A little update on my Superfreak review: I finally rode it in the surf this past weekend.
Conditions were smallish at first (3-4 ft breaking waves) and then about 6-9ft breaking a couple of days later.
The hull is very stable both in the smaller and medium stuff. Wave riding is easy and fun with it. I managed not to stuff the nose even once. I dropped in on some pretty steep faces without issue (but keep in mind that I'm a very novice surf rider). For the first time in my six years of occasional surf riding, I was able to carve long wave faces, have the whitewater from the lip splash my side the whole time, and even put my hand out to drag along the lip while I'm riding.
The hull slides when I want it to (up the lip for a re-entry) and hooks when I want it to.
I was very apprehensive about such a light hull in surf. I'm happy to say that I did not experience any downsides myself. It was an absolute blast to ride in those conditions. I was instantly comfortable riding it in surf.
But - I was already used to the hull and the power the driveline makes in it. When I had other people ride the ski, they generally had a tough time with the amount of power and the handling that comes with it. Specifically, people would try to jump over small stuff to get out further and end up vertical. (Broke one steering nozzle that way)
What about aerials? I spent about an hour looking for the right wave before committing to a flip. I guess I was still looking for wave sizes appropriate for my old SJ.
I finally found a chest high wave and went WOT. Big mistake, I over-rotated and landed on the nozzle/my ass.
This kept happening all day until I figured out to slow down rotation via less throttle input.
Next day I hit a wave a bit too early during a heat and pancaked a flip from about 15 ft up. Ouch.
2 minutes later I hit a head-high wave at WOT and went way higher than I anticipated. Also over-rotated and came down on the nozzle. The steering nozzle shattered and I bruised both ankles. There should be video of this flip soon. People say it was pretty high.
Overall, I am very happy with the carbon SF performance in surf. I purposely built a flatwater boat because that's where I ride 95% of the time (unfortunately).
I figured I'd put up with the disadvantages of such a boat in the surf. Well - there are no disadvantages that I could see.
Big thumbs up.
Conditions were smallish at first (3-4 ft breaking waves) and then about 6-9ft breaking a couple of days later.
The hull is very stable both in the smaller and medium stuff. Wave riding is easy and fun with it. I managed not to stuff the nose even once. I dropped in on some pretty steep faces without issue (but keep in mind that I'm a very novice surf rider). For the first time in my six years of occasional surf riding, I was able to carve long wave faces, have the whitewater from the lip splash my side the whole time, and even put my hand out to drag along the lip while I'm riding.
The hull slides when I want it to (up the lip for a re-entry) and hooks when I want it to.
I was very apprehensive about such a light hull in surf. I'm happy to say that I did not experience any downsides myself. It was an absolute blast to ride in those conditions. I was instantly comfortable riding it in surf.
But - I was already used to the hull and the power the driveline makes in it. When I had other people ride the ski, they generally had a tough time with the amount of power and the handling that comes with it. Specifically, people would try to jump over small stuff to get out further and end up vertical. (Broke one steering nozzle that way)
What about aerials? I spent about an hour looking for the right wave before committing to a flip. I guess I was still looking for wave sizes appropriate for my old SJ.
I finally found a chest high wave and went WOT. Big mistake, I over-rotated and landed on the nozzle/my ass.
This kept happening all day until I figured out to slow down rotation via less throttle input.
Next day I hit a wave a bit too early during a heat and pancaked a flip from about 15 ft up. Ouch.
2 minutes later I hit a head-high wave at WOT and went way higher than I anticipated. Also over-rotated and came down on the nozzle. The steering nozzle shattered and I bruised both ankles. There should be video of this flip soon. People say it was pretty high.
Overall, I am very happy with the carbon SF performance in surf. I purposely built a flatwater boat because that's where I ride 95% of the time (unfortunately).
I figured I'd put up with the disadvantages of such a boat in the surf. Well - there are no disadvantages that I could see.
Big thumbs up.
