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modifications

Table of Contents

Equipment Hacks

Paddle Lab Surfski Handle (website)

handle.jpg

Boats

Bucket/Seat Modifications

  • Seating “buckets” do not perfectly fit every derriere. If you have to make the one that you have work as well as it can (as opposed to finding a different surfski that fits better) there are varying degrees of alterations that can help. If the bucket is too big (or miss-shaped in a way that can be filled in to correct) then padding can help (See also Padding below). But serious surfskiers who want to make their boats (that they otherwise love) fit better, or who just can't find any expert boats with big enough buckets can resort to more significant modification of their buckets. Sample discussion from facebook's “Surfski Kayak” group.

Carry Handle

Rigid Bar Handles
thinkhandle.jpg

If you paddle in high wind you may want to consider taking these kind of handles off or replacing them with something more flexible like webbing? We have heard of instances where paddlers who have huli'ed in high winds have inadvertently had their fingers stuck under such bars while trying to hold onto or grab their skis as their skis have flipped over their heads - wrenching their fingers and hands backwards. Is the design for Think skis (as of 2023) with the curve better than the straight bars that some Epics have, or is the Epic smaller gap between handle and boat less likely to snag and trap fingers?

Conversion to Pedal Ski

Is this the ultimate way to have both forward power and a brace (if you carry a paddle) available all of the time?

  • Wolfe's World DYI conversion to Pedal Drive

Deck Mounts

Anything added to your deck should be low-profile and tidy - particularly if placed anywhere near your seat cockpit. You do not want to be catching your clothes or body parts on anything when you are falling out of or remounting your craft.

Deck Padding

Drainage

Cockpit Drainage

Home-made One Way Drain Cover for Venturi

oneway1.jpg

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.

oneway2.jpg

3D Printed with plastic flap added that opens when water is in surfski and closes when water exerts pressure trying to come in via Venturi drain. The flap has a bit of flex and stiffness, is glued at the top and will stay closed normally unless water in your bucket is pushing it to drain out. Glue on inside of surfski over drain hole. If you use something like Flex Glue you can have reliable waterproof adhesion that is also easy to remove and clean up if you change your mind. Flex Glue has a bit of elasticity so it can absorb some degree of sidewise bumps.

Draining Hull/Air Equalization Holes

It really doesn't take much water at all inside of your boat hull to wreck boat handling and make you feel like you are paddling uphill. Water can get inside of the hull via seam leaks, rudder tube leaks, disengaged bung plugs or pressure compensation covers, or even from simply leaving the rudder area cover off if the cover screw hole connects with the hull interior as it does on Fenn surfskis. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but if you do find yourself occasionally getting water inside of the hull due to carelessness or particularly rough conditions - here is a suggestion or two for making drainage easier.

  • Drainage
    • Many surfskis are poorly designed for quick and convenient drainage of water that gets inside the ski hull. One potential improvement is to adopt the bung hole/pressure relief tube style used in many outrigger canoes. Such bung hole plugs are inexpensive and readily available from outrigger companies. And drilling a hole at the rear end of your ski for such a plug is also quite easy. Use techniques recommended for drilling through fiberglass (tons of youtube videos for this) like putting painter's tape over the hole area, starting with an awl to make a small pilot hole, and using your drill in reverse mode (with a good hole bit - like a Forstner) to avoid fiber splintering.(But this may not work that well if there is a stringer down the middle all the way to the end (where you intend to put a drain hole) separating the ski into 2 halves - the hole may simply go into the stringer or only access one side of your ski for drainage - find out about your ski construction from your manufacturer and if there is any other reasonable place to add a drain hole if you really believe you need it - although the best solution is to prevent leakage into your surfski hull if you can…)
    • Drilling holes in carbon is a different situation. You will probably need a very sharp bit such as a diamond bit for ceramic tile. And you do not want to leave a unprotected hole in carbon because it will tend to unravel on the edge via threads.
    • If you add a second hole, this may allow you to pump air through your surfski to facilitate drainage and drying (but don't over pressurize your ski). You might just leave both holes open while driving with your ski upside down? Even without turning your surfski upside down, on warmer days you will probably still promote some internal drying this way.
    • Having a rear drain hole with a bung plugcan be problematic with a rear leash setup during hulis (the leash line can catch the drain bung/straw and pull it out). There are at least a couple of ways of dealing with this.
      • One is to just replace the bung plug with a piece of tape when you are going on the water on rougher days. If there is some concern about pressure equalization like going from hot air to cold water then this is probably not a good idea unless you add the tape on the water after your surfski temperature has equalized with the water. If you remove such tape after paddling then there is always the challenge of remembering to put it back on before paddling the next time.
      • Another solution is to add a front hole as this paddler has done - surfski.info post with photos. Notice also that bending the breather tube back into the footwell as illustrated probably lessens the likelihood of the tube getting kinked and blocked when your ski is lying upside down. We have reports of this occurring to surfskis lying in the sun and ultimately blowing out seams after heating up.
  • Air Equalization

