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? 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. Josh ============================================================================== Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow Tel: [972] 3-640-6448 Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and Fax: [972] 3-641-5802 African Studies Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel E-mail:teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il www.dayan.org ============================================================================== *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In addition to what you pick up from paddlewise, you may want to try Boater Talk Forums at http://discuss.boatertalk.com/; check out the Surf Zone and Whitewater General Discussion. Members of these groups regularly review different surf specific craft and more generalized boats. Here is a link to some surf kayak reviews http://www.mindspring.com/~stowehol/boats.htm. Another link for reviews: http://paddling.net/Reviews/Kayaks.phtml . Good luck and enjoy, Craig ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joshua Teitelbaum" <teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il> To: <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net> Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 4:53 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? Here in the holy land I think I can get Prijon, Pyranha, and > perhaps Mega. Can anyone point to specific models worth investigating? > Snip *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I've paddled a Riot bogie. It's one of the few surf only plastic boats I've seen. Pyranha is going to release one mid year and I've seen photos but that's it. I've heard it's going to have retractable fins. What every you go with fins will make carving easier and I would recommend them. If you looking for high end check out PS Composites. They make the Mako http://www.customkayak.com/html/mako_surf_kayaks.html JFF >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? 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. > >Josh > > > > >============================================================================== >Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow Tel: [972] 3-640-6448 >Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and Fax: [972] 3-641-5802 > African Studies >Tel Aviv University >Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel >E-mail:teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il >www.dayan.org >============================================================================== > >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed >here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire >responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. >Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net >Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net >Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ >*************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> 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? Here in the holy land I think I can get Prijon, Pyranha, and > perhaps Mega. Can anyone point to specific models worth investigating? > I guess a lot of this depends on what kind of surfing you want to do. It would appear that you are looking for more performance then your Romany. Virtually any smaller white water boat will offer this. One of my favorite surf boats is an old Perception Saber, which is no longer made. I get a lot of abuse from other paddlers about my choice of boat, but I don't care, I like it. Of course if you want to compete, or just really do some major shredding, then you'll want to look at something along the lines of a wave ski, or a surf kayak, which is really little more then a wave ski with a cockpit. These are designed like surf boards and can be really wild on a wave once you get used to it. As for which is the best, well, I know paddle craft surfers who are continually going through boats in search of the perfect ride. I've surfed just about everything I can get my hands on and I can tell you that it's all fun and challenging. But I guess I'm not the purist that some of these other surf rats are. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Very informative, Scott. Thanks! Through my reading I've finally found out the difference between the wave ski and the surf kayak, and learning the surfer talk, like "shredding," and "dropping in." I think I will go for a closed-top surf kayak, one with a "planing hull." The Riot Boogie (http://www.riotkayaks.com/riot/pages/f_kayak.html) looks really good, and I await the Pyranha surf kayak. At 15:10 13/03/01, KiAyker_at_aol.com wrote: > I guess a lot of this depends on what kind of surfing you want to do. It >would appear that you are looking for more performance then your Romany. >Virtually any smaller white water boat will offer this. One of my favorite >surf boats is an old Perception Saber, which is no longer made. I get a lot >of abuse from other paddlers about my choice of boat, but I don't care, I >like it. > Of course if you want to compete, or just really do some major shredding, >then you'll want to look at something along the lines of a wave ski, or a >surf kayak, which is really little more then a wave ski with a cockpit. These >are designed like surf boards and can be really wild on a wave once you get >used to it. ============================================================================== Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow Tel: [972] 3-640-6448 Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and Fax: [972] 3-641-5802 African Studies Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel E-mail:teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il www.dayan.org ============================================================================== *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- 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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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