mattdrayer

Well, I haven't yet had a chance to paddle the V7, so I really can't comment on it other than that I've heard good things so far. Just looking at the numbers it is definitely on the heavier side, so you'd just need to have the right expectations when hopping onto one. I've paddled the V8 in Club, Performance, and Ultra layups, the V10 Sport in the Performance and Ultra, and the V10 in Performance and Ultra. Personally I'm not really a fan of the Club layup for the V8 and wouldn't even consider it for the other skis, but I look at it from a racing perspective and the weight of a Club boat just can't compete with even the Performance boats, let alone the Ultras or GTs. Most people who race have the Ultra layup (I do), and it's a night-and-day difference vs. the Club and Performance boats. The weight of the Club layup makes the boats hard to accelerate, get onto waves, etc. The Club layup is super strong, however -- it can take a beating, and that's why you see the V8 Club in rental fleets, which I think was the intention (stable + resilient). The V8 in Club layup would be good if you wanted to have a sit-on-top design hanging around for you and others to jump on, play in the waves, and not worry about banging it up. Sort of like the Ocean Kayak scenario where you see them stuffed under the decks at peoples' beach houses and they get taken out by whomever, bumped up a bit, dragged on the sand, etc. Now Epic has introduced the V7, it's cheaper than the V8 Club, and it probably fits that high-use scenario even better due to the materials used. I can't imagine Epic will sell very many Club layup boats of any sort once the V7 has taken hold. If I had to guess that might even be their strategy -- ie, introduce the cheaper V7 and eliminate the Club layup altogether. Matt

@jason I wouldn't bother with a wing paddle blade any larger than the Mid size -- with a proper catch and subsequent rotation it should provide plenty of force to slide the boat forward -- the Large size is intended for sprint racing. I spent a season in the V10 Sport and it's a nice boat, although I think the V8 is better for pure paddling around, and the V10 is way better for getting from point A to point B. The V10 Sport is sort of a compromise between those two -- not as stable as the V8, not as fast as the V10, just sort of stuck in the middle. I really don't see surfskis as an either/or thing, although admittedly I have falled completely love with them and haven't really wanted to paddle anything else (disclaimer: I jumped on my wife's paddleboard for an hour this afternoon up in Annisquam and had a great time! Oh and I saw two guys paddling black tip V8's today ) IMHO, any kayaker interested in improving their stroke technique and their balance/stability could benefit from paddling a ski from time to time. Matt

It could be that mine is an older version and just showing a bit of wear at this point, but when I compare it side-by-side with the Full Carbon blades it definitely looks different to me. Perhaps the blades are all the same, though, and it is just the shaft that differs.

Hey there, @Inverseyourself -- I've been using the Epic Mid in Club Carbon layup for several years now. I've had a chance to use the Full Carbon version a couple times, as well, but most of my experience is with the Club. Overall this is a fantastic paddle, and I think you'd be very happy with it. My sessions with the Full have been at our local Tuesday night races in Salem Sound, which are 5-6 miles long. I definitely notice the weight difference between the Club and Full, although I haven't noticed the difference flexibility as much. If you talk to someone like Sean Rice, he'll recommend the flexible shaft over the rigid shaft for any type of extended paddling (> 1hr), although this is mainly in a race context where you are generating high force at your joints and pivot points. I will say that the Club Carbon is a pretty bomber layup -- I've put that paddle through the wringer and it's still kicking with no cracks or chips. I think for races what I would love to see is the Club Carbon flexible shaft paired with the Full Carbon blade layup -- I think that would be a nice compromise to save a bit of weight. Interestingly, I tried the Full Carbon Small-Mid paddle a couple weeks ago for a race and THAT was pretty awesome, actually -- I was able to keep a higher cadence going although I would still need to time trial it to decide if that size blade makes more sense for me. As far as the V7 goes, I haven't tried one, but I know Ed Duggan has several of them at KLC over at Lynch Park in Beverly -- you could certainly take one for a spin. I think he has every Epic surfski model available at this point, from the V5 through the V14. The V7 is about twice as heavy as the V8 in its Ultra layup, but it also costs over 50% less, which is awesome. It looks like the people who are buying them are having a ton of fun! Cheers, Matt

Oh, let's not call surfskis the "dark side" @leong There's no reason to attach a social stigma to what is a very fun way to play in the water The 2011 NBR was my first ever kayak race, and taking part in that event opened up a whole new world of adventure, competition, and community for me that I hadn't had in many years. So I'll always have a special place in my heart for that one Cheers, Matt

Tracker link: https://www.endomondo.com/users/2312439/workouts/789814967 -- downward spikes are stops/spills.

