best freestyle hull for rec use as well

[motoman96]

Since your in Canada,you ought to check out steve-uk's Rok hull.IMHO it is the best bang for the buck.And Steve is a straight up dealing guy.

The rok is a great all around ski,cruise,jump,freestyle.

I have a brand new carbon Rok hull for sale at the moment....

 

[Matt_E]

Absolutely. For a turn key boat, the Rickter and Bob hulls are awesome choices. I'll be the first to admit that you have to put quite a bit of work into a Superfreak. Gawd, I spent six weekends on my paint job.
The end result is much better, though.

I would still love to ride an XFS. I really liked how the FR2 handles in surf. Probably my second favorite ride next to my own Freak.

 

[Turbosauce74]

For the price and customer service you cant go wrong with the bob. Only people who havent rode a bob before would say you cant rec ride it. Rickters just look nice thats about all the got going for them.....

 

[T Curtis]

Rickter fs2

 

[raytherace]

only people who havent rode a bob before would say you cant rec ride it.

x2

 

[DK-Freestyle]

Let's compare apples to apples here.
The glass Freak for $4,800 includes the hood (and the pole bracket and all hardware).
I think the $800 for paint is high if you do it yourself. I bought nothing but HOK paint (some of the most expensive paint you can buy, I wish I hadn't) and I spent less than $500.
Of course, if you have someone else do it then $800 is too low of a figure.

In any event, you're looking at maybe $5,500 for a painted & turfed glass Freak that will weigh in at 78lbs hull + 10lb hood and it won't need reinforcing or a specially reinforced model to ride surf.
In comparison, the glass Rickter costs $6,500 + import fees (includes adjustable holds, hood, hoodseal, pump shoe. Pole bracket?) and weighs at least 100lbs. The version that will take surf abuse weighs considerably more. And I got to be honest, I have yet to see a single Rickter hull that didn't have cracking issues within the first year of riding.

Conclusion for glass hulls:
$5,500 for a complete Glass Freak @ 88lbs that holds up very well (painted and turfed)
$6,500 (at least) for a 100+ lbs Rickter with cracking issues.

Now let's look at carbon. The Freak will set you back $8,000 for a 55lbs hull + 7lb hood. And it will not crack. Add paint and turf and you're at maybe $8,800.
The Rickter will set you back $9,500 plus import fees (how much is that?), it will weigh at least 75+ lbs, and it will crack.

$8,800 for a 65lb carbon Freak that has reputable quality
$9,500 for a 75+lb carbon Rickter that has issues.

For $9,500 you can buy a glass/composite Lightweight Revolution that will be just as light as the carbon Rickter and it will be lightyears ahead of the Rickter in quality (and the freak for fit & finish)

One more thing: The Rickter is mass-produced in SE Asia. The Superfreak is handbuilt by one expert in the US that stands behind his product. Can't say that for Rick's hulls.
Don't think I'm bitching though. I think the Rickter is very sharp looking and a very nice ride. It was number 2 on my short list of hulls when I was in the market.

I just came to the conclusion that it is one of the most expensive hulls in the market, the heaviest no matter which layup, and the one with the most questionable long term quality.
But it is turn-key, and there is something to be said for that.

IMHO, if you're on a budget, the BOB is the one to get. Either layup will be much cheaper AND lighter than the Rickter.

$4,500 for a complete painted & turfed (?) BOB
$6,000 for a complete painted & turfed BOB.

Wet lay up Painted, Turfed & Graphic'd BOB is $4,000, Carbon is $5,500.
That comes ready to assemble, with a short BOB ride plate.

 

[Matt_E]

Thanks for the correction. Killer deal.

 

[tightithrash]

Lightweight Revolution hull. fully adjustable hull. you want to ride flat water freestyle, short plate, you want to ride freeride, medium plate, you want to ride bouys, long plate. a hull plate, not a ride plate. length adjustable in seconds. the strength? strongest on the market. the build quality? best on the market. handling? my favorite ski. Norbert stuff is top notch and turn key. everything fits THE FIRST TIME. he make race car bodys for Factory Porsche.... they dont take just anyone..... but, you have to pay to play.

Fiberglass with Kevlar re-enforcement

looks unfreking believable and every piece has a purpose
comes gelcoated in black with vinyl decals
comes turfed
weighs (on my scale) 115 pounds with the hood
9500

Carbon fiber comes with everthing listed above but is lighter, im not sure how light...

13000

this will be the last hull you will ever buy period. PERIOD PEOPLE.

this ski needs to be at the top of more peoples list, blows my mind how over looked this ski is.

 

[McDog]

I thought the gen 2 BOB was a fine rec boat. Great people too. I also agree with everything Matt said.

 

[chriselmore_1]

Lightweight is by fear the best quality built boat period. Xft is right behind em for sure. And to tell you the truth my rok it's really nice. I have beat the out of this thing! Under rotated surf rolls. Over rotated surf rolls. Couldn't tell you how many times I've pancaked and lost my boat learning surf flips. I've nosed in huge ones and hit bottom more than once and nothing! The boat had even fallen out the back of my truck on the ramp and off a shop cart. And mine is just a chop and s glass version.people that Ryde with me can vouch for my abuse.