Photo: Paul Reavley

added rear drain Think Ace

bung.jpg

photo LaPerouseBay surfski.info

added Arc front drain with low profile breather

tube bent into footwell

frontvent2.jpg

Epoxied Additions

Foot Pedals/Footboards

  • Non-slip padding Some folks have problems with their feet slipping up on pedals and foot boards when they apply leg power. You do not want your pedals to be angled too far forward from bottom to top, but you may still need something to prevent foot slippage. You can buy these from some surfski makers or add something similar that you cut to shape for your pedals.
    • Epic Non-slip Pad
    • SUP/Board grip pad material (usually comes with adhesive backing for easy application)
      • Example (you can find many similar options)
  • Stellar Pedal Tensioning DIY improvement
    • Surfski.info post this post includes descriptions of several modifications to a Stellar Falcon surfski - look at item #1 and the pedal area photos in the post
    • …

Foot Straps

In cold water when wearing bulky water shoes it can be difficult to get your feet back into the foot straps. This is especially true in big waves and when you have individual straps for each foot. By taping semi-rigid rubber inside the foot straps they will hold their shape so you can quickly get your feet into position and back to paddling. Some companies also sell footstrap covers that can also help hold footstrap shape.

GPS Watches

A watch can be mounted onto the foot strap by strapping a piece of closed cell foam to the foot strap with zip ties. Then wrap the wrist band around the foam and the foot strap. The watch face is closer to see and to reach than mounting on the front of the footwell. GPS Deck Mount Examples

Hatches & Gear Bags

Surfskis are generally not set up for carrying a lot of gear. (This may be changing somewhat with the introduction of Epic's V5 & V8 Touring surfskis in 2024, and custom touring skis developed by companies like Kirton in the UK) Some of the heavier, more stable boats occasionally do have hatches. And one can potentially use existing bungee mounts to also attach gear and gear bags, though adding stuff to your deck will decrease stability as more weight gets added.

Padding

Seat Padding

Technique can be the cause (bad technique) or cure (good technique) of a variety of discomforts in a surfski. But good technique does not solve all misfits between individual anatomy and surfski seating. Finding a surfski cockpit that fits your body is a good start and will help some paddlers more than others. Beyond that a paddler has to work on adjusting the shape of a cockpit to work as well as it can with the shape of their body while still striving to prevent those adjustments from interfering with good technique. For more drastic changes in seat configuration consider options discussed in bucket surgery.

Comfort/Fit

Padding is often needed in the seat area to adjust cockpits for better fit or to eliminate rubbing from hip rotation. If rubbing in the coccyx area is a problem, padding (with a non-absorbent material like closed-cell foam) with a channel in the center which will slightly raise each side of the buttocks leaving a channel for the coccyx (like bicycle seats) can be helpful. Likewise, rubbing in back at the base of the lower lumbar vertebrae can be alleviated by padding with a channel at the rear of your cockpit. You want to avoid friction and/or interference with proper hip rotation, so you may have to experiment with some combination of slick tape and paddling shorts (specifically designed to slide easily without seams to rub in the wrong places) to arrive at your ideal seat setup. Talking to other paddlers and checking out their solutions can be very helpful. But some paddlers apparently just grin and bear it, building up scar tissue in the afflicted area. If you use padding in the bottom of your seat it can possibly give you better leverage with your stroke, but be aware that it does not take very much elevation of your seat height to affect your balance and stability (read next paragraph)

Stability Training

Padding may also be used for balance and stability practice. Raising your seat height by a small amount can have an unexpectedly large effect on you sense of balance and stability. Conversely, some paddlers pad their seat bottoms to intentionally achieve this effect so they can practice with a tippier boat, improving their balance and experiencing greater stability when they remove such padding.

Efficiency

Listen to Paddle2Fitness podcast seat pads for efficiency

Race Numbers

To avoid the sticky residue left by duct tape, use black electric tape (wider tape like 1.5“ is easier to use). No messy cleanup after removing your race number.

Rail Guard Protection (Paddle hitting side of ski at beginning of stroke)

Repair

Skegs

Speed/Performance Tweaks

Foam Block in Front of Pedals

cockpitfiller.jpg

Steering System

Wave Deflectors

  • Installing a Mocke Deflector with tape (or any brand that has a bottom apron that will tape down). You can use pipe wrap tape for more sturdy adhesion and probably a bit more durability.
  • Do-it-yourself
  • …

Vega Arc with homemade wave deflector

Weed Guards

Weed guards with flat aprons can be attached simply with a good, waterproof tape (pipe wrap, etc.). This allows a non-permanent installation for testing and may also reduce damage in the event of running it into something.

Paddles

Leashes

Hydration Systems

  • See Hatches
  • Back of PFD - several of the surfski PFDs have backside pockets that easilty accept water bags; as well as having loops designed for running water lines on the front of the vests to position a water line mouthpiece where you want.
  • Waist Belt

Resources

Adhesives

  • Glues
    • Flex Glue
      • website can be applied on wet surfaces or even underwater. Good adhesion, but not damaging to remove, and has a bit of give/“flex” to it if bumped.
    • Geoflex Gutter - comes in clear, gray and black - check the label to make sure that it is thixotropic- stays put on a horizontal surface and isn't the “fills in the gaps” formulation.
  • Tapes
  • …

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