Facebook link to more info -- photo album link is available in the comment thread:

Trip Report: Cape to Cape Crossing, 2016-08-20 (Race Point to Pavilion Beach) I woke up at my brother's place in Gloucester at 3:45am on Saturday morning, 8/20 to get going for the big trip. I had been watching the weather for weeks, and we were now meeting my uncle at Cape Ann Marina at 4:30am in order to load my Epic V10 surfski onto his boat for a shuttle down to Provincetown. Mission day had finally come. I was about to realize a multi-year dream of paddling 45 miles across Massachusetts Bay, an open ocean crossing from Cape Cod to Cape Ann. At 5am we were heading South out of Gloucester Harbor with stars in the sky and a mirror on the sea. After an hour the day brightened and we began to spy bits of Provincetown in the far distance. We approached and passed the lighthouse at Race Point and headed into Provincetown Harbor to refuel, then headed back out to Race Point where we anchored just off the beach. The wind had started to pick up slightly, the waves were beginning to run, and there was a raft of seals playing in the shallow water of the sandbar jutting out from the point. After a couple high-fives and fist-bumps, I climbed onto my surfski and paddled to the beach in order to touch the sand. GPS route activated, tracking app started, and VHF check complete, I took a couple deep breaths and pushed away from the beach. I confirmed my bearing with the chase boat — 328.5 degrees — and picked up the next wave that came along. The swell was running almost perfectly with the wind, which was running almost perfectly with the bearing. The water was warm, the temperature was moderate, the sky was clear, and the ski was flying -- it really couldn’t be much better. I spent about an hour getting a feel for things and surfing the runners. At our first check-in I shouted over to the chase boat, “This must be what heli-skiing in Alaska feels like! It’s absolute heaven out here!”, and it really was. Every catch of the paddle felt perfect, every wave was a charge, my energy was high, no pain, no strain — what a day. At the 1.5hr mark I decided to stop and eat something, and was caught off-guard by a misaligned wave which dumped me right into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There I was, floating 10 miles offshore in Massachusetts Bay. What was I thinking??? I looked down and thought about how deep it was here, thought about sharks, shuddered, and quickly remounted my surfski and picked up another wave. The conditions were still fantastic, and they remained that way for another hour and a half. At the 17mi point I was moving right along, averaging 6.75mph and still feeling like Superman. Then my mile-splits began to drop off, subtly at first — 10 seconds slower, then 20 seconds, then 30 seconds. I reached the halfway mark, took a break, and noted that the water had started to become somewhat messy. I was working harder and going slower, like I was caught in a current — but there wasn’t anything to see for miles, and the water was over 200 feet deep here. What was going on? My chase boat checked in to make sure I was okay. I told them I felt like I had just finished the Blackburn. And now I had another Blackburn to go. As the afternoon developed the wind and waves continued to build — large rollers began sweeping by me and I did my best to take advantage of their energy, but it was getting hard. My average speed had dropped closer to 6mph. Foam was blowing off the waves, which had become extremely noisy and confused. The chase boat was working, too. I could hear the engine revving up and down to keep a steady pace and course. The guys were shouting encouragement and insults — family I dumped and remounted several times over the next couple of hours, each time pausing to ask myself if I should pull the plug, and each time responding with conviction that I had enough in the tank to continue. After five and a half hours of paddling I hit the 32-mile mark, the distance of the Molokai Challenge. The waypoint was a physical and mental test for me, and I had passed. But the waves had increased far beyond the predicted range of 2ft, and it felt like all of the rhythm was gone from the sea. I found myself flashing back to the 2015 Blackburn race, which I described to people as running the Boston Marathon with Mike Tyson screaming in your face and throwing haymakers your way when you weren’t looking. The ski bucked around like a bronco and it took all I had to keep upright at times. I could feel fatigue setting in. I thought about quitting and shook it out of my head. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming At 4pm, seven hours in, I went over again. I blew the remount and continued over the other side head-first. “Nice, with the water up your nose.” I thought. “Get back on your boat, dummy.” I had travelled 40 miles so far and could now see Gloucester in the distance. I climbed back up onto the ski. I was tired, and it was far later than I had originally planned to be doing this. I decided I was done working the larger waves — between those and all of the slop it was taking more energy now than I had and it made more sense to let the big stuff roll by and focus on staying upright. The noisy chop had continued to worsen, and I thought to myself that it must be all of the wave energy reflecting from the North Shore all the way back out here. Who knew. Approximately 2.5 miles from Dog Bar, the sea was an absolute disaster. It's always bad off of Eastern Point, but this was ridiculous. I could see lobster boats pitching around and the buoys couldn't seem to make up their minds about which way to point. I looked at my GPS to check my course and the LCD was blank. It didn’t matter, though — I could see the harbor entrance now. I battled through the energy reflecting off the breakwater to the hooting red channel marker, and finally I was around the wall and inside. My brother blasted the air horn and I took my hand off my paddle to wave, almost going into the water again. I shouted out that I had precisely 1.8 miles to go (thanks, Blackburn...) and set my sights on Pavilion Beach. The harbor water was rough, but it wasn’t anything like the 20-mile mogul field I had just traversed. This was simply icing on the cake. The Greasy Pole came into view as I approached the beach. I sat up in the bucket and took fatigued, but well-formed strokes. Pictures and all. Then I was crossing under the pole, and the ski was on the beach, and my kids were running up to me cheering. I saw my mother and my wife, and I was standing up. Hugs, kisses, tears. The horn went off again and we all turned and waved to the guys. What troopers they were to go through that with me. Amazing, simply amazing. What a day. What a trip. What a dream come true. Mission accomplished

