Best spot on a V8 to attach an ankle leash? Strength of center anchor spot?

Silly question, but how strong is that little metal anchor spot near  the bailer, which is a clip-on spot? (on the Gen2 V8)

I've seen paddle leashes attached to it, but when I was surfing today I got buried and dumped, and the paddle leash broke, and was left with a run-away ski, up to the beach, so want to attach an actual ankle leash.

Is that pin/anchor point  strong enough to attach an ankle leash to, or should I try attaching to one of the handles etc...?

I don’t live in a place where I can surf beach waves, but my understanding is most people do not use a leash in the surfzone, as being tied to a ski that is getting pummeled by a wave could wreck your knee or drag you underwater. 

zachhandler wrote: I don’t live in a place where I can surf beach waves, but my understanding is most people do not use a leash in the surfzone, as being tied to a ski that is getting pummeled by a wave could wreck your knee or drag you underwater. 

Surf's not big here, nothing dangerous, and I can't afford to replace a ski. My heart sank watching it get pushed up to shore the other day.

Wondering how strong that attachment point is. 

Just think for a moment about how much force even a small wave can generate. Water weighs about 1 kilogram per litre (a tiny bit less for salt water). Even a 0.5 metre wave will have hundreds of kilos of water pushing your ski away from you in the event of a capsize. Even if the leash and the anchor point could withstand that force (which of course they certainly can not) do you really want that force transferred to your knee joint? It is universally accepted that you do not use a leash in the surf. In fact these craft are not really designed to be paddled in the surf. Many of us find ourselves paddling in and out through the surf from time to time but we use extreme caution and get through as quick as we can. If you want to play in the surf zone you would be better off paddling a SLSA spec ski which (among other differences) do not have leash anchor points.

Yes, the leash attachment point is very strong, stronger than your joints. Replacing a ski is MUCH cheaper than an ankle  joint or knee joint.
Never have the leash on through the surf zone!
And if you are catching waves, it WILL always end in tears. There are skis designed for this, they are stronger and have the correct shape.

Ranga wrote: Yes, the leash attachment point is very strong, stronger than your joints. Replacing a ski is MUCH cheaper than an ankle  joint or knee joint.
Never have the leash on through the surf zone!
And if you are catching waves, it WILL always end in tears. There are skis designed for this, they are stronger and have the correct shape.

Thanks! That's the main thing I was wondering.  I'm not surfing the sk regularlyi per-se, but even if I fall off in rough ocean, I don't wanna swim miles back. 

Not gonna debate the pros and cons of a leash on a ski or SUP etc... Just want to know how strong the thing is.

So what is good for skiing in the surf?  there's only a few days a year here with waves above 3 feet, so I want something to occasionally paddle in and out of surf zones to ride waves. Surfboards are right out 95% of the time here, and my balance is not great either. Have tried paddling a SUP like a ski in surf before, but they don't punch through waves on the way out the way a ski does. There are no "breaks" where I live, all beach break, so if you can't paddle through it, you aren't getting out.

I'm a yank, in the US, and surfskis here are as rare as zebras... it's just a bunch of fat-@sses here on plastic fishing kayaks. I'm on a tight budget. 1k for me is like 10k or 100k for most guys my age.

Dont know if its just me but I always used to attach my epic coli leash to the foot strap on my old ski. When I got a new V10 G3 I tried using that point you speak of but found the leash annoying me bunching up under my calf fouling leg extension and also wrapping itself around the bailer leaver and inadvertently opening/ closing it. So ended up going back to foot strap mount. Which I dont really like either as it gets in the way when mounting and putting foot in strap...Dunno maybe i'm doing something wrong.

If you leash paddle to boat you can use that to restrain boat and let it go easily if pull is too strong. The paddle being attached to boat will act as a sea anchor to reduce it drifting away. With smaller kayaks having that paddle leash attached to nose with a breakaway connection at cockpit will cause the boat to spin around nose into the wave minimising resistance on boat and easier to retrieve. This may be unwieldy on a long ocean ski though.

Downside of not leashing when launching is obviously wrecking ski when launching from a rocky shore and also simply forgetting to reattach leash once clear of breakers. I have done whole sessions without realising that i never reattached leash. The latter can be avoided if you clip to paddle on launching then transfer the clip from paddle to your leg strap when underway. That way you will be attached somehow and you will be able to see clearly that you are attached and where