- Location
- Del Mar, CA
So...this review has been a long time coming. And I've taken so much time to give my review of it because I wanted to be sure that I had sufficient time on the hull to really get used to it, and try to understand it as well as I could. I also wanted to have some other people ride it and get their feedback on it.
My hull is a little different than the typical BOB. All of my internal components are moved as far forward as possible, the motor is two inches farther forward than a typical BOB, and it is laid up thicker than most for strength. I asked them to make these changes after riding the demo BOB in Parker. My hope was the hull would be a little more balanced and plane out easier in this configuration. And I feel like this was a good modification. The next step with this hull will be to move the motor to the stock position and see how that works...but I can't ride a boat that wants to wheelie all the time.
On to the review:
Lets start with the good...and there is a lot of good associated with this hull.
This boat was designed to flip and it does that really well. I've certainly never ridden a boat that was easier to flip. So much so, that I kind of feel like it would be a good backflip trainer ski. Someone learning to flip could really make a lot of mistakes and still make it come around if they got the process 50% right.
The wide tray give you lots of leverage for foothold rolls (which I don't do all that often) which makes it really easy to roll the boat once you learn how. Even with the farther forward weight bias I have in the boat, you have to make a real effort to get your weight forward to properly roll the boat and keep the nose low. Surf stance rolls require a really dramatic forward weight transfer also, which make for some cool feeling rolls but limits your ability to hit a wave really late on a roll.
The ease with which the boat flips makes under flips really easy also and allows me focus a little more on getting a good sideways rotation.
More positive aspects of my boat are that the hull itself is really solid and the build quality on the hull is quite good. I'm not concerned with breaking the hull...which is nice.
My boat also has a longer than stock intake cavity. It was lengthened two inches over stock and we stretched a WORX intake grate to fit. The boat stays hooked up really well and I have had some fun flipping little white water sections.
The boat being as short as it is makes it a fun ski to play around on in flat water...at lower speeds. It also gives it the ability to be turned very quickly in the pocket of a wave or in to a section. I also like the over all feeling of being on a short hull.
Problems:
Just to qualify what I am about to say. This hull was designed to be an inexpensive platform that would allow someone to flip on flat water with a limited setup. And it seems to do a good job of accomplishing that goal. The rest of this review is just my opinion and I may well not have any idea what I am talking about. I'm also a pretty firm believer that one can adjust to anything and succeed on it.
But it is quite a challenging boat to ride in the surf for a couple of reasons.
Lets start with handling:
I think almost all of the handling problems come from the protrusion on the bottom of the hull in the front. Just forward of where the motor sits, the hull sort of a bulb that sticks down below the rest of the bottom of the hull. When going slow or when this part of the hull is out of the water, there are no problems. But when this part of the hull has pressure on it, like when you are headed down the face of a wave, or if you are decelerating from anything over like 15mph...problems arise.
I have really taken a pounding a few times when headed down a steep section of a wave and the boat decides to take a quick turn to either the right or left. The same thing occurs if you hit a section late or hop off a section...when you land, the boat is going to go one way or the other. I feel like this happens because the protrusion on the front of the hull acts like a fin and will pull the boat in the direction of the flow of water.
Doing a typical bottom turn on the boat is pretty difficult. This boat likes to be turned flat and once it is leaned over, it does not like to transition back to upright and over to the other side too quickly. Once the boat is leaned over it really kind of likes to stay there, unless you are turning it really hard...which bring us to an interesting couple of points.
The nice thing about the bulb on the bottom of the boat is it really does allow you to pivot the ski around it when you turn, which is pretty cool and allows for some really tight snaps. But I would rather pivot the ski around a sponson on the side of the boat and have the ability to control it by flattening the boat out if I choose to. With the bulb on the bottom, it takes away some of your ability to do a hard turn without the boat pivoting around on you. I realize this is stuff that may not make a lot of difference to most people, but for the way I ride it makes a big difference.
I rode the BOB back to back with my 08 SJ and just basically tested the difference in turning. I was on glass smooth, fresh, flat water and I switched back and forth from my 08SJ to the BOB and did basically the same things which was carving turns. Both boats are basically identical power/motor wise, and have the same setup as far as steering goes. One of the glaring differences between the two boats is that during a hard carving turn on the SJ, the boat wants to right itself, where the BOB wants to fall over. And when pushed too hard the BOB wants to spin where the SJ will just slide a little.
Riding the boat back to back also really makes the SJ feel like a long narrow ski in comparison to BOB.
The other issue I've had with the BOB, is that off-throttle from any kind of speed kicks my ass. I've been rushing to a wave more times that I can count and ended up on my head. For me it is super important to be able to carry some speed when I ride, and I just can't on this hull.
I really feel like all of these problems could be resolved by eliminating the bulb on the front of the boat, I would also like to see what a set of Tubbies do on the ski. In my opinion, there is a big difference between having a hull that has a tapered shape to it and some lines the emulate a sponson, and having a real sponson on the boat.
