v10

Just how do you go about improving one of the all-time classic surfskis? Epic Kayaks just launched the third generation V10 – and I spoke to Greg Barton, Epic's CEO and chief designer, to find out how and what he changed in the design.

[Editor: Dale Lippstreu is well known for tinkering with his skis - and many of his creations (rudders, rudder winglets, cockpit bulkheads, etc) have featured on surfski.info.  Now he's made what is arguably the most extreme modification yet - to make his V10 Elite into an Ultra, Ultra Elite...]

It has been my good fortune to have an Epic V10 Ultra to paddle for the last month - and it's been a treat. 

It's not often that a totally new ski from a new manufacturer is released onto the market - but we were lucky enough to lay hands on just such a one in the form of the Oceans Pro ski from Honcho Surfskis. 

Here's what we found.

Imagine that little Johnny hands his essay in to his university lecturer.  "I've copied someone else's paper," he says, "but it's ok, I've only used 70% of it and I've improved some of the details."  "It's a great piece of work," he adds, "the original had very good reviews."

Unlikely?  This appears to be exactly what Damien Daley has done with his "70%" copy of the V10, the "XLR8 Odyssey" surf ski.

 

In July 2006, Rapid Ascent (one of Australia's leading Adventure Racing organisations) undertook a massive evaluation of different categories of kayak – including surf skis.

In the last two years the surf ski market has seen a revolution in terms of ski design.  Skis have become more stable and faster.  In fact, fast, stable skis, with a single footwell and adjustable rudder pedals have become the norm.

 

How has this come about?  At least part of the reason is that Epic were prepared to invest heavily in R&D to design and develop the V10 surfski.  The very name gives a clue to the amount of effort that went into it - the V10 was the 10^th version of the design

 

 

Finish and appearance

Epic lifted the bar by introducing computer aided design and a CNC machined plug for the first V10.  The new Ultra skis have lifted it further.  The vacuum moulding process and nomex/honeycomb laminate totally eliminates the waviness or "oil canning" which is usually present in GRP products laid up by hand.  There is a small amount of waviness remaining in the seams but no doubt somebody will solve this as well in the not too distant future.

 

One of the perks of writing for Surfski.info is that I sometimes get the opportunity to test drive new skis... and the latest was the Kayak Centre V10. 

 

Kayak Centre, in Durban, have a license to manufacture the Epic skis for the South African market and the first production units arrived in Cape Town at the end of May.  I went in to (the all new refitted and snazzy) Brian's Kayaks and Sports to have a look at the skis (they had a V10 Sport there too) and the following weekend I took the V10 for a paddle in Hout Bay.

 

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.