SOT Drivers!

What do you think of this “Spear”?



http://www.surfskis.com/models.html



Do you think it would be pretty fast? Faster than a QCC600 maybe? Pretty good in wind and waves?



Let’s not talk about the color.



You out there, afolpe?

Why not look at an XT, Mark 1,
Huki, etc? The Spear may be a perfectly decent boat, but if you’re looking at surfskis, why not go ahead and look at surfskis instead of this funky little thing with 3-5’ lopped off from normal ski dimensions?

Storage Space Is An Issue

– Last Updated: May-26-05 9:46 PM EST –

I'd have to be really creative to get more than 18 feet in my garage.

I have never paddled a surfski. The only SOT I ever paddled was a very wide tandem. I AM interested in getting a fast, workout boat for the local lake... and I'm a competitive bastard who'd like to ALWAYS be able to go faster than my buddies.

Is there such a thing as a surfski demo day somewhere?

Hmmm
Don’t think you’re going to find a demo day. Might be easier to do a race and then bum a test paddle from some of your competitors.



Another shorter, ski-like boat you might consider is the Isthmus. A few of the Florida people on this board have them or used to. I have no idea how it compares to the Futura you’re looking at, but a longer waterline might make up for the wider beam.

spear
looks like it might be a fun boat, especially with the 18 ft rule. i have a very old, heavy fututa 2 that i keep up at my father’s house- it’s a fun boat, and about as fast or a bit faster than the Q700. the futura 2 is a bit longer than this one, so i would guess this would be a bit slower, although that’s not always a perfect rule (hull shape, etc). you should check out the venturesports.com site and talk to bruce- he has lots of good ideas and may have some unlisted boats that are worth talking about (south african stuff). he’s also east coast, which is better for shipping, etc.



andrew

Thanks

– Last Updated: May-27-05 7:08 AM EST –

I'll check out the Isthmus. I think Iceman paddles one.

I'll do a little more Futura and Venture Sport research also. The spear also looked good to me because of the low volume. I weigh between 160 and 165 and don't need 300+ pounds of capacity. I feel like a bobber in a high volume boat.

JackL has been telling me to go do a race. Guess I'll have to enter the 'old dudes in Tempests' category.

Ok, I found the Isthmus specs:

Isthmus = 17 ft. X 21 in.

Spear = 16 ft. X 19 in.

The Spear is a little sleeker.

check out the huki s1-a
a superfast ski for a smaller paddler. that’s a top end ski with a great reputation.



andrew

spec ski
if you want speed you may be disapointed with a slower boat. I got a futura II and quickly outgrew it and was sorry that I bought it. I have 3 inches between garage door and end of ski now. I would get exact measurements if youve got 19 feet you could get fenn tarpoon which is spec ski has max length of 19 feet. If you will be paddling for exercise on a lake or mostly flatwater could consider a flatwater boat beginer icf boat. Ski are great for openwater not made for flatwater. They do ok in flats but there are better boats.

in terms of demos there are not really much in terms of organized demos but there are opportunitys at races to try boats. There is a race in Edenton June 18th I will be there but will be in sprint boat. In eastern Va we have a series of races several makos and one xt and mark 1 that regularly attend that you could try.

eugene

Kudzu, I have to ask myself what
an aging Ga. redneck wants with a surf ski? I am an aging SC redneck and have been interested for awhile. I contacted Futura with a question and Vince is ready to ship.

A riding lawnmower might be more practical.

demo
you are both welcome to come check out my ski (mark 1) if you are in the atlanta area. the only thing is this- most skis are sized for you and non-adjustable. i’m 5’11 with a 29" inseam, so if you are much bigger than that, you are pretty well out of luck (sorry string!). smaller is ok, down to perhaps 5’5-6". i’ve also recently acquired an icf k1 (jaguar), which you could check out if icf boats are of any interest.



andrew

spear
you know, looking at the spear, it looks like it has the exact same low volume bow as my old futura. the newer futura 2’s have a higher volume bow. the low volume one dives into waves and is pretty slow upwind into wind waves. ask which bow the spear has. vince is a bit of a salesman, btw- “trust, but verify”, as reagan said.



andrew

You Read My Mind
You’re talking about the boat right next to the Spear on the Futura web page, right? 18’4" X 16" ? The paddler size and weight that’s mentioned fits me very closely. I bet I could store it.



Sure would be nice to try one out. Wonder how tippy it would be.

Thank You

– Last Updated: May-27-05 9:10 AM EST –

eulink. Edenton might work out well. I could visit LIV2 while I was there. It would be great to feel how these fast boats handle. I'll send you an email if I can come.

String! Ah keep tellin' ya, it ain't Jawja. It's Nawth Callahna! Ah may be agING, but ah ain't agED yet.

Seriously... I have biked and yaked with gentlemen 60 yrs+ and 70yrs+ who can FLY. I want to be like them when I grow up. There's the competition thing. In my little community there's a growing group of sickos (I'm one) who get on road bikes about 4 times a week and try to crush and demoralize one another. It's great. I think it's time to take the Nikita Kruschev "We will bury you" spirit to the water.

Thanks, Andrew, for the offer to let me try your Mark 1. I have family and friends around Atlanta and some vacation time coming around. I'll send you an email if it looks doable. The size might work.. I'm 5'9" and my Levi's inseam is 30". (kinda leggy).

k1

– Last Updated: May-27-05 9:00 AM EST –

Sweet, I didn't know you picked up a K1. Have you gotten to paddle it around? How do you like it? I was thinking about getting an XT, but on the other hand I have been looking at some sort of K1 as an alternative..

just got it last night
and i’m on call until 6am saturday. hope to get out a few times over the long weekend- i suspect a certain amount of swimming will be involved here. i’m looking forward to learning to paddle this thing.



af

k1 vs ski
i have found that k1 allows me to feel what I am doing with forward stroke much more so than with ski. The eaffect of every movement (paddle angle torso rotation pumping with legs use of opposite arm position of head etc…) is magnified in k1 where and now seems subdued in ski. I am an FP and don’t do hospital so I take pager and cell phone in waterproof bag made by voyager with me on call( you can actually talk on phone through bag without opening it) and use grease marker to scrible notes on boat.

you will love k1

i like that
i’m a surgical pathologist, specializing in sarcomas. we couldn’t really be more apart for people in the same profession, could we? i used to take call as a resident in seattle in my kayak- cell phone and pager, paddle right to the hospital if i had to.



i’m looking forward to really learning to get my legs involved with the stroke. i’m an ex-serious cyclist, and if i could ever really nail this, i think i could be really fast (i’m decent now, but there’s lots of room for improvement…)



take care,

andrew

I bet
I bet you’ll be fine on it in no time. I have a feeling that I’d like K1. I love my ski and am getting much much better, but I have a little trouble getting my hips/legs really involved. Not sure if it’s the low seat or leg position or something else. I paddled my Mako with 1.5" of padding on it the other day and I liked the feeling of the added height, and didn’t fall in…though it was glassy that day. I’m sure a 6" wake would’ve eaten me.


Futura = Huki?
I see the Futura S1-A.

I see the Huki S1 - A.



Both designed by John Dixon.



Parallel universes?

Futura is selling Huki designs
I think they add a bit of a mark-up too, although I might be wrong on that. I’m not sure their build quality is as good as Huki. I’d stick with the source.



af