Surfski Manufacturers
Interviews with various manufactures of surfski products.
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Saturday, 20 September 2008 07:28
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Written by
Steve Hansen
If you come to the U.S. Surfski Championships in San Francisco you will see a lot of Huki surfskis. These popular northern California surfskis are the work of Jude Turczynski.
Jude Turczynski
Thursday, 22 June 2006 12:27
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Written by
Rob Mousley
The metrics commonly used to compare surf skis are length, width and weight.
But it seems to be a commonly accepted fact that stiffness also affects a hull's performance. A Google search resulted in a number of articles that had a common theme: if the hull flexes as you pull a stroke, energy is absorbed (and wasted) that would otherwise propel the hull forwards.
Sunday, 18 June 2006 00:47
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Written by
Rob Mousley
Red7 have been awfully quiet for the last couple of months.
An advert in the latest SA Paddling gives a hint about what they've been up to...
Red7 have been busy: gearing up to manufacture no fewer than five new skis. They've gone the CAD and modelling route, with all the designs being submitted to Intelligent Fluid Solutions in the UK for analysis using advanced fluid dynamics modelling systems.
Sunday, 14 May 2006 12:43
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Written by
Rob Mousley
Anyone who's had the sales pitch from the Big O, knows that "the plug for the V10 was CNC machined - that's why the hull has such accurate lines."
Oscar always goes on to point out the myriad of other features - the computer design, the venturi drain, the cockpit design, and so on. One thing's for sure: the guys at Epic are not shy about their achievements - and when I asked, I was presented with a range of fascinating photographs and information about the development of the V10 ski.
Monday, 06 February 2006 15:54
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Written by
Rob Mousley
(By Rob Mousley)
In my first conversation with Mark Lewin in 2003, he told me that I should be banned from paddling…
The 2003 Cape Point Challenge Qualifier was held in a fierce southeaster and I had joined the race at Millers Point to do a downwind run. On my own, I had counted on the race’s safety organisation to help me out if I got into trouble. As Mark later put it, how would I have felt if the rescue crews had had to leave a competitor to drown while rescuing me?
But he didn’t put it like that to begin with – he calls a spade a spade and his initial bluntness took me aback. It was quite an introduction to one of the most visible (at 6’10’’ tall) characters in South African Surfski.
Thursday, 12 January 2006 18:49
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Written by
Rob Mousley
(by Rob Mousley)
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| Keith Fenn |
I love my parents in law (really!) but the thought of spending my Christmas vacation with them was daunting. Why? They live in East London, 1100km from my home in Cape Town... and, having logged many, many hours training for the 2005 Cape Point Challenge I had agreed to play family man and leave my ski behind. Ten days with no paddling...? It couldn't be done.
A cunning plan occured to me however - the Fenn Kayaks factory is also located in East London. Could it possibly be that Keith Fenn might agree to lend me a ski so that I could write a review for surfski.info?
Thursday, 12 January 2006 17:13
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Written by
Rob Mousley
(By Dale Lippstreu)
Rumours have been circulating in the surfski paddling community for some time that Epic Kayaks was shutting down its operations in SA and moving production to another country.
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| Oscar Chalupsky paddling the V10 in Hawaii |
As an interested party (V10 owner) I thought I would approach Oscar Chalupsky and get the information first hand. Oscar was as communicative as ever and this is what I learned.
Wednesday, 11 January 2006 10:27
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Written by
Rob Mousley
(by Rob Mousley)
For some while rumours have been flying about Epic Kayaks, specifically that they were stopping the manufacture of the V10 Surf Ski in South Africa. Speculation has been rife on the reasons for this and future of V10 surf ski. The V10 has made a huge impact in the short time that it has been in production.
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| Oscar Chalupsky paddling the V10 in Hawaii |
I was fortunate enough to meet up with Oscar Chalupsky, Epic's Sales Vice President (and paddling legend) in Cape Town recently and here's what he had to say...
Wednesday, 01 March 2006 15:43
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Written by
Jude Turczynski
Aloha, just giving you the inside track on our newest design.
[Editor: It's not only this side of the pond that new surf ski designs are being developed... Jude Turczynski of Huki Skis recently made this announcement.]
Prototype Huki Double
Jerry Montgomery and I have been working nine months full-time on the development of our Tandem Surf Ski, and we're finally ready for production. This has been our greatest design challenge yet; Engineering a small, dry, stable, fast, rough water surf ski with a wide weight range is no easy task.
Friday, 10 March 2006 18:15
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Written by
Rob Mousley
Through the magic of Skype I caught up with Oscar Chalupsky a few days ago. He’s in China at the new factory where the Epic V10 is manufactured and has been inspecting and testing the first production skis.
V10 Sport
Oscar is combining the testing with training for the Molokai Challenge – surely the first time an athlete has trained for this event on a tidal river (the Fuchun River) in South East China!
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