Thanks Sing…oh to have clean waves such as those!!!
Serious, right!?! The occaisons I find glassy waves like that (with light offshore winds), I always feel like I have hit the lottery! Most times, you gotta take what is given… which usually is less optimal than those in the video.
sing
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Got out with Stratos 14.5s for the first time. Not ideal conditions with local wind swells of 5.5-6’ at 6-8 second intervals. Slight onshore winds didn’t help. Waves were pretty disorganized. It was a workout to get to the backside of the impact zone. Only got one ok front surf. A lot of crazy bongo riding. Gotto watch video and digest how to better dial the Stratos in. The Stratos is no Sterling! RIdes more like my previous Delphin, which is pretty good but not stellar. More rumination later.
sing
Indeed
Yeah… stating the obvious. But, the feel was so dramatically different than I expected. Kind of like the difference between a sports car and a jeep. Despite being shorter, the Stratos just fell sluggish to get upto speed. I know, I know… it’s a RM hull but I figure the shorter hull would give a little quicker acceleration. The Stratos can turn on the wave but, again, felt slower to initiate.
Again, to be fair, these were bigger size, short period, messy waves that seemed to just close out rather than peel. Not great for a first outing to get familiar. I have to get out again this Wednesday, when the waves are forecasted to be smaller but cleaner with longer periods of 11-12 seconds. That should give a better indication. Got to see how the Stratos perform on those before making any changes to seat placement, etc.
sing
Dang Sing, the Dagger Stratos is essentially an old model Tsunami 145 with skeg. I would never go where you go, but I definitely wouldn’t follow you in a Tsunsmi.
And its heavy.
My maiden voyage with the Dagger Stratos 14.5s. Not the best surf conditions for a first time outing with a new boat. Still better than flat. Got a workout at least.
Looking forward to the next session with better waves!
Mahalo!
sing
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Ok. Got out again today. Better waves - 3.5’@ 11 seconds. Would be even better if the wind were offshore, rather than onshore. Took a tad bit over 1 minute to get outside of the impact zone. Easy peasy compared to 3 minute plus of the previous session (motivation to keep up HITT training on the heavy bag in the gym!).
Better handling of the Stratos today. It was a matter of figuring how/where to shift body position and weight in different maneuvers. Thus, no need to do any major modifications with the seat location. Will post some more impression/thoughts later.
Mahalo!
sing
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11 second period on the East Coast…hope you buy lottery tickets today. I get ecstatic when we get 6 seconds in the Gulf of Mexico. The Stratos is an easy kayak to surf. Glad conditions are cooperating for you.
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Anything under 8 seconds makes the paddling out more of a workout…
May be you should consider chasing tanker wakes…??? 
sing