New Epic V7 - Fastest Tupperware in the Water?

www.epickayaks.net.au/newepic/V7.html


17 footer 54cm and 19kg

This is going to be huge. I know plastic surf skis have been done before but I don't think they had the kind of resources that Epic has to design and implement a great boat.

Any idea what the price ($ US.) will be?

$1,999

Availability on east coast US???

I believe US MSRP should be $1495. We will have them ready for demo in mid-March.

What are the pros of a plastic ski over glass or carbon?

I guess a similar way of asking would be to say "How is the target market different for this V7?" Who is the plastic ski aimed at?

Bashability!

Just had Oscar on the phone giving me the sales pitch, as only he can!

The basic premise is that the boat is extremely easy to paddle, is cheaper than anything else on the market and is practically indestructible and very easy to repair!

What I didn't know until I spotted Clare Chalupsky's blog post on Facebook, is that the boat is currently made in South Africa. (When I remarked on this, Oscar said, yes it is at the moment.)

V7 Paddle Blog

So yep, inexpensive + as easy as a V8 to paddle + so strong that it's viable to rent them = a possible game-changer. The hassle with renting skis at the moment is that because they're so delicate, guys charge a massive premium on them.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

to Quote Epic from their website...

"The V7 adds a whole new dimension. It offers similar stability to the V8 with the increased durability of a polyethylene kayak.

This combination allows the V7 to be paddled in areas where composites cannot. Its capability can be further enhanced with the optional kick up rudder (no modification needed).
This stability and durability will also make it the perfect boat for use in rental fleets and paddling schools. All of these features make the new V7 a truly Epic surfski."

Have to wait out to be seen how the quality and shape stability of the V7 PE (LDPE/MDPE/HDPE?) ski remains, my 2006 Walden Nalu got after a cold winter big deformations in the side front of the hull what never gone back.
The cause might have been a non-uniform wall thickness, and/or production-related stress in the material in connection with pressure-difference?

So I think if Oscar want serious attack the surf ski market in Alaska, he have to find very soon a 17' long, - 60°C climate test chamber in South Africa.

Wouldn't be unrealistic to do some light touring in spite of having only one bulkhead giving consideration to the lack of safety equipment needed for a closed deck boat (paddle floats, bilge pump, flotation etc).

This boat is of great interest to me; many of our local races take place in shallow, rocky rivers where you really take a risk with a composite ski if you opt to race with one, particularly when water levels are low. On the other hand, a ski is kind of an optimum boat design for this stuff, since if you get knocked out by a rock in the fast moving current you don't have to figure out how to get your boat to the side of the river to empty it (as with a Thunderbolt or similar) - just get back in and go! A plastic ski has both bases covered. It would be neat if they would come out with something a little longer/narrower/faster (20' x 18" perhaps?) with the same rugged construction, but this looks like an excellent start.

My only concern with plastic boats, aside from their many advantages, is that I'm yet to see one that doesn't "bend" over their roof racks on a warm day! Many of my friends have plastic sea kayaks, all have unsightly depressions in the hull that don't seem to want to pop out after a very shot time. Could that be solved I wouldn't hesitate to own one.
Type A.

red_pepper wrote: This boat is of great interest to me; many of our local races take place in shallow, rocky rivers where you really take a risk with a composite ski if you opt to race with one, particularly when water levels are low.

Yet all the kayaks in NZ's Coast to Coast down a braided river are composite, and they are the most common in multisport, if made right they seem to last in carbon....

Type A wrote: My only concern with plastic boats, aside from their many advantages, is that I'm yet to see one that doesn't "bend" over their roof racks on a warm day! Many of my friends have plastic sea kayaks, all have unsightly depressions in the hull that don't seem to want to pop out after a very shot time. Could that be solved I wouldn't hesitate to own one.
Type A.

Yes, there are certain "tricks" to keep a rotomoulded boat is good nick. I have a Finn Molokai with chines. In order to keep it straight is has to be stored on its side where it is the strongest and less prone to crumpling the hull. That bheing said, I had another boat that inadvertantly got left on a rack outside in the rain to fill up with water. The water leaked into the hull and filled up the bow. When the sun came out the next day and heated the kayak, the weight of the water folded the bow from just in front of the footwell at about 20 degrees. I emptied the water, put the kayak in the sun on its side and within a couple of says it had resumed it's shape and was fine to paddle thereafter.

There are two major manufacturers of these rotomoulded skis in Western Australia that export around the world, so they have lots of expertience.

I have owned the ocean ski version of both of them (Spirit PRS and the Finn Molokai).

Our Avon Descent here is a much lower volume white water river event which is hard on boats so probably 70% of the field use these plastic skis.

In many of our races here they have their own class, so you are paddling against other plastic skis and it is often a hotly contested class.

They are relatively inexpensive compared to ocean skis and for a beginner a cheap starting point.

They retail for around $2000 in Australia with some variable fitout models above and below that.

As there are so many around here you can pick up a 2nd hand one for $800-$1200 most of the time.

One thing that all these plastic skis have issues with is the scuppers. As the boat flexes and the scupper is prone to being knocked in rivers they are prone to leak into the hull.

Another issue smaller paddlers and beginners struggle with is the weight, hoisting a 20kg ski onto a roof rack is hard work.

Down wind, they can be fun if you have really good core strength to get them up to speed.

They are also a lot of fun in surf , where you are not so concerned about snapping them!

They are a great boat to have in your collection for the odd adventure race or taking away on holidays where you may not want to risk damage to your carbon ski paddling unknown waters.

Epic certainly has the brand and distribution network to make this ski a real success and I hope it turns out to be a great ski!

I love the claim " fastest Tupperware in the water". Finn and Spirit, the two manufacturers AR just mentioned, were always claiming they had the fastest plastic ski.

In local races they always had the fastest local paddlers piloting their boats. In one local race up the Swan river I was passed by one going like the clappers sitting right on the tail of a double ski also going like the clappers. They eventually won the battle of the plastics that day and 2 days later their website proclaimed "fastest plastic ski on the water." I always thought there should be a caveat that read. Best drafting plastic when paddled by a paddling star.

I wonder who will paddle the v7 in the next big race. Ah, marketing.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

I'm interested... have a 2007 Epic V10 Sport, and I do miss a handful or races that have rocks/weeds/shore contact potential.

Hatch is a bonus, nice to make it a little easier to bring lunch/change of clothes on a day paddle out on the ocean.

-B

Once again lost in translation! Dicko you forgot to read ?, it is that squiggly thing at the end of the header statement.

For such a big man Ranga you sure are a sensitive thing! The title reads Fastest Tupperware in the Water! Big statement for a boat that as far as I can see has never paddled in a race. No respect for the 2 Western Australian companies that have been making plastic racing skis for years. All I'm saying is you put the best paddler in any boat and it will be the fastest. Epic are better at doing this than any other company selling skis.
Even you Ranga must chuckle at the hyperbole that follows the release of a new plastic by Spirit or Finn. Or maybe you just don't see the humour in that.