Go Big or Go Home......V8 to V14

Icebergs? Freaking icebergs!!!???, - no thanks!

"At a kayak cruising speed of 7-9knots (14-16km/hr)".

"Cruising speed"? Adam van Koeverden is that you...?

I'm with you redback. No stinkin way! I mean, I looooooove paddling but not that much.
I'll keep my wetsuit, small lakes and river. Leave bodies of water like that for the warm weather.

Daytime temperatures here are eventually going to drop into the low 70's, so I may have to think about purchasing a dry suit as well.

Saturday's outing in my new SEL turned out to be the best one yet. This time I paddled so smoothly that there was almost no rocking of the hull at medium power levels. I think I'm actually more stable in the boat now than I was in my SR! The trick, I think, was keeping my eyes fixed on the horizon and using fairly short paddle strokes at a higher cadence.

One thing I need to consider is adding some padding on the sides. At the moment, the loose fit between my hips and the sides of the seat makes it necessary to press my legs against the gunwales to keep the boat from moving around underneath me. If I could free my legs from having to do that duty, it would improve my leg drive. I don't know where these pads can be purchased, but I'll try using strips of foam rubber in the meantime.

Stellar sells surf ski hip pads (item #2105). Retail cost is $38/pair. If you're in the USA and can't find them or your local dealer doesn't have them, let me know and I can order them for you and have them sent directly to you. My web site with contact info is www.riverbearracing.com.

red_pepper wrote: Stellar sells surf ski hip pads (item #2105). Retail cost is $38/pair. If you're in the USA and can't find them or your local dealer doesn't have them, let me know and I can order them for you and have them sent directly to you. My web site with contact info is www.riverbearracing.com.

How do they attach to the hull? Do they have an adhesive backing?

I haven't actually seen them, so I asked Dave Thomas (co-owner of Stellar) what they were like, and here's his reply: "They come with Velcro tape to adhere to your desired location, so you can remove the pads during transport. They are a nice neoprene pouch with the logo and then 3-4 leaves of closed cell foam to trim it out."

So it's been a while since anyone posted to this thread however I thought it would warrant an update. In the past year and a half (since the last post), a few things have happened. I have sold both the V8 and V14. The V8 was a great winter boat but normal paddling felt to sluggish. The V14 was nice but at the time, I felt like I wasn't having any fun. I was so mentally focused when on the ski that I was missing the "fun" part of paddling.

Since then, I have owned a 2G Stellar SEL and a Nelo 550 which I still have. The SEL was a good step for me. I had enough secondary stability to save me from swimming but was very loose initially that it would let me know when I was off balance. All in all a nice ski but just not quite right for me.

I bought the 550 last summer and like this ski a lot. Great secondary stability but still loose on the primary.

In the end, both these ski enabled me to focus on my paddle technique enough where I could figure things out without getting wet all the time. Couple that with tearing my Achilles 3 months ago I got a lot of Speedstroke erg time to refine my cadence.

Well, I got the itch again and bought a used V14 ultra about 3 weeks ago. I took it out for the first time yesterday and again this morning before work for a couple of 6 mile stints. I was amazed when I first got in the ski yesterday. I was expecting to twitch and wiggle like a baby learning to walk. NOPE! I was amazing settled in the ski. No once did I feel like I was going to swim. Between the skis I had been paddling and the work I had done on my stroke, I had no issues. I actually enjoyed my paddle. This morning was more of the same. A bit windier which create some neglectful ripples but now issues. I can get full rotation and really put full power into my stroke. Hallelujah!

Biggest points I have been working on are:
1) My exit. Previously I was pulling all the way until just before the exit and sometimes during it which would throw me off balance. Now I focus on power right as the blade is buried and then let of as my bottom hand approaches my thigh to prepare for a clean exit.
2) Reaching for the catch. I found that focusing on when driving with the one leg, releasing the other. This helps my torso rotate and set up for a good catch the next time. It also keeps me from throwing my hips to the side and putting me off balance. My body stays centered over the ski.

Well, I've typed enough. hopefully someone else finds this helpful. Mahalo

Anyone have an epic weedless rudder laying around they don't need? Elliptical rudder is fine most of the time but weeds are killing me on the lake I train at.