 

[INDebtSJ]

For freestyle coming from an SXR, I would say a Super Jet modified to your taste. After seeing what Jeremy Parr can do with a RN and 701. I would say start there and move up to something that will improve your skills.
If you wanted to start with a good hull that is all around, glass superfreak is a no brainer to me.
I think Parr would have placed higher at WF if he had one. Heavy enough for old school tricks and light enough to FW BF's.

 

[SXIPro]

For a guy pretty new to the sport looking to do rec riding and learn a little freestlye, a plain old SJ is by far the best choice. Why throw a ton of money at an AM hull at this point? Seriously.

 

[FlightPlanDan]

I've not ridden all of the hulls mentioned in this thread.
I have ridden Sanoman's ROK. I liked it. Good for lots of stuff.
I've ridden Rickter's and Superfreaks...both very stable, but hard to ride in the "rec" mode...not because of the hull, but because of the owners set-up. (including very short poles).
Somebody else might have fallen in love!

My pont is that there is no #1 best. People that buy these hulls build around them for their needs and riding style. You could ride one guys freak and love it and hate another guys set-up.

Even though I was not comfortable with the set-up of the freak I rode, I still felt that the hull was something special.

I just can't ride with as short a pole as these guys use.




BTW: I ride a super jet.

 

[raytherace]

Wet lay up Painted, Turfed & Graphic'd BOB is $4,000, Carbon is $5,500.
That comes ready to assemble, with a short BOB ride plate.

and installed pump shoe

 

[wispy]

think my mind is made up and its gonna be a bob mainly due to the price/great reputation that their shop seems to have. I am looking to get serious into freestyle eventually and I don't wanna buy an sj just to go buy a bob a year or 2 later once im better so im just gonna go for it right now. Thanks again for all the input!

 

[Matt_E]

I'm personally looking forward to this next year. One of my local riding buddies is getting an EME Q8 hull, another a 2nd Gen Glass Bob, and I have a Carbon Freak. Somewhat local riders to me are getting glass Freaks.
It's nice to try out each other's equipment.

 

[raytherace]

where are you wispy ???

 

[N3vrSat1sfied]

Let's compare apples to apples here.
The glass Freak for $4,800 includes the hood (and the pole bracket and all hardware).
I think the $800 for paint is high if you do it yourself. I bought nothing but HOK paint (some of the most expensive paint you can buy, I wish I hadn't) and I spent less than $500.
Of course, if you have someone else do it then $800 is too low of a figure.

In any event, you're looking at maybe $5,500 for a painted & turfed glass Freak that will weigh in at 78lbs hull + 10lb hood and it won't need reinforcing or a specially reinforced model to ride surf.
In comparison, the glass Rickter costs $6,500 + import fees (includes adjustable holds, hood, hoodseal, pump shoe. Pole bracket?) and weighs at least 100lbs. The version that will take surf abuse weighs considerably more. And I got to be honest, I have yet to see a single Rickter hull that didn't have cracking issues within the first year of riding.

Conclusion for glass hulls:
$5,500 for a complete Glass Freak @ 88lbs that holds up very well (painted and turfed)
$6,500 (at least) for a 100+ lbs Rickter with cracking issues.

Now let's look at carbon. The Freak will set you back $8,000 for a 55lbs hull + 7lb hood. And it will not crack. Add paint and turf and you're at maybe $8,800.
The Rickter will set you back $9,500 plus import fees (how much is that?), it will weigh at least 75+ lbs, and it will crack.

$8,800 for a 65lb carbon Freak that has reputable quality
$9,500 for a 75+lb carbon Rickter that has issues.

For $9,500 you can buy a glass/composite Lightweight Revolution that will be just as light as the carbon Rickter and it will be lightyears ahead of the Rickter in quality (and the freak for fit & finish)

One more thing: The Rickter is mass-produced in SE Asia. The Superfreak is handbuilt by one expert in the US that stands behind his product. Can't say that for Rick's hulls.
Don't think I'm bitching though. I think the Rickter is very sharp looking and a very nice ride. It was number 2 on my short list of hulls when I was in the market.

I just came to the conclusion that it is one of the most expensive hulls in the market, the heaviest no matter which layup, and the one with the most questionable long term quality.
But it is turn-key, and there is something to be said for that.

IMHO, if you're on a budget, the BOB is the one to get. Either layup will be much cheaper AND lighter than the Rickter.

$4,500 for a complete painted & turfed (?) BOB
$6,000 for a complete painted & turfed BOB.

I didnt realize the glass freak was that much less $ and still better then Carbon Rickter. I would thank you for this great post, but I already used it today.

 

[waterfreak]

glass carbon Watercraft Factory Vision hull+hood with solid color gelcoat (no paint needed) $5000

great all around hull !

 

[N3vrSat1sfied]

What's the weight of the wcf vision?