FENN Mako6 v Elite SL

am an intermediate to average paddler looking to upgrade from Mako6 to EliteSL. What are the differences in boat handling, stability, performance etc.
Are they more unstable in rough conditions?

I had a Mako 6 for years and have paddled my mate's Elite (not SL) several times.
I found it faster, less prone to broaching, but definitely less stable than the 6 in the rough stuff. I believe the SL is less stable still so I'd guess its a fairly big step up from a 6.
I've "upgraded" to a Focus and love it.

My last 3 skis have been the Mako 6, Elite and now Elite SL, all in carbon, so I have lots of experience with all 3 skis.

Firstly the Elite is very similar in stability to the Mako 6, but is a much nicer ski, steers better on the runs and is faster, so you would find the Elite a good option.

The SL handles similarly to the Elite, is slightly faster on flat water but is a lot more unstable than the Elite : the primary stability is a lot less and it feels like a very tippy boat, although the secondary stability is reasonable. Unless you're very stable I would recommend you rather go for the Elite or the new Glide, as the SL is more unstable than both of these.

I've decided to sell my SL and get the new Glide, I just haven't been happy with the SL in big offshore conditions. I've paddled a carbon Glide in a 10km race and really enjoyed it, its very quick in the flatter conditions and small runs and is more stable than the SL but slightly less stable than the Elite. I still need to try it out in big conditions, though.

Just to comment on what Nige said:

He's articulated exactly what I've heard from the guys who've been through the top end Fenn boats. (I stopped at the Elite and started paddling intermediate stability boats, tried the SL once, didn't like the tippiness.)

I'd add just one thing, which would tend to confirm his comments and that is that Dawid Mocke chose to continue to paddle the Elite when the SL came out, but switched immediately to the Glide - as have almost all the top Fenn paddlers.

Personally I'm still looking for a boat that handles downwind conditions like the Elite, but is more stable. I've been paddling the Swordfish, Genius Blu and lately the Think Evo II. They're all fun, stable boats, and I can go out in hectic conditions without getting the sweaty feet that I used to experience in the Elite! But they all seem to have top end speed limitations, so that I tend to do worse against my paddling mates on elite boats in flat conditions, but tend to beat them in downwind races or really rough conditions.

Rumours have been flying that the new V10 is the answer to world tension and is stable AND fast... I'm looking forward to trying one out.

Have u had a spin on the hawx yet ?

No, excuse my ignorance but never heard of them

I will have an Elite Hawx that I purchased from my colleagues at Elite Ocean Sports hopefully within the month to review. From what I have read thus far and will soon form my personal opinion, the Hawx(27lbs), SEL(22lbs), (new V10,my training partner is getting one), these boats should all be very close in performance but the proof will be on the water. My SEL Ultra at 22lbs will be the lightest of this group and I will have comparable rudders for the SEL and Hawx. The dimensions are very close on all three boats with the big caveat that the SEL has a weight limit by design. There are other differences as well but I will have the chance to tease these out in the upcoming months. Great to have a choice of stable yet fast boats for everyone to enjoy.

You are right, there is great choice out there. I had the hawx elite & was so impressed that I upgraded to the elite pro a month later. There has also been the new v10 & fenn glide demos getting a workout in our group & the feedback has been very good.

Hey Nige, is the Fenn products a good boat for flat water, in particular the Mako 6. I heard ti stay away form them. What's your opinion? Thank

The Mako6 was Fenn's response to the V10. In my opinion it had too much rocker and was very prone to broaching in downwind conditions. Big elliptical rudders cured this to some extent.

I never paddled the Elite SL (although I had an Elite for a couple of years and loved it). The SL has less rocker than the Mako6 and in theory should be faster on flat water. But it is significantly more tippy.

There is a perception that the Fenn boats are better all round boats and that other skis like the Think Uno and V14 are faster on flat water (but are tippier on rough water). I've spoken to some elite South African paddlers who prefer the new V12 at least partly because it's more stable than the V14. So even for the elites, balance on flat water is an issue to be taken into consideration.

But as a mid-packer the emphasis for me was that the Elite was reasonably stable in rough water and on flat water none of my peers were on "faster" boats anyway.

Just to confuse the topic more, I was paddling a carbon Elite and got the opportunity to buy a 14kg vacuum bagged glass SL. I have since sold the carbon Elite. To me these two layups felt very similar in stability.

In small to moderate downwind the SL is very manageable.

It is a difficult boat to remount and that tends to be what limits when I paddle it more than the stability.
I prefer to paddle smaller organised downwinds in the SL. If it gets bigger I have a swordfish.

The trouble with answering your original question is that it depends where and what sort of conditions you paddle in. If you tend to paddle in less extreme conditions or flatter water the SL is not nearly the beast everyone describes....especially in the heavier layup.

The boat I bought was in pristine condition and was about a third of the price of a comparable boat.

Hi Lakeman,

I'm a big fan of the Fenn skis and have had no bad experiences with any of the 8 Fenns I've owned over the years. Also, in South Africa Fenns are a lot cheaper than the imported skis, which is a big reason for my choosing Fenns.

On to your question : the Mako 6 is an older generation Fenn (came out in 2006) and has been superceded by the better, newer skis. (Rob Mousley's comments are very valid.)

For flat water, the Glide is the probably the fastest of the Fenns, but the Elite S is a better all round ski, and my subjective view is that the difference in flat water performance is very small.

Unless you're exclusively a flat water paddler intent on pure speed, the Elite S is probably a better buy than the Glide, although the older Elite is still a great ski if you can pick up a good second hand one.