First paddle with the Epic V8 surfski - perfect for beginners
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- I own an Epic V10L Ultra and I am looking for an easy to paddle surfskis for relatives/guests. After paddling the Epic V5 in rotomolded layout, I tested the V8 in Performance layout: 18'0" (5.48 m) long, 21.25" (54 cm) wide and 30.9 lbs (14 kg) light.
First impressions: it is a great surfski! It is easy to carry thanks to its side handles and lightweight. The cockpit is nice and my calves are well supported;, whereas I need to pad the cockpit in the V10L. It is super stable, possibly more than the V5. In rough sea it must be fun to paddle it without any worries. It turns well as you can see in the clip. It is a drier ride than in the V5 and it is fast too. It is easy to keep the 6.2 miles per hour (10km/h) without much effort.
With the V8 I can't help thinking about the old VW Golf GTi casino advert / This is the man who lost everything gambling but drives a Golf because "everyone must have something in life you can rely on" 🤣 You can't go wrong buying a V8!
It's a real pleasure to boat in this bay
Taiwan is about to enter winter, and the wind and waves will become stronger
Thank you. We are finally heading toward summer after a very rainy winter and summer (last summer was pretty awful). The water temperature will reach 17 degrees Celsius tomorrow, we used to have 13 which is cold!
🤩🤩🤩
Very nice!
Thank you! The V8 is a very good surfski to begin with. The V5 is also quite fun, and the plastic version is safer around rocks!
@@kayakintro
Thank you, Man.
Your tips are very helpful for those just starting out in canoeing.
@@kayakintro
I'm always impressed by the speed of the surfski.
In my kayak it takes a lot of strength to maintain 4.5 km/h.
@@ives.santos If you get a V5/V7 paddling at 7.5 km/h is like doing nothing. You can still chat with friends easily etc. A long enough sea kayak is similar, slightly slower.
It really all depends on what you want to do. If you want to camp and need to bring a tent etc then it is a sea kayak. If it is just a day trip a surfski would do the job well.
@@ives.santos Thank you! I am also new (I got the V7 only at the end of 2021) and thought about sharing what's possible to do as a beginner. I like any type of kayaks/surfskis and I am not a sea kayak or a surfski extremist. Often paddlers choose one side and have a tendency to dislike the others 😂
There is something comforting in paddling a stable boat like that sometimes, and as you point out there is no need at all to worry about tipping over...:), what bridge do we see in the distance at about 2:20? And what skyline is on the left hand side shortly after? Auckland...?
Absolutely! It is nice just to go out and far without worrying about a change in weather. It is more physical to paddle than the V10L at the same speed but it is nice to stop, eat and take photos if you want to. It is still possible to do that in the V10L but it is best to keep moving 🙂
What you see is a fishing pier, you can see it better at ua-cam.com/video/eHaRwY7slrQ/v-deo.html
At low tide there is enough head clearance. At high tide there are some cable in the way. One of the passages has even a corroded metal rod in the way so best to avoid it 🤣
There are often fishermen there and it is a problem with their lines going quite far.
Yes, on the left side it is first Auckland harbour with all the cranes, and then the downtown called Auckland CBD (for central business district). The big needle is Sky tower where you get a good 360 degrees view over the city. You can jump from it too if you're into adrenaline 😂
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tower_(Auckland)
@@kayakintro What?! Base jumping?...or bungee jumping?
@@larscrantz Not sure it's high enough for a base jump! 😁
It is a kind of a slow bungee jumping. You can also walk on top. I haven't done that, it is not really my thing! ;)
ua-cam.com/video/_Zo0D0FuVw4/v-deo.htmlsi=T6n7HcQIKj8DIp3e
How does it compare against the Fenn Bluefin-S?
It was a short test but both are very similar. The Epic is better built (solid handles, bungees, footplate that slides well) but it costs more. You can get a carbon Bluefin S for less than the V8 black tip. I don't understand why Fenn is still using a cork for a bung... It is easy to lose it. In NZ the Fenn dealer puts a sticker to close the hole. I prefer the sitting position in the V8 but this depends on your preferences. I never raced with the V8 but I raced with the Bluefin S hybrid and it was very stable despite the bad weather: ua-cam.com/video/IyIg-oQlB_k/v-deo.html
It might be time for another upgrade for me😂
🤣You have a Fenn Mako Elite and a Bluefin S! Seriously, when the water temperature is good enough try paddling the Elite only. Toughen up! 😂😂😂
@@kayakintro yes that's true but I enjoy the security of being able to stop take photos of you 🤣 without worrying about ending up in the water😅
@@nickaugust557 😂I am sure your phone is waterproof! By the way we need to organise the race with your wife.
Can you not use any leg drive? Huge amount of un realised power losses.
Giving unsolicited advice is a common etiquette mistake 😉
I actually used leg drive. Lately I have been paddling sea kayaks because of a knee problem not allowing me to push my foot on a surfski. I don’t think you can actually reach speeds like 16km/h on flat on a 43-44cm wide surfskis with just your arms, you wouldn’t have the balance.
@@kayakintro sorry it wasn't noted from the video, after all I only paddle sprint where I use a huge amount of pressure off the plate. But we tend to be closer to 20kmh.
@@conansmith3871 I was just kidding about the comment! I do like sprinting but surfskis aren’t the best for that with their rocker. It is more about taking advantages of the waves in order to do the least effort possible, for me anyway! As for the leg drive, it is only if I want to paddle very fast. I do push quite hard onto the footplate and I didn’t realise it until I injured my knee playing tennis! I had to stop every 5mn because of the sharp pain and it was compromising my balance. With sea kayaks it is so stable I don’t have this problem. Same with the Fenn Bluefin S which is quite wide. One surfski I can’t have a leg drive is the Fenn Mako Elite: its hump is quite high locking my legs and I am nearly too short (173cm) for it.
To go back to the V8, it has a hump but not too bad. A shorter paddler would do better with a V8Pro that has a lower hump.
You need to do a video about the Ruahine F1! I can’t see any and it looks pretty impressive.
Amazing if you look at the nelo quattro K1 it actually has a fair bit of rocker, decreases the wetted area.
Yes the F1 looks impressive and attracts attention but on the flat it's not that fast. Down the river however with some wash up the wings on those long river runs it's great.
The F1 is very twitchy especially as I'm light and suited to a smaller boat. It's long, very thin about 350-380mm from memory with no rocket, very resistive.
However it's not as twitchy as the top K1s, maybe a 2 primary and 3 secondary.
@@conansmith3871 The Nelo Quattro K1 is only 41 cm wide for 520 cm long. Probably the fact you sit high helps to paddle hard... if you have the balance.
Can you roll easily the F1 if you capsize? It is indeed 35 cm wide. I think that's the thinnest kayak ever. Can you sit first and then bring your legs in or do you need to slide your legs inside first?
I am looking for a multisport that's fast at sea (and also stable), something like the Swallow.