Ocean racing: glide v uno max v V14

I'm exploring boat options again. 75kg looking for a comfortable elite boat for ocean racing.

I would appreciate thoughts on comparisons of the glide v uno max v V14 for speed and and stability. In particular whether there is really not much difference in stability and performance and between the three is simply personal comfort. Or if there is a better stability/ speed noticed for that weight paddler with any of those options?

Unfortunately Spark ruled out due to comfort reasons

Wesley Echols places the Uno Max higher on his chart for stability, but a little slower than the V14, with both equal in comfort. The Glide is not on the charts. See: www.surfskiracing.org/surfski-reviews-updated-march-2012/

Richie are you serious? If you have to ask you should probably be in a V8 or Blue fin.

Yeah, I'm serious. You are obviously an expert...thoughts?

I've only owned 2 skis. A Flow Superstar (intermediate ORS out of NZ), and my Fenn Elite Glide.

Wesley Echols has this to say about the Glide:

"As my skill level has improved over the years, I could paddle the Glide right of of the box with not too much of a learning curve in flat conditions which is what I had hoped. Speed is wonderful combined with limited side to side rolling, great tracking, and pin point steering. It is at the very top of the speed chart along with the V14 with more stability."

I love my Glide for flat water and lake/harbour paddling. It is incredibly stable for the speed it produces and it steers beautifully. Hump not an issue for me at 188cm.
I don't have the skills yet to paddle it in open ocean, but according to Wesley it is as fast as a V14 with more stability.

I have paddled a glide and while seemed fast personally found uncomfortable and ended up numb. But that's just me.
I ended up purchasing a UNO max after a paddle and could not be happier. Super comfy and fast.
All elite skis have stability issues but if this is the ski level you looking for stability shouldn't be an issue.
Interesting to note at the makai race last weekend in what had every type of condition UNO max had 3 in the top 5. Other paddlers must find them fine in all conditions.
Can't comment on v14
Best thing is to try them all

Richie,

I would like to apologize for my somewhat snide comment and poor sense of humor. I had a couple cocktails to dull the chronic pain in my neck and shoulders. I did not fully read and understand the question you were asking. I stopped at the "stability" of three elite level skis.
The point I was trying to make is the difference in speed and stability between these three skis is probably negligible and may not even be measurable?
IMO If you have the elite level skills to effectively paddle these skis in the ocean than stability should not be a concern.
I think it all boils down to personal choice, comfort or who your sponsor is.
As far as me being an expert, I have some 50 years of very diversified ocean experience on, in and below the water.
I have been paddling surfskis of all types for 30 years.

Good luck on your quest.

Try them all!

Good to see that even Stew (Think Kayak Australia) says try them all.

I don't paddle any of the brands mentioned so don't have a vested interest.

What I can say is that at the pointy end of the market it really does come down to how comfortable you are and how YOU perceive how each one handles.

I choose to paddle what I perceive is a sub elite or all-rounder ski, because I know that I can get the most out of myself on both flat and downwind in the same ski.

For other readers thinking how these skis might stack up for flat water paddling, from the skis I've demoed I would like to have a V14 or Think Uno for flat water racing.

Edit: I'm still yet to paddle a ski as comfortable or having a better footplate setup than the Think Uno.

I have paddled a logged around 15000km in my long suffering & battered V12 Ultra over the last 5 & a bit years and needed to upgrade due to the ever increasing weight of my V12 which is now probably in the region of 18 kgs, after being T boned by a Mako 6 in a big messy sea last weekend with my new hole will probably increase the weight to 19ish kg.

I am a long term Epic paddler as I do not fit in the Fenn's comfortably, nothing against the Fenn's it is just that they do not work for me. I have tried all of the Fenn's & owned a Mako 6 before going across to the old V10 then V12.

Before I splashed the cash on a new V14 which I have been after for a while I tried a new Fenn Elite "S" and was pretty impressed, it was far more stable than I expected and bloody good at getting onto runners, it was only a small bump but enough to know the S wanted to get onto the runners, the cockpit was bare able, with some mods of adjusting the footplate angle etc I am sure I could paddle it quite happily, after 1 hr in the ski my legs were feeling it & I was wondering what it would be like in it after a 2-3 hr paddle.

The Fenn guys I paddle with are also impressed with the S over the Glide as it is a little more stable & not as tight in the seat, so if you are after a Glide also give the S a go as you might be sold.

Then I thought bugger it and just went & brought the V14 Ultra I have wanted for a year or more now. I tried the Fenn's and would have seriously thought of buying an S if I felt more comfortable in it, it was a nice handling ski. I had only previously tried a V14 in the flat for a quick 5 min paddle & it felt OK, I was worried about the stability in rough sea which is another reason I have stuck with my heavy V12 Ultra which I find very stable. In the test paddle I managed to get 17.7kph out of it in a quick sprint which was impressive as I can normally only crack into mid 16's in my V12.

My first paddle yesterday in the new V14 was good I racked up 24km doing 4 x 6km out & backs in a small 7-10 kt wind, upwind especially for the first few km I was felling a little unstable, the ski was certainly far more twitchy compared to my V12 upwind, downwind in the small bump which just had a few whitecaps forming it felt great, far more responsive than my V12 and it easily linked runners which I would have struggled to link in my V12. What surprised my most was how it felt far more stable downwind than upwind, working the runners must have been using the secondary stability which seems to be good, upwind on the primary stability gave it a twitch. I now have about 36km in the ski & I am starting to feel far more comfortable & am sure after a month or so I won't even notice the twitch or at least I hope not to. The seat is very comfortable, after doing 24km on the first paddle I felt very good even more so than in my V12 which is a real bonus.

I am now looking forward to getting it into a decent downwind and on the flat to see how it stacks up against my flat water times & against the other blokes I race & train with to see how it goes compared to my V12. I will give another update after spending a month or so in it.

Last year I paddled a new V10 in the Dragon Run which I also thought was a great boat, if I had the money I would love to own both a new V10 & the V14. The V10 was rock steady and I was able to pull off a few moves in the later part of the race which I would not have been able to do in my V12, it took a while to work out how stable it was as I was paddling it like I do my V12, it was only later in the race when I started to push it a bit and work out how far I could go without swimming. I made a school boy error & the foot plate was not correctly locked in so I spend the 1st half of the race with the foot plate floating around & it finally locked in mid way through the race & I was able to start paddling properly, it was a shame as I lost quite a bit of time. If I spend most of my time in a big sea I would have the V10 for sure but in Dubai I spend most of my time in the flat or in 7-15kt winds it is only every now & then that the wind really blows which is why I went for the V14.