Has anyone actually paddled a Fennix Bluefin S?

Hi, as this is my first post here I'll intro myself a bit. I live in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. I have a couple of sea kayaks I've paddled a bit, but haven't been getting them on the water much for a while. Am attracted to getting a stable beginner surfski for maybe the opposite reason most people get surfskis. I'm 65yo and just want to trundle around on the beautiful Coral Sea. There is no surf here, but a fair bit of swell and chop, though Townsville is on a wide bay and also sheltered by Magnetic Island, so there's a gradation of the swell.

I've decided to buy a beginner surfski because, being light and easy to get to the beach, and easy to get back on if I fall off, I think it's much more likely I'll actually end up paddling often than with the kayaks. I do want to learn some skills too, but to do that I've got to be actuallly on the water, so a nice widish surfski seems perfect.

I initially looked at the Carbonology Cruze X (MCImes convinced me to stay away from Stellars in a post on another forum). Then noticed an ad for a second hand Carbon Hybrid Fennix Bluefin S about 3 hours drive away for a decent price. I can't get down there to look at it till Dec 7 - there are actually 2 of them so reasonable chance 1 will still be there.

I've been looking at reviews, forum posts & videos about the Bluefin, but none that I can find are about the Fennix. I've read that after the 2019 fire there was a redesign of the boat, including "finer lines", so an altered hull. I'd be very interested to hear of any experience anyone has had paddling a Fennix Bluefin S. A concern I have is if the finer lines have made it more prone to pitching - not someone that would trouble paddlers using it for surfing, but for my trundling purposes I don't want something that rollercoasters too much on tiny waves.

I'm looking forward to getting my first ski and getting out there, and chatting with you guys about the journey. That's if my trundling doesn't bore you to tears, which I'd understand!

Welcome!

If our experiences here in South Africa are anything to go by, you can't really go wrong with a Blue-Finn. The Fennix version isn't very different to the earlier model; it's still a very stable, very easy to use ski.

And here they have a great resale value; I'm pretty sure the same would hold in Aus.

I'd say grab it! Go forth and enjoy! Welcome to the sport!

Thanks Rob, that's very helpful and reassuring. I got the special ski roofrack today, so I'm committed!

Buy it. That's probably the perfect ski for you. And get a wing paddle as it will help your stability.

Thanks Steve. I have a paddle that I'm not sure is a wing paddle or a spoon paddle. It doesn't seem to "want" to go out to the side and I just find myself pulling it straight back. Perhaps it's my lack of skill, perhaps it's not a wing paddle. I'm not sure. This is it - described as a "scoop" design:

www.baysports.com.au/collections/paddles...re-paddle-adjustable

That is a wing paddle.

The technique is quite different to normal euro/asymmetrics.

A few pointers:
Don't hold the paddle tightly, let the shaft rotate in your hand.
Once the blade is buried, pull hard, lock your top arm bent (until the end of the stroke). Top hand should be about eye height.
Rotate your body - it helps to move the non-drive side hip forward.
Keep the stroke short. Probably feeling excessively short compared to your normal stroke.
Keep drive side elbow down.


With top arm locked and bent, and torso rotation, your paddle will move in a J shape

Thanks mrcharly. I'm looking forward to giving it a go!

Hope it's the 210-220 cm length. Many women go shorter than 210 as far as I can tell but 210 should be fine. Once you get use to the wing technique it will feel much more "planted" in the water and help with bracing.

It's adjustable 210-220cm, so I can play with the length. I'm 5' 11" and I've had it at 210cm for a 22" kayak, so will probably start at that for a beginner surfski. I know many people have it shorter, but I'll never be a racer so I'm not chasing the increments that 5cm shorter and hundreds of dollars for a new paddle might give me. I like having it set on its shortest length as that makes it stronger, with one buyer of this paddle reporting it breaking in the middle (though I wonder how that happened as it doesn't seem likely from just paddling as the shaft seems strong enough).

Just noticed something - in this video of the Fenn Bluefin S the paddler's feet look a bit cramped, jammed up against each other, with perhaps a few mm space on the left. I have wide size 10.5 feet. This looks potentially uncomfortable depending on how big this guy's feet are. Is the Fennix model is just as cramped for foot space? The Carbonology Cruze X looks much more roomy by comparison.

I wear 43 and Nick (the owner of that BF) wears 44. I also know a guy who’s 193cm tall paddling a BF so I doubt there is any problem.

Thanks Kayakintro, didn't expect a quick reply from actual person in the video So about the same size, and someone 193cm tall would have at least that size foot. Reassuring, appreciated. I do have an E width foot, but your feet don't look narrow in the video.

You are welcome.

I like the Bluefin but I think the Cruze is great too and can be ordered in touring version with a hatch which can be useful for carrying some snack and water if you do island hopping.
I just got a fast tandem sea kayak Mirage 730 to paddle with friends.

Happy paddling!

That's a great photo - a boat for every occasion! Yes I might indeed buy a Cruze if this second hand Bluefin falls through. In Australia they charge $500 for the touring version though, which I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay for a hatch cover and some bungee rigging. I have a couple of sea kayaks I can use for island hopping. If I get the Bluefin I'm actually intending to use heavy duty EZ plugs to put some rigging on the rear deck to hold a snack etc bag, and a back band for those meditative resting moments in the vastness...

You don't want a back band on a surfski.

For one thing, there are times when you really need to be able to lean back.

For another, there isn't a cockpit rim to dig into your back, so leaning back is comfortable.

I've owned a Fennix Bluefin S full carbon since just after the fire. It's a very stable boat and excellent for advancing in downwinding. I paddled a pre-fire Bluefin in Kauai a couple of times and was not aware of any significant handling difference between it and my Fennix Bluefin.
My Bluefin bucket is relatively wide (I'm 6'2" 205 lbs) so I have always used side padding. The rails by the bucket are relatively low compared to many surfskis and I have found that helps to make remounts exceptionally easy. The slight downside to that is that early on when I lost speed while downwinding it seemed those low sides pretty readily allowed water into the bucket. As I have gotten better at maintaining speed and not allowing waves to overtake me, that issue has diminished.
My shoe size is 45-46 (US size 12) and generally my feet have fit fine - but snug side to side, though I did use one watershoe with wide soles where I had to grind down the sole edges to make them fit.
Downwind run in my Bluefin in the Gorge 2 months ago:

If there is anyone near you who is a skilled wing paddle user (K1 or surfski), getting a lesson or two may be quite helpful in avoiding the development of some bad habits with your stroke.
surfski.wiki/stroke

One other suggestion - I installed bullets with each drain and I do believe it accelerated drainage.

Thanks Reavley, really great video - you can see the stability - and lovely music. Really happy to have some reassurance on the Fennix, though it's a pity they didn't take the opportunity with the redesign to put more foot room in - thanks for showing it should be just enough for me. Remounts more important to me than water in the bucket, so I'm fine with that part of the design. I'll have to research what bullets are. I should be able to check out the 2 Bluefins on Saturday. Fingers crossed at least one of them is in good shape.

Good luck on your Bluefin shopping.

Here are some links concerning Venturi drains which include information about bullets. Placement in relation to the Venturi drain cover seems to be important.

surfski.wiki/modifications#drainage

Thanks Reavley, I will study that.