New V8 Pro out

[img]www.flickr.com/gp/141419243@N02/730kvF[/img]

I have no idea how good or otherwise this new boat might be, but I have got to say the marketing promo video is nothing short of sensational. Well done on this part Epic.

@jonnathan, yes, that corky issue. I for example feel more stable in a vajda hawx 46 glass fibre than in a vajda hawx 52 carbon fibre ... my weight is 76kg. The 52 got more stable in small waves and chop, but on the flat, it was "above" the water, not in it. I'd love to buy a V8 or Nelo 520 for the familly, but fear the volume vs. weight lol (V7 = heavy = insanely stable). Whatever, I plan to test paddle V8, V8pro, nelo560, nelo520, come spring as a dealer in a half day drive sells both nelo and epic.

edit: looked here on this great site, of course it was discussed already, as almost any topic, see link below (+ so I would totally agree with marieski www.surfski.info/forum/1-general/10073-o...r-paddler.html#10101 )

see also
www.surfski.info/forum/1-general/10073-o...r-paddler.html#10122
www.surfski.info/getting-started/tips-ot...in-your-surfski.html


I wonder ... with my weight of 76kg, the new BIG O. Nelo 560M might feel
comparably ore more stable for me than the Epic V Pro which should be more corky to me? Can't wait for test paddling both.

Sidewind/nose height: When paddling, before I reach "downwind area", I have some kilometers up- and sidewind ... looking at the noses of both, I am currently leaning towards the nelo for that side wind.

Nelo 560M
Paddler's weight max.: till 75Kg
Boat Length: 5.6 m
Width: 45 cm

Epic V8 PRO:
Paddler's weight max.: till 127Kg
Boat Length: 5.78 m
Width: 50.5 cm


pic below, for comparison, scaled to length:

jonathan - to respond to wanting to know the water displacements of different boats with different paddlers, you remind me of my old fluid mechanics classes. Anything that is in the water displaces its weight in water, which is defined as buoyancy. Period. So you will displace the exact same amount of water on a 30lb 30" wide whitewater kayak as you would in a 30lb V14. In my case, since I weight 195 lbs, in a 30lb boat I displace 3.6 cubic feet of water.

I wonder if the v8pro is aimed at tackling the Fenn Bluefin. From the comments above it has more rocker than the sport and the length is closer to the Bluefin. It could be that Epic is looking to establish a stable boat that is more downwind orientated than some of its flatter hulled skis.

jfudo wrote: jonathan - to respond to wanting to know the water displacements of different boats with different paddlers, you remind me of my old fluid mechanics classes. Anything that is in the water displaces its weight in water, which is defined as buoyancy. Period. So you will displace the exact same amount of water on a 30lb 30" wide whitewater kayak as you would in a 30lb V14. In my case, since I weight 195 lbs, in a 30lb boat I displace 3.6 cubic feet of water.

Ha, yes of course! Guess more appropriate would be to discuss the volume distribution of the bottom of the hull and look at the effect of increased mass and how it affects the waterline and stability, I realise it's a very dynamic complex environment. Presumably modern ski's are frequently designed on some sort of marine architectural software and I'm guessing a target total mass is plugged into the design process very early on.

I have far more experience with stand up paddle boards and know that a given total board volume actually has very little bearing on whether a board will be stable or not. Suppose it all comes back to demoing boats rather than reading specifications!

andis wrote: I read somewhere that it is a lower volume boat than the v8 or the v10s and caters for the lighter paddler. The slim bow and low hump in the pictures could confirm that.
If that is indeed the case, epic's product positioning may be way more strategic than what meets the eye; advanced begginner boats are few in the market, but beginner boats for female (or just smaller) paddlers are even more scarce...

The Eze has filled that gap for years.

You cannot compare the Nelo 560M and the V8 pro, they are two totally different skis, the width will determine the stability not length. I have paddled the 560 and believe me it is a top end racing ski in terms of stability, the 650M is the same hull just cut down on depth for the lighter paddler.
To me the V8 pro looks more like a de-tuned V10 Sport to me, but as yet have not paddled it so I could be quite wrong, but the width is going to make it very stable which is not a bad thing.
As for low volume I am not sure about that the hull is plenty wide and long enough and as the max weight suggests that is so.

ranga, ... did I compare length for stability? I just scaled the pics to length.
Sure they are different boats, but was making a pun on stability, me = 76kg in a skinny ski for people up to 75kg vs. in a wider ski for people up to 127 kg ... if I am corking with the hull "on" the water compared to a 120kg guy who gets it more immersed, I might miss couple of cm in width anyway ... ahhh whatever ... the 560 is for up to 120kg, the 560M for up to 75kg ...
see also Jonathans posts on the V8 pro vs. the V10 and cryder's post.
I am still looking for another boat, can't decide what I want, racing, bit more stable, or a K1 ... wallet says you don't need that n+1 boat anyway

Ranga, interested in your comments about the 560 stability. Specs show this boat to be same width as a Swordfish or a gen2 V10, neither of which are regarded as particularly unstable. What makes the 560 so unstable, given that it's not as narrow as the top end skis?

big O interview of last year on redesigning nelo skis:
www.surfskinews.com/first-blog/2015/11/2...th-oscar-chalupsky-1
"OC: Yes, complete changes but still keeping the lookand feel of the Nelo brand. I would say they are more stable and have more comfortable buckets and footwells. I have kept the length which is a game changer."

The Swordfish and V10 are similar stability, but the 560 is definitely not in the same category. Yes it is much more stable than the previous 560 but nowhere near the V10. I would think it is similar to the V14, maybe a little more stable.
I find it hard to believe it is the same width as the V10, not sure why it is more unstable. I did however paddle a 8kg ski, that would have made it a bit tippier. The waterline width is ultimately the one you look at, the 560 could have a narrow waterline. The V10 and Swordfish do have square sides making the waterline width the same as the overall width, cannot remember if the 560 had square sides.

yep, I would have thought that although blue, orange and red = "same width", they'd likely differ in stability and that the orange/red ones will give a different wobble depending on how deeply they are pressed under the water line depending on the weight of a paddler, that's why lightweight paddlers want different boats than those made for +100kg paddlers: waterline witdh ... also reg. fluid mechanics mentiond above by jfudo, but as Jonanthan wrote, I'd think taht the same paddler would immerse those blue,orange, red hulls to different depths (whil displacing the same water volume) = different water line width = different wobble factor

cross-section, top view


Ranga, thanks for your insight old vs. new 560 reg. stability,

Thanks Ranga. Even if the extra width on the 560 was above the waterline, I would have thought that would at least help it's secondary stability. Hmmm....an intermediate width ski with top-end elite ski level stability. This boat's not sounding as attractive as it looks on paper. Anyway, we are off topic - apologies people.

There is not just a market for each boat but more and more also a boat for each person and any conditions.
We had the pre-launch of the OSS4 last September (5795mm x 480mm - fits perfectly into the range of boats of this topic) which is really fast and at the same time very stable. It surfs so easily and can be paddled by almost every paddler (depending on conditions of course). AND in the right hands, it could easily beat many "longer", differently shaped boats.
Saying that, our pure racing machines (OSS1 and OSS2) are optimised for highly experienced paddlers/weight ratios resulting in longer lengths.

At the end, each single paddler in this world is different in shape, condition, experience, etc, and it is great to see more options to fit each person's dream!