The Big Eze

I had the pleasure of paddling the Big Eze in the Doctor on the weekend, great boat,so much fun. I normally paddle a Elite Evo 2 but decided to borrow a Big Eze to allow me to enjoy the race with out having to worry about stability. It worked, knocked 8.5 minutes of the last doctor run in January with conditions very similar. Gained more then 20 places up the leader board which just goes to show how much stability effects your results. If you are looking at getting into downwind paddling or are struggling to progress then I would definitely recommend looking at the Big Eze or any of the other really stable boats, you might just surprise yourself at how much fun you can have in these so called slow boats.

Was wondering how you went Spencer, great to hear. I agree that for those conditions I could also have done with a smidge more stability to really get cranking in the runs. Once again Walter Chulupski showed you dont need a go fast ski, beating 2/3rds of the field in his V10 Sport.

I was expecting milder conditions so went with the 5 inch rudder and paid the price being turned any which way, oh well, lesson learnt.

Ok I paddled the Big Eze again last night on our normal training run between Port and City Beach. Great conditions with low swell but 15kn southerly producing plenty to catch.
It is confirmed that the Big Eze is soooo much fun to paddle. Paddled hard for first 5km until caught up to a mate doing his second downwind paddle then backed off and stayed with him. Was able to charge off and catch runs at will then turn sideways and wait for him to catch up which I would not normally like doing in the evo 2. So I averaged 11.8km/hr for the 11km paddle with out even trying hard for the last 6km, would have liked to see what time I would have achieved with no stopping.
The best part about paddling this boat is the ability to sprint for what ever you want, it is such a stable platform that you can apply all available power to moving the boat forward.
This boat is now on my to buy list for next year.

Be sure to have a look at the other Eze (~51cm width). I test paddled it against the Epic V8. It was a smidgen more unstable than the V8, but otherwise perfectly fine. Ultimately went with the V8 for comfort though.

You might find the Eze to be a little more fun/faster than the Big Eze while still maintaining excellent stability.

I originally asked to borrow the Eze but was told the Big Eze was the one I wanted for the Doctor due to the extra length which helps with tracking.