Plastic Surfskis

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Epic V7

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Main Surfski Page
- Non-Plastic Surfski Spec Tables with Reviews (singles and doubles)
- Surfski Companies

Plastic (typically polyethylene) surfskis are considerably heavier than their fiber based (fiberglass, carbon, Kevlar) siblings, but they do have a very significant advantage over their lighter counterparts in terms of durability and capacity to absorb collisions and abrasions. If you are anticipating rough care and/or negligent storage habits for a surfski OR you want to use a surfski for rivers or shore breaks where bumps and scrapes are likely, then a plastic surfski might very well be a worthwhile investment. They are less expensive than their fiber construction equivalents. Plastic surfskis can also be handy for rescue drills where you do not want to worry about banging surfskis together. Some plastic surfskis also have flip up rudder options (sea kayak style) that can be quite useful if you will be doing a lot of shallow water paddling.

Discussion/Construction

Surfski.info
Some, like the Finn and Spirit plastic surfskis, are reportedly relatively fast but not necessarily quite as robust as plastic alternatives from other major manufacturers.
Zack Handler: “Keep in mind too that the plastic skis use a different construction (Ed. - all plastic skis?) than most plastic sea kayaks and recreational kayaks. Rather than solid plastic they are a sort of sandwich construction with aerated plastic “foam” in the middle between solid plastic walls. They are stiffer than solid plastic (Ed. - which should make for better speed), but the trade off is they are a bit more brittle and prone to damage from sharp impacts.”
Various construction methods: rotomolded PE vs. rotomolded skin/foam PE vs. thermoformed ABS vs. Vajda's Styrolight

Options

Many of these models are no longer being manufactured, but due to their durability they can still come up for sale (used) from time to time on used equipment webpages and auction websites. Or if you advertise that you are looking for one, you may spark some owner's recollection of the one sitting in their back yard that they no longer ever paddle. But pay attention to UV damage/sag if the boat has been basking in the sun for a long time. Sag can sometimes be corrected by flipping the boat for a period in the sun. Ultimately these boats should probably be stored sideways?

Carbonology Sport
- Cruze X RT sometime in 2022-2023 New label appeared with “RT” standing for Rotomolded
  - Zach & Jerry 2023 Video
Cobra Kayaks
- Website
- Paddling.com review - Eliminator (no longer made)
DragoRossi (HDTP polyethene)
- SprintWave pop-up rudder sport show video
Epic
- V5
  - M. Sundin 2018 Review (non-plastic)
  - Robert Norman Review 6/22/2023 (plastic)
- V7
  - M. Sundin Intro Video 1/13/2021 (plastic)
  - Robert Norman review 2/24/2023 (plastic)
Finn (Australian maker of plastic boats - not to be confused with South Africa's Fenn surfskis)
- Facebook Page
- Molokai, Endorfinn - both - manufacturing seems discontinued.
- Video - surfing with a Molokai
Liker (China)
- Onwind (are all 507s?, Björn Thomasson's?)
  - Comments by Swedish Designer
  - video review, video review in Spanish
  - Kajaksidan Liker Onwind PE for sale in Sweden
Nelo
- 510 50% recycled material
  - Dave the Kayaker video review 6/9/2018
  - video review in Portuguese (you can turn on auto-translate in youtube settings)
  - Robert Norman review 2/8/2023
  - Nelo 510 Paddling Class Facebook group for 510 owners
  - Conversion of 510 into Outrigger Canoe 2023 video how-to with available conversion kit. They may be assuming that you will still be paddling with a double bladed paddle, because we haven't seen any instructions for changing the seating to better suit a single bladed canoer.
    - 510 iakos w/ connectors
    - 510 Ama
Nordic Kayak
- Breeze PE (some of the NK websites say recycled plastic and others don't - we believe that the newer version is made from recycled plastic) The Breeze is reportedly made by Liker (the photos look identical)
Ocean Kayak
- Sprinter - no longer manufactured - reportedly can be a bit of a wet ride for heavier paddlers. Also not for the tallest or longest legged folks.
  - Paddling.com reviews
Spirit in Australia used to make several different plastic surfskis but we cannot find a working website for them so we assume they went out of business. Some of their models are reputedly quite fast for plastic surfskis.
- Fury
  - wayback machine description
  - Surfski.info Discussion 2013
- Spirit PRS description from web wayback machine (given its length of 5.67 m, maybe it was always the PRS 570?)
  - video on Eel River
  - Aussie classic big wave surfing PRS 570
  - Robert Norman review 1/19/2023
Think
- Briefly offered the “Nitro” as a plastic option. The same surfski was also sold as the “Pyranha Octane”. Neither seems to be currently manufactured. surfing video (red boat is an Octane - we think)
- Review from Chris Hipgrave in Wayback Machine
Vajda
- Raptor
  - Paddling.com
  - Vajda Webpage made with Styrolight® - styrene-based plastics material with an acrylic surface layer which gives a more shiny appearance than typical with plastic boats.