Surfriding rickter hulls..do these hold up in in surf? fr vs fs? new layup vs old Taiwan?

[rubbertoe]

These hulls are solid ! yes you might get a stress, crack or a chip ,but what brand hull doesn't if your really airing it out ? gone are the days of the heavy production type fiberglass reinforced plastic ,with this being said new materials are lighter lay-ups and more subject to damage from twist , failed attempts,hard landings,side impacts,pancakes ect from riders .also longevity of lighter materials comes into to play ,but its all part of it .after all its just fiberglass,right ? great hulls and designs.

 

[crazy4sand]

The XFRs are indestructible. The fit and finish are top notch. My buddy Randy must have sand darted about 50 times and only has one gel coat stress crack. I must have flat landed a dozen times from 20-30 without any damage. The new hulls are epoxy resin, a lot stronger then the previous lay up. These hull are so strong that I'm considering getting a XFS next time to same a out 10lbs.

Cuong

i have personally see Randy lawn dart his to china and back quite a few times and no damage seriously the guy is a animal

 

[masterblaster]

I saw a guy who I knew at tona dart his fs2 in the sand from a pretty low height,not that big of a impact and it cracked the crap outa the nose,I beleive this was one of the first made though. I can deal with some stress cracks in gel coat,but even still for 6 or 7k for a heavy plain fiberglass hull to hold up alot better than that.Its either about quality or maximize profits with am hulls imho.
The lite weight de is deff the best hull out there for surf, judging from the build quality,fit and finsih and big wave cali guys riding them now,but cost is outa range for most surf riders than are not competing or getting any kind of sponsor discount. Anything trinity makes is right behind that,I wish bobby had a sim hull to the rickter,he would sell them like hot cakes,I just dont care for the way the matrix rides that much.

Cong...you ride a fr2 right? you looking at going to the xfs or xfr hull next, thought you might be looking at the fs2 evo,id like to try a ride on one of those as well.

 

[Matt_E]

Cuong has an XFR.

 

[Proformance1]

The newer skis are much much better. So much so that i cannot believe the quality difference. Its like a different builder. Gel or paint is even better. One year on a local xfr and hardly a scuff or chip. No stress cracks and at least 200 failed bf attempts. New fs layups are better than before. The latest argument is that fr is only required for people who ride big surf

 

[Matt_E]

Good info guys!

 

[masterblaster]

anyone know the weight diff on the xfs vs the fs2 evo. Are guys having any issues with warranty with these if they fall apart,ive heard some things about this as well?

matt ...you gotta loose that avatar bro...

 

[dcptr]

anyone know the weight diff on the xfs vs the fs2 evo. Are guys having any issues with warranty with these if they fall apart,ive heard some things about this as well?

matt ...you gotta loose that avatar bro...

I'd also like to know the hull length differences too! the evo is def not a flatwater ski is it?

 

[Proformance1]

They are too new to discuss, hopefully ill have more ride time next week at WF. From what i have been told and have seen, the evo 1 was made by Rick to be the best all around ski, that can still be BF easily off wakes small waves etc. More front rocker, rear cut and shaped to help in leaving wave for BF, removable sponsons for carving, HUGE pump intake, will take huge pump as well. But lets face it its an approx -8" SJ i think, same size as older FS series. Its made for waves and flat water riding, this is no micro hull and is not for FW BF only, if you want that buy a short hull.

All I have learned and seen this year with multiple riders, motors, hulls, etc. there is no substitute for skills, big motors take time to get used to the power band, short hull make BF easier, short hulls are no fun in the chop or big waves. There is a good depate with other manufacturers with bolt on ride plate/hull extensions for the best of both worlds, but I have not experienced it yet. A good FW rider will be able to BF most aftermarket hulls given the proper set up and time. Look around most guy you see that bought a new short hull become worse riders immediately, few excell IMO. TC is a good example, he can ride a skate board with a 8mm attached to it This hull was made for the rest of us, along with some others not discussed in this thread. Although TC will be competing on these from now on. I think as time goes on you are going to see a separation of FW micro hulls and surf/FW hulls. IMO I have wanted to do both with one ski, but have decided for now that a good riding ski that can be BR, re entried, surf slashed, etc that I can BF off wakes, 1-2's and surf is more important to me than doing a FW BF only, and hating it otherwise.

Oh and BTW, if you are selling your micro class hull or short BF only ski now after reading this please feel free to shoot me a PM, as id like to have a FW only ski as well.

 

[masterblaster]

Ill see ya out there at wf,hopefully I can get some ride time in on a few hulls to choose from. I dont think its possible to have a good surf boat that rides well and is COMFORTABLE and still have it be very competent in flatwater. For long surf rides,a full size gas tank and nice smooth linear motor than makes good power,a midweight strong not to light hull, a longer pole that you can have the nose planted and still not be leaning way over is crucial for a good surf ski,none of this works worth a crap for a flat water freeetyle ski.
Id be happy with a surf ski that just make more things possible and everything else just feel more easy to do on longer rides.