Rear weight bias:
Even though we have moved lots of components forward, you still have to put lots of weight over the front to roll properly. And this is not really that big of an issue unless you are trying to roll late off a wave. To do a roll as high as possible, you need to hit the wave quite late...and that is just really hard to do on this boat and still make it roll flat. Over all this is not that big of a deal.
Hood:
The hull on my BOB is super solid. And I'm kind of surprised the hood is as thin as it is. But I should have stressed to them that it was important to make the hood thick as well. I think the hood on my boat broke the second ride. It was in a spot that was easy enough to fix, but it is still noticeable. And it kind of sucks to have a new boat the breaks right a way. But I taked to Derrick and they are aware that this part of the hood was an issue and they have fixed it on subsequent boats. I'm not sure if I will be getting a new hood or not.
I drilled some vent holes in the back of the hood above where the stock air vent/drains are located and it was pretty thin there also, so I don't have a ton of confidence that the hood will not break in other areas. Having said that, the design of the hood with it's rounded lines seems like it will do a good job of dispersing pressure better than if they were flat, so it may be just fine. The air vents were necessary because I am not running a much air though the pole. I think if you are using dual breathers in the pole, you probably don't need any more air...but we did.
Overall:
I think this hull does what it was designed to do quite well. It flips, and I bet if I had trim and some skill I could flat water flip it with the mild 760 we have in it. But I don't have either. If you are looking for a good flat water boat to improve your skills on I think this is a good choice for you.
Surf wise, if you occasionally ride in small surf and would rather just jump with the boat, I think you would be happy also. Or if you think a double back flip sounds like a good idea and you are on a budget...again, this seems like a good choice. As it is now, I hate to say that I can't recommend as a surf boat simply because of the handling problems. I've ridden the ski from 1 foot to 10 foot + and smaller stuff is certainly where it excels. Bigger waves on this hull provided me a good lesson in humility. I'm not saying it can't be ridden or ridden well in the surf...but for me super jet is still the best bet for an all round surf ski. The SJ sure does feel big in comparison though.
The next step with the boat will be to move the motor back and see how that works. I've also been toying with the idea of taking out the bulb in the front and adding some tubbies...but before we do that, hopefully we will have some summer surf that will allow me to see just how easy this boat is to flip...twice.
So...there it is, feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to be open and honest with my answers as I have been with the review. And again, this is all just my opinion. I may be 100% off base...would not be the first time I've been wrong. And may of the things that are important to me are not that important to most people. Also, I want people to keep in mind that I asked for some changes in this hull, and those might be the entire cause of my problems.
I think what the guys at the Ski Clinic have done is really admirable and I am very hopeful it will help our sport continue to grow. This is a good solid product at a very reasonable price point. And if you are a flat water rider on a super jet that wants to improve your skills this hull could be a great way to help your progression.
I apologize in advance if this review offends anyone.
My hull is a little different than the typical BOB. All of my internal components are moved as far forward as possible, the motor is two inches farther forward than a typical BOB, and it is laid up thicker than most for strength. I asked them to make these changes after riding the demo BOB in Parker. My hope was the hull would be a little more balanced and plane out easier in this configuration. And I feel like this was a good modification. The next step with this hull will be to move the motor to the stock position and see how that works...but I can't ride a boat that wants to wheelie all the time.
On to the review:
Lets start with the good...and there is a lot of good associated with this hull.
This boat was designed to flip and it does that really well. I've certainly never ridden a boat that was easier to flip. So much so, that I kind of feel like it would be a good backflip trainer ski. Someone learning to flip could really make a lot of mistakes and still make it come around if they got the process 50% right.
The wide tray give you lots of leverage for foothold rolls (which I don't do all that often) which makes it really easy to roll the boat once you learn how. Even with the farther forward weight bias I have in the boat, you have to make a real effort to get your weight forward to properly roll the boat and keep the nose low. Surf stance rolls require a really dramatic forward weight transfer also, which make for some cool feeling rolls but limits your ability to hit a wave really late on a roll.
The ease with which the boat flips makes under flips really easy also and allows me focus a little more on getting a good sideways rotation.
More positive aspects of my boat are that the hull itself is really solid and the build quality on the hull is quite good. I'm not concerned with breaking the hull...which is nice.
My boat also has a longer than stock intake cavity. It was lengthened two inches over stock and we stretched a WORX intake grate to fit. The boat stays hooked up really well and I have had some fun flipping little white water sections.
The boat being as short as it is makes it a fun ski to play around on in flat water...at lower speeds. It also gives it the ability to be turned very quickly in the pocket of a wave or in to a section. I also like the over all feeling of being on a short hull.
Problems:
Just to qualify what I am about to say. This hull was designed to be an inexpensive platform that would allow someone to flip on flat water with a limited setup. And it seems to do a good job of accomplishing that goal. The rest of this review is just my opinion and I may well not have any idea what I am talking about. I'm also a pretty firm believer that one can adjust to anything and succeed on it.
But it is quite a challenging boat to ride in the surf for a couple of reasons.
Lets start with handling:
I think almost all of the handling problems come from the protrusion on the bottom of the hull in the front. Just forward of where the motor sits, the hull sort of a bulb that sticks down below the rest of the bottom of the hull. When going slow or when this part of the hull is out of the water, there are no problems. But when this part of the hull has pressure on it, like when you are headed down the face of a wave, or if you are decelerating from anything over like 15mph...problems arise.