I actually used superglue to achieve the same effect as the epoxy recommendation for my Epic paddle. I was noticing the feather was slipping because the lever lock wasn't clamping tightly enough. After investigating I realized the lever lock itself was fine, but the shaft had actually worn down just enough to begin slipping, I guess due to the amount of use (4 seasons, ~400 sessions) It was the same process -- apply a very light/thin film of glue to the worn area, allow to cure, then sand with fine-grit paper and if necessary reapply and resand until proper fit has been restored. It's been great since, and only cost about a nickel's worth of glue to fix Matt

I agree that a bombproof roll is faster (and thus safer) vs. the typical surfski remount, plus with a roll you're not put in the position of separating from the boat. A full wet exit, as you mention, is a different story and I would take the ski remount over managing a wet exit any day. Now I see what you mean regarding the bucket shapes and positioning. As with kayaks, many paddlers will 'foam out' their surfski cockpits to get the proper fit, and this can seat padding, thigh padding, etc. I don't have much in my own boat -- just a small foam square on each side of the cockpit at my calves to help keep my legs aligned and knees upright because I have a tendency to let my knees fall apart in choppy conditions. The V14 is an elite boat -- only a couple guys around here paddle them, and really only in the flatwater races like the Essex. You see a lot of guys paddling the V14 in the South African races as well as the Molokai Challenge (the same guys, most of the time). Hank MacGregor is a good example of an excellent V14 paddler -- he's also a kayak marathon champion and those K-1 boats are extremely unstable, so he's put in a lot of stability work. Went out this morning again -- a nice easy 5.5mi paddle with a focus on stroke form -- water was calm and the wind was light. Even at a low cadence taking deliberate, slow strokes (but with good form and power) I averaged 6.9mph -- it's really hard to go slow in these boats Cheers, Matt

Hi Leon -- great writeup! No attacking from me, although I did post a response Cheers, Matt

