Okay, so I have lost some weight from last year, but at this point am still 6 feet and in the high 240s. I do plan to keep losing. I am lusting after a surfski and in particular, an Epic V8. The question is, will my big butt fit into that hard form-fitting bucket??? They do have the new V5 coming out, which is very fairly priced and wider, but I’d prefer to get something I won’t outgrow too fast.
Early last summer, at maybe 275lb, I tried a Stellar S18S at a demo day - and I clearly did not fit. The trouble is that everyone around here stocks kayaks, not surfskis, so trying them out is easier said than done.
If you are a wide-bodied paddler and own (or have at least run) an Epic V8, please let me know your dimensions and how it worked for you - feel free to PM me for discretion. Thanks!
Yep
Hi - yes, I have seen fatpaddler's blog, including the older posts on the V8. I may try to write him to get more details on his specs when he was in the V8. I can tell you, that I was bigger then, but when I sat in the S18S last summer, I couldn't move, and it actually hurt - basically my hips were wedged into this hard, unyielding thing that was too narrow, and no way was I going anywhere in that thing then - never left the shoreline.
You could buy one…
…and hang it on the wall in front of the treadmill as an incentive… 
I have paddled all of the above
except the V5, which I think is not worth it because it only costs about $50 less than the V7, which is faster. I don’t understand why Epic even bothered.
I am 6’4" and 225 lbs. and sort of wide-hipped. I have tested both the S18S and the V8 and can tell you the seat buckets are very similar. The V8’s is perhaps a tiny little bit less tight around the hips.
I think you would be happier with the V7, as long as you don’t mind the weight. The seat bucket is very comfortable, it is quite fast and super stable, a great starter surfski. Once you’ve lost some weight, you can move up to a faster, narrower ski.
V7
Thanks Canuka - so as you recall, the V7 has a bigger seat bucket than the V8?
Certainly the price of the V7 is very attractive. Layup-wise, I was looking at the V8 Performance, and for $2895/35lb, I could nearly get two V7s ($1495/50lb) for the same price.
Yes
The bucket is definitely wider and more comfortable on the V7.
Thanks
Great - thanks for sharing what you have learned with me. Cheers - Barry
Sounds like I need to try a V-7.
My Stellar is very tight on the hip bones.