Nelo Viper 46 SOT

Looks like Nelo is offering a sit on top version of the Viper 46. Should be a good fitness boat or fast flat water craft that could appeal to a lot of warm water paddlers. It may be a little twitchy for my skills, but I could see how a 48 or 50 could be exactly what I would like for quick after work paddles in the flat to choppy Florida Intercoastal water I'm on.  I hope this trend takes off...as an alternative to using a ski for the non-open water situations, and the 17' length is appealing as well.

Looks like fun boats, Elio was "first"  
www.eliokayaks.com/?avada_portfolio=k1-first&lang=en

The Nelo is here, they call it a fitness boat, not ocean - seems reasonable:
www.nelo.eu/product/viper-46-ski/

Carbonology has an elite SOT K1 as well. I live on the Florida Gulf which doesn't have huge downwind conditions, but the ski is a good all around craft with the temps here. I always felt the ski (Genius CLK) was under utilized for most of the paddling I do. I use a Think EZE for the same type of 'fitness' paddling this boat was made for. Something with a faster hull, in the 520 length,  could be a lot of fun.

Henning DK wrote: Looks like fun boats, Elio was "first"  
www.eliokayaks.com/?avada_portfolio=k1-first&lang=en

The Nelo is here, they call it a fitness boat, not ocean - seems reasonable:
www.nelo.eu/product/viper-46-ski/

They do, however, include it in their range of ocean boats.

Out of interest, has anyone paddled one of these yet ? Looks like a good winter training boat.

There must be a mistake somewhere: The Elio is called a beginner boat, but the width is given with 37 cm?! This would put this boat in the same class as the CS Feather, which clearly is "Elite"!  As an unsteady K 1 novice the Nelo appeals to me as an easier to remount solution!

I just got to try a Nelo Viper 46 Surf Ski on flat water and really liked it. It's hard to say what it would feel like in waves, but I'd love to try it.The boat I've been using the most regularly is the Epic V10S, the older model. I'm almost 6'-3", 230lbs, and I feel a bit tippy still on the V10S, mostly on flat water, and still feel like I might go in every once in a while though haven't in a while. I've also used the Epic V8 and consider it to be almost as stable as a sea kayak, nothing like the V10S.I felt a little twitchier on the Nelo Viper 46 Surf Ski, but it felt great and was fun to be able to paddle such a sporty boat. It seemed like a good step up from the Epic V10S for working on my balance without being a boat I would fall in every few strokes. I only used it for around 10 minutes and was able to put some effort into my paddling in the 2nd half, and was even able to pause and turn around in place without trouble. I'd say it had good initial stability, but got a bit twitchy right after that. I didn't test out what happens as it tips over further.At 6'-3", the small cockpit isn't large enough for me. The foot brace was set at it's longest length and could have been a few holes longer. It sounds like there are three cockpit sizes, two larger than this one. At least one of our smaller adult club people couldn't adjust this 46 short enough to work well for her, so hopefully one of the other sizes is actually smaller, not larger. This size is probably great for most people.As extra background: In a Simon River Delphin I am generally stable, but still get taken down by side wake. I feel stable and pretty fast with a Nelo Viper 52, but the steering is twitchy enough that I avoid that boat. I'm also really stable in our trainers, but I don't even know what make or model those are. Also, a member of our club has a K1 version of the 46 and thinks he sits about a couple inches higher in his boat. I haven't tried that boat, as his steering isn't set up to be adjustable and he's shorter than I am.

HI ALL I HAVE TAKEN THE NELO 46 VIPER SKI OUT TWICE NOW.
LOCAL LAKE SYDNEY.
MY INTENTION WAS TO TIME TRIAL THIS BOAT AT MY CLUB.
1ST PADDLE 37MIN
2ND PADDLE 61.01MIN
PADDLER...71YEAR OLD BEEN PADDLING FOR A FEW YEARS ON SKIS ONLY FLAT WATER CONDITIONS.
BUCKET GREAT ERGONOMICS FOR ME
INITIAL STABILITY & SECONDARY ROCK SOLID... NO TWITCH  NO ROLE.
CONDITIONS WERE FLAT WITH  A 10KPH BREEZE. 
WILL TAKE IT OUT IN A BLOW NEXT WEEK.
SPEED...I REACH 12.2KPH FOR A VERY SHORT DISTANCE....COMFORTABLE FOR ME 10.5KPH. STEADY PACE.
THIS SAME BOAT WAS TIME TRAILED AT OUR CLUB BY A VERY EXPERIENCED MEMBER AND CLOCKED 59.02 FOR 12KLS.
CHEERS FOX

