good stability for a beginner like me and I doubt I'll see it leak for a long while yet.

                   Yes, true it has a bit of water in the foot well, but it will be out after about 10m of action.  But you are standing in the surf with waves crashing constantly over the ski, even a fixed length ski will have water in it.  At least the adjustable has venturi, not so with many of the fixed length.  My daughter makes finals at both State and Aussies on an off the shelf adjustable, there is nothing wrong with them.  And they are much easier to sell when you are finished as they fit all.  
PS  Ocean ski are all adjustable.