Part of the reason for this thread is to kick off some discussion on Huki's!

I have a Huki S1R which is an awesome boat and I love it. I'm far away from any place to test new ski's and I wondered if anyone had experience of both the S1R and S1X special.

I'm thinking about moving 'up' and wanted an idea of speed, stability, handling of the S1R vs S1Xs.

My current boat is a 2 year old Carbon/Kevlar model.

Any feedback would be cool!

I have a S1X Special and love it, but in big swell/chop (which I rarely ever see in Galveston TX), I would likely be faster on a more stable boat. Are you paddling in big swell or on more flat water? I think that the general rule is that if you have to brace more than once every 5 or 10 minutes, your boat is probably too tippy.

In my opinion, if you are unsure about it, just get the S1X Special with the new gull wing (training wheels).

S1R vs. S1X Special.
The S1R shines in confused water and big seas. It is more maneuverable than the S1X Special because of its greater stability and shorter length (with the 9” surfing rudder). You can turn and lean very aggressively anywhere on the bump with confidence. The greater volume in the tail helps you catch the bump and stay on them but will make you turn sideways if you have a misstep. Because you are almost 2” wider and over a foot shorter than the S1X special, you do lose about 3% on the flat water speed. That being said: my personal best mph average for a 9 mile downwind remains on the S1R (8.9 mph) and not the S1X Special that I have been using for a year now (about 1,800 miles on the boat)
The S1X Special glides from bump to bump better than the S1R but you have to use more finesse and balance. It does not turn as responsively as the S1R and if you lean it over hard while maneuvering on a bump it will slow the boat down. You can use this fact to your advantage if you are out-running the bump but the S1R and theV10 (I have about 700 miles on a V10 Standard) do not have this trait. The lower volume tail causes me to breach less often even if I am having a bad day. The higher sides of the cockpit keep waves from sloshing over you as much (improving speed) but makes getting back into the boat (side saddle style) after a capsize slightly harder.
The S1R is easier to paddle in the heaviest seas but that 3% loss of speed in the smooth sections has been enough for me to spend 90% of my paddling these last 12 months on the S1X Special. Besides, the S1X Special is a fun boat that is more stable (to me) than the Epic V10 and V10L. I will continue to race both boats depending on the seas (Makapuu Lighthouse to Portlock can be a real struggle at times).
Ray

Great feedback thanks.

My paddling is a mixture of bigger and more confused seas in the open waters North of the island of Trinidad and flatter water in the Gulf of Paria. My ambitions are to get faster in the bigger seas, so it looks like I already have the right boat for the job! I still spend time bracing in bigger seas, so that also suggests I stay with the current boat for now.

I think part of my motivation to change was to get the flame paint job option!

Thanks again.
Nigel

I have the flame paint job on my R. It's worth it.