I very nearly pulled the trigger and bought one of these recently. However, in the end I took some advice from a few paddlers and spoke to people within Nelo as well. I'm 88kg so despite the Vipers hull design, I was advised that the 550L (at 30cm longer) would probably be faster for me (even on flatwater) due to the increased volume and glide so opted for that instead. Our marathon racing rules in the UK now allow ski's which sealed the decision. If it hadn't been for that though (or for a lighter weight paddler), it looks really good. The Epic K1t is another option but that was waaay too tippy for me.

I have borrowed the Viper 46 Ski to compare it with my Nelo 550. 
First impressions after a 1-2 hours water time is that my 550 is a better (and feels like faster) surfski in waves, but the Viper 46 Ski is very nice on flat water or small waves. What makes it interesting is that I can use it for standard K1 marathon racing.
I find it to be more of a safe and fun alternative to K1 kayaks at open shore conditions, but less of an alternative to my ski for ocean race.
I'm 190 cm / 82 kg, and I barely have room for my legs in the Viper, it's short.
Henning

Interesting thoughts on this boat. It does seem to cross very closely to the 550 and wondered if they could have done a 48 version for starters to give a middle ground between their ski lineup. That said, I'm not sure about the idea of taking it out in waves unless they are referring to boat wash and slight wind chop. There is a video from Dietz on YouTube on the Viper46 to go along with some of the impressions on this thread. I guess we'll see where this venture ends up, hopefully more versions will come available as an alternative to using an ocean ski for flatwater paddling... while maintaining  efficiency and ease of the 17' length for transporting and storage.

Video of Viper 46 ski in the Gorge 
I took it out on the Gorge on a small day, handled great!

Video looks good (a bit of unlucky blurring of the bow at time !).

I really think there is a market for K1/ski hybrids. It's no different to the SUV for cars or gravel bikes for cycling. I hope more brands take notice as such boats are great for ski paddlers, those looking to ease themselves into K1 paddling or those just wanting to paddle a training boat that doesn't become dangerous if you fall out.

After more experience in waves, I have to say that the Viper 46 is very stable and catches waves with no effort - as long as it's not too big.
One sad thing, though, is that I have realized that it cannot be used for K1 racing, because bailers are not allowed in K1. For good reason by the way, a standard K1 can take in quite a lot of water through a hole in the hull

Could you replace the bailer with a closed insert for a race? I don't know how often the screws can be fastened until they strip the threads, so it may depend on how often you race...

Don't know if a locked bailer would be accepted, but you might then need a pump instead - it's getting complicated

Henning DK wrote: After more experience in waves, I have to say that the Viper 46 is very stable and catches waves with no effort - as long as it's not too big.
One sad thing, though, is that I have realized that it cannot be used for K1 racing, because bailers are not allowed in K1. For good reason by the way, a standard K1 can take in quite a lot of water through a hole in the hull

It's worth contacting your national governing body to check. Ski's with bailers or boats like the Viper ski are now allowed in our K1 races in the UK - probably because the obvious safety benefits of such devices.

What are the difference between the Viper 46 ski and the Nelo 550 in terms of: flatwater speed, stability, glide?

Anyone who knows how this boat compares to the Nelo 550?

Looking at the stats it has the same width (46 cm), pretty similar length (520 (Viper) vs 550cm).

Which one is the better flatwater boat in term of speed and glide?

hirro wrote: Anyone who knows how this boat compares to the Nelo 550?

Looking at the stats it has the same width (46 cm), pretty similar length (520 (Viper) vs 550cm).

Which one is the better flatwater boat in term of speed and glide?

I asked this exact question to them recently. It's obviously affected by your size and weight. In my own case (6ft 3 and 88kg) Nelo suggested I'd be better off with the 550L. I then ordered one of those. Your best choice may well be different. I think unless you've paddled K1's before, you'd fine it quite the difference in stability despite the width being the same.