Stepping up from plastic

Hi all,
I currently have a light weight prs plastic. My question is, are all glass boats going to be a step up from plastic or are some entry level glass ski's not going to be that much better in terms of performance?

Sounds like you have seen some big improvement over the winter ready for the step up to composite already?!

From PRS to say glass Epic V10sport you will notice about .5 - 1km hour difference and a much easier boat to accelerate (about 5-6 kilo's lighter) I have a PRS and reckon it's about as stable as my sport was, but my opinion may not be valid as I have improved quite a bit since moving up from the sport a couple of years ago.

The PRS is a damn good ski for a plastic, I mean an elite level paddler beat most of the field of composites in the Bridge to bridge race in Perth!

Reasons to upgrade from PRS to glass or better

Lighter to carry (easier to lift on and off car)
Acceleration, less weight to get moving.
Stiffer hull (better acceleration and better power transfer)

Come down to Mandurah one Saturday morning, 7am at the Dome and have a paddle with the boys there, lots of ski's to try. The Think rep (Adam) is also down that way and would have a ski for you to demo. Get on the Mandurah Ocean Club page to contact him.

In terms of flat water speed the prs is reasonably fast. Probably similar to a Fenn xt. The biggest gain is downwind. Because of the relatively short length, flex and weight most composite skis are a lot faster or at least require less effort to catch runs. Have you tried any composites yet?

I started on a prs and found it to be a great ski to learn on before going to a glass xt. As the other guys said, you will notice carrying the ski a lot easier and it will surf a LOT better. The responsiveness in turning and catching runs is greatly improved. All round it makes for a good step up.

AR_convert wrote: Sounds like you have seen some big improvement over the winter ready for the step up to composite already?!

From PRS to say glass Epic V10sport you will notice about .5 - 1km hour difference and a much easier boat to accelerate (about 5-6 kilo's lighter) I have a PRS and reckon it's about as stable as my sport was, but my opinion may not be valid as I have improved quite a bit since moving up from the sport a couple of years ago.

The PRS is a damn good ski for a plastic, I mean an elite level paddler beat most of the field of composites in the Bridge to bridge race in Perth!

Reasons to upgrade from PRS to glass or better

Lighter to carry (easier to lift on and off car)
Acceleration, less weight to get moving.
Stiffer hull (better acceleration and better power transfer)

Come down to Mandurah one Saturday morning, 7am at the Dome and have a paddle with the boys there, lots of ski's to try. The Think rep (Adam) is also down that way and would have a ski for you to demo. Get on the Mandurah Ocean Club page to contact him.

I'll try and get down to Mandurah sometime for a paddle. You get some great down wind runs down that way. Is the Mandurah Club the same one that Colin Bartley from the oc club formed?

Dicko wrote: In terms of flat water speed the prs is reasonably fast. Probably similar to a Fenn xt. The biggest gain is downwind. Because of the relatively short length, flex and weight most composite skis are a lot faster or at least require less effort to catch runs. Have you tried any composites yet?

I haven't tried any composites yet. I'm trying to narrow down some options of what might be suitable, in my price range, and likely to find 2nd hand. At this stage I'm thinking (in noparticular order)
xt, v10 sport, stellar ses sport, custom kayaks horizon. Any others I should add or take off this list?
Btw I'm 188cm tall and only about 75kg so don't know if this makes much difference in choosing a ski.

Definitely try the Carbonology Vault. Reasonably stable, reasonably fast.

If you plan on heading down to Mandurah, yes the Mandurah Ocean Club is the club which Colin is involved.

You missed the most under-rated boat off your list - the THINK EVO II

Yep, I'm a member of MOC & also the THINK rep in WA and have boats to demo when ever suits.

Just jump on the THINK (au) webpage and follow the link to the WA dealer to arrange a time that suits.

I'd be more than happy to go over any questions you have and to show you what paddling options we have down this way.

Cheers

Adam