Hey there, Leon -- great writeup! I agree with much of what you've posited in your post. When comparing surfskis and kayaks it's important to consider the design history. The modern ocean-going surfski came out of the lifesaving world, where people paddle 'spec skis' out through large surf to quickly rescue swimmers in distress. Many top ocean ski competitors are top lifesaving competitors as well -- Clint Robinson and Dean Gardiner come to mind. Spec skis are very functional, and have flared front decks to deflect breaking surf, lots of rocker, etc.. There are some great videos on YouTube of spec ski racing that are worth checking out -- very exciting and great demonstrations of things like forward stroke technique and surfing waves. So the ocean ski derives from the spec ski, but it also features some design hybridization from the marathon and sprint worlds, too, thanks to people like Greg Barton who brought their own ideas to the table, including things like lightweight materials (carbon fiber, honeycomb, etc.). And then you have the downwind guys like Oscar Chalupsky, Sean Rice, and the Mocke brothers from places like South Africa, who are racing skis typically over 12-15mi distances in large swell, and want long, stiff boats that can pick up runners (swells) and really leverage the ocean's energy to go fast. Anyway, my point is that surfski design has had a lot of influence from different camps over the past several years and is still undergoing a lot of tweaking as the top athletes push the boats harder and more people hop on them at the beginner and intermediate levels, which manufacturers have responded to by adding more of these types of boats to their lineups (such as the Epic V8, Think Eze, Epic V10 Sport, Stellar SR). There's a lot of energy and passion in the niche right now, which is fun. As far as the West Side boats go -- yeah, they are pretty awesome, too! Fast, stable, and with a well-conditioned paddler in the cockpit can really move even in the roughest of conditions -- just ask Brian Heath The T-Rex is a slick craft, and the Marauder is scary to see on a registration list. If I were still a kayak guy I would put the West Side boats at the top of my list. Although I do like the Surge, too, as an SK option. I think my main hangup with kayaks at this point (WSB and well, all of them really) is what you've already noted, the water hazard, re-entry, pumping out, all that. I have to confess that I fall off my boat more than most (I'm new to the V10), but it's so easy to get back on that I never worry about it. With my sea kayaks the exit was always a major event even beyond the re-entry. I love that skis are sealed and water's really not much of an issue. I've taken mine out in some pretty horrendous conditions and swamping or exiting+reentering just isn't a concern. You do get wet, yes, but with very little cost to boat performance thanks to the nifty little bailers and venturi drains they have, which empty the footwell fairly rapidly. Several boats feature bailers that close flush to the hull in order to minimize drag when you're not using them. So you're able to focus a lot more on keeping the boat moving, because taking water into the boat (which happens frequently) doesn't require any more diversion of your attention than a quick flip of the bailer lever with your foot. With practice that becomes pretty effortless. +1 on pedal steering systems -- they are awesome -- and the Onno design s a great aftermarket upgrade for any kayak rudder system, imho. I think Pat makes fantastic stuff -- he built a sweet carbon fiber footplate for the rudderless Surge I raced in the 2012 Blackburn -- that helped to position my feet in the middle of the boat and get my knees up -- what a difference that made. I do disagree that the ski setup forces you to push with your heels -- I don't seem to have that problem on my V10. However, I will say that I took a class with Ben Lawry in 2012 and he talked a lot about leg drive and generating optimal force through your entire foot, as if doing a weightlifting squat press. I find Ben's perspective to be equally applicable in both kayaks and skis, at least for me. Regarding seat height -- it's true that the paddler tends to sit a little higher in some skis, although it depends on the manufacturer and even the particular boat. The K-1 guys who come over to the skis seem to like sitting as high as they can -- according to the guys I've spoken with sitting higher helps your forward stroke form. They sit on pads sometimes an inch tall or more in order to gain height. It does decrease your stability. I don't use a pad at present, although I may add one in the off season to work on my stability. Could you elaborate more on your statement about the contour of the ski and optimal stroke positioning? Seems to me that's a major focus of ski design -- proper stroke technique is probably the most-debated topic in the ski community. As far as the number of skis who didn't finish the 2015 Blackburn -- I'll only point out that it was approximately the same ratio as the overall field (~1/3). I do agree that surfskis are increasing in popularity. Even the entry level designs with the heaviest layups will do 5-6mph without too much effort given a wing paddle and reasonable technique. I did a 10k course this morning in my V10 and averaged 7.4mph for the session (ok, yes, that was really hard work). Speed aside, in my personal opinion, skis are just easier to manage than a kayak. There's more focus on paddling. Maybe it's a mental thing, I don't know, but skis just 'click' for me in a way that kayaks never did. I think this is what is bringing more people to skis who might otherwise move to an FSK or even HPK kayak. This is also why you're helping more people in skis than other boats, I think -- there's a learning curve involved and skis are very new for a lot of people. Balance, stroke, underhull steering, catching and riding swells/waves, on boats that can be 21 feet long and 18 inches wide -- it's a full-on community learning mode. That's the really awesome thing about the surfski, imho -- people are getting into it as a sport, training, racing, setting and breaking records, tackling big stuff, having some amazing rides, it's really a lot of fun. And someday, who knows, maybe there'll be enough interest in surfskis to run a big series on the North Shore -- now wouldn't that be cool Until then, a hardy group of guys and gals will be doing it over at Lynch Park on Tuesday nights at 6:45pm all summer long Cheers, Matt

Nice work everyone! It was indeed a tough race Amazed that Sean Brennan pulled a 2:37 on the day -- he must log time on a mechanical bull or something. As an aside, I'd love to see Lisa and Beth jump into surfskis! You would love them, and the women's class for our local series (Tuesdays @ 6:45pm, Lynch Park) would benefit from having you race with us

i also came across this PaddlingLight article recently: http://www.paddlinglight.com/articles/print-bsb-raster-charts-the-easy-way-noaa-charts-for-free/

I just saw some great tri-suits this morning at TheClymb.com -- the company is 2XU and te prices were pretty great.

