Re: [Paddlewise] Whitewater vs. Surf boats

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joshua Teitelbaum" <teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il>
To: <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net>
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 1:53 AM
Subject: [Paddlewise] Whitewater vs. Surf boats


> Dear Friends:
>
> Now that my Romany Explorer is on its way from Wales, my thoughts are
> turning to surf kayaks.  I love surfing the Romany, but I would like a
> dedicated kayak for surf.  I've looked at a lot of web pages, and it seems
> that a lot of WW kayaks double as surf kayaks.  Are they in fact
> different?

Yes, whitewater boats have moderate amount of rocker front and back, so that
they can be used on a river. Surf kayaks have very little rocker in the back
for maximum speed on a wave face, and huge amounts of rocker in the front to
prevent perling when dropping in. Surf kayaks also tend to have very flat
bottoms and sharp rails, which enhance carving and spinning but would be
absolute hell on an eddyline in a river. Surf kayaks also have very low
volume sterns, with the entire back deck often being submerged when sitting
in flatwater. This is a bitch for paddling, but heaven on wave face.

There is no doubt that surf kayaks elevate to a high level of performance on
the wave compared to even the best whitewater kayak. But surf kayaks are
also somewhat demanding of skill and perhaps not the best for someone
learning to surf -- that depends on your determination and aggressiveness.
Whitewater kayaks are more forgiving for beginners, but somewhat limiting in
terms of performance. That being said, there are plenty of people who never
experience this limitation, as your skill has to reach a certain level
first. This skill includes knowing how to read a wave and carve down the
line. I doubt it would be easy to learn this essential skill in a slow
whitewater boat.

As far as British kayaks go, I have owned a Mega Jester Rio, which is an
excellent surfing specific craft... probably one of the best Internation
Class surf boats made. A friend has the Mega Xta-C, which is also an
excellent boat and probably pretty good for a beginner. I have also owned
the Pyranha Inazone 240 whitewater boat, which is really quite good in the
surf. If you decide to go for a whitewater boat, get an Inazone for a great
compromise of surfability and forgiveness. Still, it doesn't compare to a
real surf kayak. If you want something surf specific, the two Mega boats I
mentioned are probably your best bet. The new Pyranha surf kayak coming out
later this year may be an option if you are very agressive and want to learn
high-performance surfing no matter how painful at first.

I currently am between surf kayaks, though I am using an excellent
compromize... a Riot Prankster, which is whitewater boat but with the option
of screwing in plastic fins for the surf. They really make a wonderful
difference in carving and down-the-line speed over non-finned whitewater
kayaks. I think all Riot playboats have this feature as standard now, and it
is a great compromise.

Here in the holy land I think I can get Prijon, Pyranha, and
> perhaps Mega.  Can anyone point to specific models worth investigating?
>
> As for skill level, I can surf the Romany Explorer pretty well, but I'm at
> the "boy, I can surf without capsizing!" stage and do not really maneuver
> the thing.  I've tried a bathtub sit-on-top (JetSurf?) and had trouble
> getting out through the waves.  I basically hated the thing, but I was
cold
> and tired.  The seating position killed my tailbone, too.  Anyway, I'll go
> for a closed-deck surf boat.
>

yeah go with closed deck, unless you really do not want to learn to roll.
There are some nice surfing sit-on-tops available these days though.

Cheers,
Kevin

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