Entry level ski's?

Hi:
I live in Melbourne Australia and have been kayak for about 3 years now.
I have raced my FINN AFFINITY and would like to explore the surf ski types.
Can somone name a few brands and models that would suit a beginner?
I usually paddle on the bays or Patterson Lakes.
Regards,
George

Hi George,
Welcome to the sport! I can vouch for the Fenn XT myself. It's a fantastic learner boat. Depending on your skills it can be very stable to tippy at first as with all ski's. I came from in the sport with limited experience (none in tippy boats) and the XT was very tippy for me at first but it didn't take me long at all to be comfortable in the boat. It has enough speed to keep you happy till your skills progress. It's also well built and very easy to re-enter. Others to look at are the Custom Kayaks Mentor, Think Evo (if you can get them there), Huki S1-R (if available), Possibly the Epic V10 Sport and also check out to see what kind of spec ski's are available in your area although not sure about their stability. I'm sure you have a few ski brands that we don't have here in the States also that would be worth giving a look.

I had no experience with skis or Kayaks till i started trying different demo skis about a month ago. I was leaning towards a v10 sport but decided on and am enjoying my new Think EVO. Seems quick, nice glide and is stable enough to progress quickly. (I try and get 1-2 sessions in a day).

Time on any "stable" ski is the most important thing to improve.

I forgot to add that the new entry level Honcho sounds like a very nice boat also. It got excellent reviews on this site.

George.

There is a bit of a leap from an Afinnity to a surf ski as the Afinnity is so stable! I've been paddling the Endorfinn for the last year after a year paddling an Afinnity and am now looking at the skis.

I paddled a Mentor demo last night and it was great.

I felt it was a boat I could grow into and (with my ability) not grow out of - a bit unstable for me in the sloppy river with reflective waves, but had good boat speed.

The guy I was paddling with has a fair amount of experience with different skis and he felt it was quicker than the XT - not that speed is the only thing!

I had one un-planned swim and a few planned swims and a remount was very easy.

George.

I know that the XT and Mentor are available in Australia and believe that the Honcho Guevara may be on its way.
Wavemaster has a 21' fitness ski and Ozflyte has some stable 'spec' skis - there are some 'masters' spec skis.

Think Evo (if you can get them there)

The Evo certainly is available in Australia.


Quantum Kayaks in Sydney are the Australian distributor.


Plenty of stock available from December 11th, can send anywhere in Oz with an excellent transporter who specializes in kayak and ski shipping.


You can PM me if you would like further details.