 

[Matt_E]

Ill see ya out there at wf,hopefully I can get some ride time in on a few hulls to choose from. I dont think its possible to have a good surf boat that rides well and is COMFORTABLE and still have it be very competent in flatwater. For long surf rides,a full size gas tank and nice smooth linear motor than makes good power,a midweight strong not to light hull, a longer pole that you can have the nose planted and still not be leaning way over is crucial for a good surf ski,none of this works worth a crap for a flat water freeetyle ski.
Id be happy with a surf ski that just make more things possible and everything else just feel more easy to do on longer rides.

Superfreak fits all that

 

[Seekingsun]

I've had an old factory fr2 and a new factory xfs, the newer ones are better the older gel coat was like glass and would shatter and peel off, the new stuff is thinner but still not as thick as it could be!

Im a flat water skiier so I don't ramp it up the beach at full speed and the bottom Of my new hull is still perfect..I let a chap called Ant burges ride it and he did stove it into the lake bed a month ago but it only slightly scratched it

the new factory builds are a lot better.. Super happy with it

 

[badvinny]

It is a different builder, the first hulls were manufactured by the same factory that made the hydrospace hulls. Rick had alot of bull from them so he built his own factory where they are manufactured now.

UOTE=Proformance1;1353432]The newer skis are much much better. So much so that i cannot believe the quality difference. Its like a different builder. Gel or paint is even better. One year on a local xfr and hardly a scuff or chip. No stress cracks and at least 200 failed bf attempts. New fs layups are better than before. The latest argument is that fr is only required for people who ride big surf[/QUOTE]

 

[masterblaster]

Superfreak fits all that

The sf is awsome,im considering it as well,superrrr fun ski in surf,at least the couple of -2 glass ver we have here are. 2 issues though carbon is too expensive and the glass ver is not being done anymore last I heard tem was contracting someone else to do them.The fit and finish of the ones we have is WAY more work than im willing to put into a hull that expensive..Id really only consider a used one priced right already painted and prev assembled by someone with more time than I to fig out all its nonalignment gremlins.The glass models are also not holdin up that well and are not really getting beat on by big air riders,IF some of the younger crazy junkies in our group were riding them more often,they would be in really bad..........um yea.. They also wont rail a corner anywhere near as nice as some of the other hulls im looking at..going down the face of a wave there is nothing out as slippery and rockered and fun a sf though.

proformance1....I totally agree with you on the short hull in surf...very few riders are better on them..Ive seen some very talented riders look like their skills were going in reverse with them. Tc is 1%er he can make any hull look like the best ever.
Also we already have a few of them and a vision here,It would be nice to have 3rd option,we swap skis alot in our group surf riding.

Good to hear the rickter hulls look to be being made better

 

[masterblaster]

What type of foam,if any is used in the rickters,anyone that sunk one have any experience on if they float a bit when completely sunk? long enough to tow in as a bobber?

 

[zimmy]

This may be a side tracked question, but with fiberglass hulls, continued abuse will eventually break it, correct? So as with any hull (aftermarket or stock reinforced), they eventually give out... Just seems like the end result of any surf ski/ski thats ridden hard is fiberglass damage, from stress cracks to de-lamination.... Or, are we just so used to an inferior product that this is the norm?

 

[Yami-Rider]

What type of foam,if any is used in the rickters,anyone that sunk one have any experience on if they float a bit when completely sunk? long enough to tow in as a bobber?

My buddies 2012 XFS has pour foam in the tray area. I don't think the XFS would have problems with wet foam like Superjet does because the upper and lower halves are glassed together.

 

[djkorn1]

Superfreak fits all that

Yep....or a KDX similar to a Freak, to me. (I can't comment on the strength or build quality of any of these though, just the ridability)

From what I hear, Matrix too, but havent ridden one.

 

[djkorn1]

This may be a side tracked question, but with fiberglass hulls, continued abuse will eventually break it, correct? So as with any hull (aftermarket or stock reinforced), they eventually give out... Just seems like the end result of any surf ski/ski thats ridden hard is fiberglass damage, from stress cracks to de-lamination.... Or, are we just so used to an inferior product that this is the norm?

Inferior product. I truly feel it is the way the glass is laid. My Trinity is Glass and is thinner than my SXR was...Bobby said he calculated that even with it weighing 90 lbs less, he calculated that it was more than TWICE as strong as a stock SXR because of the lay-up. Most builders do NOT hand lay these hulls the way he does. I can tell you that when my ski pancakes, you hear this wierd loud 'THUD'. It is SO much stiffer than my SXR. My SXR was also all cracked up....and an SXR is way stronger than a SJ. So if these Aftermarket hulls are only as strong as a stock non-reinforced superjet, I feel they are junk. I still do not have ONE stress crack in the paint ANYWHERE on this hull and I've lawn darted it HARD many times. (although I wore all the gel coat off the bottom from beaching it). It also still has completely dry foam after 3 years.

 

[djkorn1]

My buddies 2012 XFS has pour foam in the tray area. I don't think the XFS would have problems with wet foam like Superjet does because the upper and lower halves are glassed together.

If the hull flexes, you will get wet foam. I don't care how the halves are put together..it'll come in around the cooling tubes, scupper, exhaust or firewall....... The hull needs to be super stiff.