Ever seen or, better yet, tried one of these? I wonder if the flip-up skeg in the longest model (the Frequency) helps, or is it just a gimmick? The dayhatch is also appealing, and the yak is narrower than even a kid’s rec SOT. The shortest model fits my weight best and would be easier to transport.
(If only it had been made before I bought the Perception High 5 last year. I’d be happy to give the High 5 away to a kid if he or she actually would use it. Same for the excellent but almost never-used-anymore Jackson Sidekick. That would clear out room for a new boat…)
Looks like drudgery to prone paddle that. Prone boards I have tried out were ~12 -14’ and fast. My problem with prone paddling is I have defective vertebrae in my neck and upper back, and after a session I am in pain for days. I do sometimes go for paddles on my long board until my neck starts complaining but I can kneel and paddle when that happens. Prone boards are very popular here and I often spot paddlers far off shore.
BARK makes some less expensive boards that are pretty good. The best I have paddled was a custom Infinity.
Good point about body position for neck and spine.
Might be a moot point, as Bellyak’s website appears to be out of date, with a reference to used 2021 models but nothing later than that. So this is not as new as I first thought. AND I happened upon it when I saw a Denver-area CL ad showing a Bellyak being used as a sled, among other things. There are photos of a stack of them at a municipal pool and a beach that I think is at a reservoir I used to paddle at. The advertiser calls it a “bodyboat” and price is slashed. I would guess he bought them as a dealer and then COVID came along. The boat’s colors do not match the ones on the corporate website, so probably show a different production year.
I didn’t realize there was a board designed for prone swim-paddling. Thanks for posting that. I’ll take a look at what they have.
It’s too bad the company might have closed up. The idea behind the Frequency could be modified to make something very popular, given how many people I see paddling SUPs while kneeling. SUPs are generally so wide probably suck for swim-paddling (web mitts or not).
But redesign the Frequency to be narrower, ditch the skeg that I suspect is useless (how much weathercocking would there be while horizontal along most of the board’s length anyway?), KEEP the clever two-level hatch compartment, KEEP the crucial-for-carrying-comfortably side handles, KEEP the rotomold plastic (sturdy), and give people locations to demo in various parts of the country, especially inland where there is no “surf” in the first place.
And dump the two allegedly WW versions. They look like spinal torture devices.