+1 from me for the neoprene skirt, as well -- I have one from Brooks Paddle Gear and it's great. I got it on clearance from them for $45 -- they still have the old price sheet up at http://brookspaddlegear.com/brooks-paddle-gear-2010-clearance-inventory -- I would give them a call to see if they've got anything on clearance that might fit your cockpit.

Mike's a pretty understanding guy -- I'm sure he'd be willing to swap the finish for a bit of additional elapsed time

Aw, shucks, guys, thanks! *blush* Wow, what a great race -- I think I could have done pretty well in the beautiful Merganser, but Tucker offered up his Surge and man, I'm sure glad he did! What a great boat! I couldn't believe the splits I was getting from Folly Cove to Straitsmouth -- six or seven in a row were less than 9:30/mile -- the Surge literally said "hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to ride these little swells coming along here, oh and how about that boat wake, oh yeah, and let's surf that chop, and..." -- the boat just seemed to take advantage of every little bit of energy coming our way. Congrats Lisa and Leon for your races as well -- Leon, I can't even imagine what paddling with a broken leg must have been like -- you are hardcore!!! The HPK guys are working me pretty hard to jump onto a ski -- I have to admit I'm a bit torn -- they look like so much fun! Maybe I'll give one a shot at the Nahant Bay Race on August 18th (http://www.surfskiracing.com/nahant-bay-race) -- the race is open to all paddlers, so please consider it -- I think the course last year was around 9 miles long and I was one of two or three SK'ers. That said my heart is still with my kayak, so you can bet I'll be hanging around and going on trips with you all for a long time

Agreed -- and leg placement was something that Ben got into as well -- same as what you describe -- knees in center, feet on bulkhead, or foam/wood/bar/plate, but not splayed-out which is what we all do because of said footpegs. I actually ordered a footplate kit from Pat at ONNO for this reason -- hopefully it will be arriving soon. If not I'll have to rig something for next Saturday. Love the cheek-lift concept -- I'll have to try that during tomorrow morning's training session. Cheers, Matt

See, that's the thing -- once the blade is planted in the water close to your feet, you set your lower arm in sort of a row form and literally sweep the blade along the side of the boat to your knee/hip by twisting. The only muscle work coming from your arm and shoulder muscles is in setting up the catch and ensuring the blade stays as vertical as possible in the water during your torso twist/rotation -- ie, you're not actively pulling the blade back with your arm muscles. Your top hand primarily guides the top blade of the paddle across the kayak, at eye/face-level -- ideally the top hand doesn't drop down as it crosses, it maintains a constant horizontal plane. So, in that regard, you're not pushing the top blade forward by using your arms and chest. I'm not saying that there's zero arm/shoulder muscle use at all -- it's just minimized in Ben's particular approach in favor of larger core muscle use (plus leg muscles, which I didn't mention). Back in April I was talking to one of the surf ski guys at the Narrow River Race who competed in sprint kayaks when he was younger -- he mentioned that athletes used to be to develop a large upper body including arms and shoulders in order to "power through" the motion, but that the trend now is moving toward still-strong but much leaner muscular body mechanics due to the shift in focus to the "twisting core". That was my first introduction to the concept. Absolutely one can paddle using primarily arms and shoulders and generate great speed, but it won't last over much of a distance -- the muscles are too small, have limited stores of energy to consume, and can't convert available fuel to new energy fast enough to keep up the pace.

I attended Ben's forward stroke clinic at CRCK-Newton on 6/28 -- hand width measurement/setting is indeed 1 cubit + 1 palm width. We taped out the paddle shafts accordingly and removed our "uncool" drip rings, too . He was very specific about body mechanics -- the motion is primarily twisting and rotating lateral/oblique work, with very little shoulder/arm work ("pulling"), and no chest/pecs ("pushing"). The goal is to keep the paddle oriented vertically in the water from catch to exit. Pushing and pulling cause the paddle to angle, power is diverted up/down, and the boat yaws or pitches in response. The catch is close to the feet, exit begins at the knee and ends at the hip. If you have a chance to take a class with Ben I highly recommend it -- I've been really trying to stick to his methodology and have noticed a considerable improvement in my time trials over the past week.

Doug, what type of camera do you shoot with? I'm super impressed every time I look at the pics you post -- great colors, detail, etc.

Back safe and sound! What a great day -- the trip report is located here: http://www.nspn.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=8697