I recently purchased an Epic V8 Surf ski in the Ultra lay-up. I read about some nightmare stories involving that lay-up and now I am quite skittish about paddling it. Any comments and/or advice will be appreciated.
paddle it
I’d paddle it and worry about any issues should they come up.
Which Ultra Layup
are you speaking of? The first generation Ultra boats were fairly fragile, in that the outer ‘skin’ would dimple with a sharp impact. The boat weights were also significantly less than the second (and third) generation boats.
The new iteration is quite durable-significantly more than the original. That said, the Ultra layups are not intended to take the abuse given to a Performance, and certainly not a Club, layup. You need to treat them with some extra care, but that’s the price of lighter weight.
I own a couple of the Ultra layup skis, and they’re plenty robust. The V8 Ultra is a fabulous boat that does everything competently. Good choice; enjoy!
I paddle my ultra v10 all the time
I did take a small chunk out of the nose when I ran into a rock but other than that no problem. I used marine epoxy putty to fill the missing piece about the size of my pinky finger nail.
While paddling the rudder is the biggest potential for damage. watch for rocks, pilings and WEEDS. weeds just slow you down but rocks can bend the shaft or drive the rudder into the boat.
Carry it out to shin-knee deep to get in.
Put it on sand or grass not rocks or gravel.
It WILL blow away on a windy day at the beach so don’t carry it down and run back to get something. I made that mistake once.
V8 Ultra
Thanks to all who answered my question about the Ultra layup. Your kind words encouraged me to get out there and use it.
Or…
You could always sell it to me before you break it. 