I have really taken a pounding a few times when headed down a steep section of a wave and the boat decides to take a quick turn to either the right or left. The same thing occurs if you hit a section late or hop off a section...when you land, the boat is going to go one way or the other. I feel like this happens because the protrusion on the front of the hull acts like a fin and will pull the boat in the direction of the flow of water.
Doing a typical bottom turn on the boat is pretty difficult. This boat likes to be turned flat and once it is leaned over, it does not like to transition back to upright and over to the other side too quickly. Once the boat is leaned over it really kind of likes to stay there, unless you are turning it really hard...which bring us to an interesting couple of points.
The nice thing about the bulb on the bottom of the boat is it really does allow you to pivot the ski around it when you turn, which is pretty cool and allows for some really tight snaps. But I would rather pivot the ski around a sponson on the side of the boat and have the ability to control it by flattening the boat out if I choose to. With the bulb on the bottom, it takes away some of your ability to do a hard turn without the boat pivoting around on you. I realize this is stuff that may not make a lot of difference to most people, but for the way I ride it makes a big difference.
I rode the BOB back to back with my 08 SJ and just basically tested the difference in turning. I was on glass smooth, fresh, flat water and I switched back and forth from my 08SJ to the BOB and did basically the same things which was carving turns. Both boats are basically identical power/motor wise, and have the same setup as far as steering goes. One of the glaring differences between the two boats is that during a hard carving turn on the SJ, the boat wants to right itself, where the BOB wants to fall over. And when pushed too hard the BOB wants to spin where the SJ will just slide a little.
Riding the boat back to back also really makes the SJ feel like a long narrow ski in comparison to BOB.
The other issue I've had with the BOB, is that off-throttle from any kind of speed kicks my ass. I've been rushing to a wave more times that I can count and ended up on my head. For me it is super important to be able to carry some speed when I ride, and I just can't on this hull.
I really feel like all of these problems could be resolved by eliminating the bulb on the front of the boat, I would also like to see what a set of Tubbies do on the ski. In my opinion, there is a big difference between having a hull that has a tapered shape to it and some lines the emulate a sponson, and having a real sponson on the boat.
Rear weight bias:
Even though we have moved lots of components forward, you still have to put lots of weight over the front to roll properly. And this is not really that big of an issue unless you are trying to roll late off a wave. To do a roll as high as possible, you need to hit the wave quite late...and that is just really hard to do on this boat and still make it roll flat. Over all this is not that big of a deal.
Hood:
The hull on my BOB is super solid. And I'm kind of surprised the hood is as thin as it is. But I should have stressed to them that it was important to make the hood thick as well. I think the hood on my boat broke the second ride. It was in a spot that was easy enough to fix, but it is still noticeable. And it kind of sucks to have a new boat the breaks right a way. But I taked to Derrick and they are aware that this part of the hood was an issue and they have fixed it on subsequent boats. I'm not sure if I will be getting a new hood or not.
I drilled some vent holes in the back of the hood above where the stock air vent/drains are located and it was pretty thin there also, so I don't have a ton of confidence that the hood will not break in other areas. Having said that, the design of the hood with it's rounded lines seems like it will do a good job of dispersing pressure better than if they were flat, so it may be just fine. The air vents were necessary because I am not running a much air though the pole. I think if you are using dual breathers in the pole, you probably don't need any more air...but we did.
Overall:
I think this hull does what it was designed to do quite well. It flips, and I bet if I had trim and some skill I could flat water flip it with the mild 760 we have in it. But I don't have either. If you are looking for a good flat water boat to improve your skills on I think this is a good choice for you.
Surf wise, if you occasionally ride in small surf and would rather just jump with the boat, I think you would be happy also. Or if you think a double back flip sounds like a good idea and you are on a budget...again, this seems like a good choice. As it is now, I hate to say that I can't recommend as a surf boat simply because of the handling problems. I've ridden the ski from 1 foot to 10 foot + and smaller stuff is certainly where it excels. Bigger waves on this hull provided me a good lesson in humility. I'm not saying it can't be ridden or ridden well in the surf...but for me super jet is still the best bet for an all round surf ski. The SJ sure does feel big in comparison though.
The next step with the boat will be to move the motor back and see how that works. I've also been toying with the idea of taking out the bulb in the front and adding some tubbies...but before we do that, hopefully we will have some summer surf that will allow me to see just how easy this boat is to flip...twice.
So...there it is, feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to be open and honest with my answers as I have been with the review. And again, this is all just my opinion. I may be 100% off base...would not be the first time I've been wrong. And may of the things that are important to me are not that important to most people. Also, I want people to keep in mind that I asked for some changes in this hull, and those might be the entire cause of my problems.
I think what the guys at the Ski Clinic have done is really admirable and I am very hopeful it will help our sport continue to grow. This is a good solid product at a very reasonable price point. And if you are a flat water rider on a super jet that wants to improve your skills this hull could be a great way to help your progression.
I apologize in advance if this review offends anyone.
