K1 beginner's experience with a Nelo Ocean Ski

Hi, guys!

I asked for Your advice about buying a Nelo Ocean Ski (6,45m; 42cm). Having paddled an old-school K1 kayak for a month under the guidance of a coach, I was anxious if I'd able to paddle the ski known for its tippyness. Yesterday I had the first longer paddle on it and would like to share my experience and ask for opinion

I started in May on a 80s kayak, paddling almost everyday. The most difficult parts of paddling a K1 (for me) are:

1) leaving the pontoon - initially I feel no stability at all; I've found that doing some core exercises immediately prior to sitting in the kayak are very beneficial to feeling the boat under you;
2) symmetrical rotation on both sides - strangely enough I find it difficult to control how far the paddles goes on the right side. I tend to pull it much further and because of this lose stability on that side (even when I try to keep the upper hand dead center of the kayak);
3) turning in waves - the parallel waves make me brace real hard

For some reason, by reading different forums and reviews I was convinced that the Nelo Ocean Ski will be similar in stability to Vajda Infusion K1, which I once had a chance to paddle and did not fall in. Thus, I thought that the Nelo ski would be much much more unstable than my old K1 kayak even on flat water, which I initially intended to use it on. I WAS SO WRONG

The Nelo ski is super stable compared to an old K1 and has superb initial and secondary stability. It even lets you lean and brace so much further than an old K1. I read that Nelo skis had much less secondary stability than Epic V12s and was afraid that it'd be too K1 like - it's not!

The max speed I was able to accelerate the Nelo was a little over 15 km/h, basically the same as in a K1. I paddled it on a lake with some small waves about 12 inches (30 cm), and it felt very nice catching a small wave.

Overall I am very pleased with the ski, but there is one problem - the size of the bucket. I did not expect it to be so tight. My behind fits the inner edge of the bucket with some reasonable squeezing, but there is also the problem that my thighs are pressed against the walls a little too hard, and it somewhat makes proper rotation difficult. It's better this wave on the waves, but for flat water I will have to lose a few kilos to fit it better - I am 85 kg at the moment (the upper limit of the body weight stated as maximum for this boat by Nelo).

I would like to ask the good people of the forum two questions:

1) would padding the seat be noticeably beneficial to the fit of the ski? If so, could I use of the shelf solutions like the Epic pads, or is it better to pad them out myself? I'd rather buy something produced commercially.
2) on the air cap there is a small hole. For the time being I've sealed it with chewing gum. Should it be open and would any air get if it capsizes with the small hole open?

Thanks to everybody who can comment on these questions and also to those, who advised me on the matter of buying/not buying the Nelo ski

Paddling the seat will raise your seat, therefore placing your hips higher on the boat. The best way for you to visualise this for now: take your ski, place a small towel in the bucket (that you fold couple of times) and sit down.
Your hips shouldn't feel as cramped.

Careful at not raising the seat too much: one centimeter will make a huge difference in your ski stability.

Regarding your vent hole:
The ski is filled with air. Air expands when it get hotter. Air volume decreases as it gets colder. If you completely seal your ski, potentially, a ski going from 12 degrees C and plugged and then going to 55 degrees C in the sun could blow your seams. It's a good idea to allow "some" venting.

There are many ways to vent your ski automatically, including leaving a very small hole for air to go in or out as needed.

Just feedback on the K1 flatwater and surfski:
A surfski is sometimes said to be "as tippy" as a K1 flat water.
That's comparing a standard K1 on totally flat water with a surfski going into the ocean under normal open water conditions. It's all relative.

In the same context (totally flat water) I have yet to find a surfski that is more instable than a full on flat water race K1.

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As Ludovic said:

DO NOT PLUG THE VENT HOLE!

I believe there are are many here that will not agree with me, but, water (any water) will not hurt the interior of your surfski!

By the way Ludovic, good job on the Nelo review - thanks.

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Uffilation, thanks a lot for this information

That casting bit is really cool and if I were at least 60% sure that I could succeed in making a usable piece, I'd definitely go for it. Unfortunately I am quite helpless in making stuff myself. I've got a friend that could help me cast such a seat, but that would most likely happen closer to the end of summer.

Would You say that my logic is correct regarding the following:

1) I am mostly paddling in very light or moderate conditions and only need the pad for comfort (don't need it to have more stability on waves etc), so the area of the pad should be minimal just to raise my bum from the smallish seat. Is it necessary to have a large area covered by a pad for any reason apart from stability?

2) I feel that it'd be better to have a higher sit than only 0,5cm. So I'd like to get a set of pads that would allow me to reach a working solution: a) www.epickayaks.com/product/product/seat-pad-set; b) oceanpaddler.com/online-store/kani-seat-pad/; c) mockepaddling.com/product/seat-pads/. Is it so that I need to have a stiff material pad not to sink back to the initial depth of the seat?

Whatever I buy, I'd have to order and wait for the stuff to get delivered to Estonia, so I think I'll also visit a construction materials shop and buy some PVA foam to try the heights out

All advice is very very welcomed

For now, I would suggest that you keep it really simple:
Get some foam.
Cut some pads out of it.
Place it on the ski with a little bit of tape.
See if confort is achieved.

When it's all done, you may THEN choose to order some Epic foam (just make sure you order the ones with multiple pads).

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