Epic V7 first paddle

zachhandler wrote: Isn't v7 made in S. A. ?

Yes, made in SA, and I think the big "O" was heavily involved.

Kochi:

I paddled the boat for two hours in mild chop and power boat wakes and found it to be very comfortable. The leg space is long enough for you and so easy to adjust I did it twice on the water. I wouldn't want to paddle everyday with it, but in very rough conditions it would be a joy. Good luck finding one.

My mistake. The V7's are South Africa produced. Epic's pre-preg, carbon fiber boats are made in the Philippines and the rest of the lineup are China made. So, my V7 is on a slow boat in the Atlantic and not the Pacific.

As many have pointed out, the V7 is certainly not the first plastic surf ski. However, it is the first plastic surf ski from a major player with a North American dealer network. That fact is what will make it have such an impact. Being big in Australia is nice but Florida alone is, or will be, a bigger market.

I raced a V7 in Philadelphia last weekend on a flatwater river. Very impressed with the layup. Kept forgetting this was a plastic boat while paddling. Yes, heavy, but not floppy at all. Yes wide, but the cut outs allow relatively close paddle catch, and the stability is ridiculous. Yes slower than true race skis, but still a performance kayak with a good cruse speed. The carry rails are awesome, and negate the extra weight somewhat. Turning with the overstern and shorter length is refreshingly fast. This is an awesome step forward in Skis, and will hopefully pull in tons of new paddlers. Cliff Roach Goodboy Kayaks

Got a buddy of mine who bought his wife the V7.He took it out into the surf twice yesterday and both times the large hatch cover popped off.Nice floating ski turns into a very heavy sea anchor.This has put said wife way off.This appears to be a major design fault or is he doing something wrong when attaching the cover?I have had a look and there appears to be nothing more that can be done.

How is the hatch cover secured? There a non-stretchable cord with an adjustment mechanism to hold it in place. Is she tightening properly after the cover is in place?

Watch this:

vimeo.com/124680781

If the adjustment mechanism is slipping out of position, I'd get it replaced. It shouldn't come off easy by design. Though it remains to be seen if it still tends to come off occasionally with heavy use in practice...

Many thanks.It does look like that tightening buckle may be faulty on this one.Video shows lady pressing down,which can do on this one,however water hydraulics,etc do not behave like that.Look at how easily a 90kg person is lifted out of the back of a double ski.

zamalek wrote: ...however water hydraulics,etc do not behave like that.Look at how easily a 90kg person is lifted out of the back of a double ski.

It doesn't take much to be taken out of a seat that has nothing to hold you in it. I would not use this analogy and compare to that t all.

40kg or 120kg, if the water is pushing against your ski you will be sucked out of your seat no problem. More accurately, your ski will be pushed away from you, because it presents more resistance to the water than your body in the seat.

I do agree surf an create either huge pressure or suction on the hatch cover. I do whitewater and the sprayskirt over the cockpit is subject to similar forces. Yes, they do on occasion give out, but they are meant to be removable through stretching. To solve this problem, big water paddlers use non-stretchable or locked down perimeters on their skirts - the only way to take them off is by releasing a lever or cut them open. Watch for instance the Hallo Effect for paddling the White Nile in Uganda.

This Epic cover is kind of like that - at least by design, it should not come off as long as the little lock works fine. And there is an easy fix if it doesn't - get a new one or rig-up a little locking mechanism for the free rope lengths, like they have on yachts to fix the ropes when needed and release when not needed. So a $5 piece of added hardware could secure the ropes such that they do not slip out of position even if the original lock tends to slip (which I do not know if it does or not).

To be clear, I'm not defending the design or implementation of this thing, nor am I passing judgment on whether it could/should have been different. And especially since I have yet to see one in the flesh myself - just throwing some thoughts out there and potential things people can try. Hopefully, there are no other not so obvious potential flaws (such as a rounded hatch rim that just wont offer enough leverage for the cover to stay on).

I'm a new V7 owner using the hull in beach surf. I quickly experienced the hatch cover coming off and having to swim the V7 to the beach. I've found an improvement by adding split stern flotation bags and a piece of 1" think closed-cell rigid foam cut to fit snugly in the hatch opening, just below the neoprene cover provided by Epic. First time out with the addition I took a strong hit from a wave and the hatch cover stayed in place. Much improved over using just the neoprene cover in surf. Stay safe.