The smokin spring and summer Maliko report

[LaPerouseBay]

Here is a pic of the new and improved side pads.  3 1/2 inch foam noodle cut in half, fitted then contact adhesive.

I take it you are not a very chunky guy to use that much side padding, or the bucket of the V10S is bigger than I remembered.

The old v-10S bucket is an inch and a half wider than a v10's.

Paddled the ski - boardwalk to Sorento's yesterday.  Wind was funky so Jeremy tried my oc-1.  Wind died on us so we were glad to be in boats.  He's pretty good in an oc-1 considering it's been 5 years since he's paddled one.  He asked to jump in my ski, I said 'it's too bumpy, trust me'.  So we finished the run, He asked again, I said 'ok, good luck, don't say I didn't warn you'.  He paddled off without falling.   It took me 5 days to get that good.  We paddled around for another 10 or 15 minutes.  He commented on the ski's ability to accelerate into glides.  Imagine that.  

Did a morning session today in the harbor with the ski gang.  I'm so lucky to have coaches to help out with all the questions.  My hip rotation is really starting to groove.  Awesome power in the leg drive.

This afternoon the south shore went ape.  Did a run to Sorento's with some oc-1's.  8 of 10 wind conditions, excellent swells.  Biggest waves I've been on yet, the boat was killing it.  Unreal acceleration into stuff I'd never catch in the oc-1.  Missed a lot of links, but it's going to be fine.  No falls.  Average speed came up to 8.2.  9 is my best on the south shore in oc-1. (10 of 10 conditions).  Maliko is getting closer.      

[ericspin]

Loving the progression of your posts regarding the ski and wishing I had 25% of the downwind opportunities you share.  I am curious about the material you are using for the seat pad.  And are you using it to fill space or for sit bone comfort? 

[LaPerouseBay]

Foam pad in the seat is comfy.  It also gives a better angle for the core to deliver power.  The thicker the pad, the more tippy the ski.  Some use an inch and a half, but remove it for rough water. 

The materiel is leftover from an old dakine bag.  It's slippery and stiff.  Very similar to foam noodle foam. 

A few strips under the rear bungee grip the paddle for walking. 

[1paddle2paddle]

LPB, the half-noodle thing looks trick.  Does a thicker pad really make the boat more tippy?  I know with the wider bucket seat of the Mako XT some paddling was necessary to prevent me from sliding and sloshing around in the bucket when the conditions got rough, but I never experimented to the extent you have in putting that much padding.  I just used a couple pieces of 5/8" (I think) foam paddling which did not hold me in tight, but gave me enough of a contact with my boat and improved my stability significantly.

With the V10 I never put any paddling in before, but after my last paddle I did and I hope to test it this week.

[LaPerouseBay]

Yes, the coaches tell me that sitting on a pad makes the ski more tippy.  I can feel the difference with the 3/8 under me.  When I emailed the photo of my 3/8 pad to our island rep. (Richard) he said to take it out when the water gets rough.  Mine is glued in for now.  I'm still experimenting.   

Mike uses 1 1/2" in a V-10 and has suggested I try it.  He can be more hard - nosed than Richard about coaching though.  I've been doing ok, so he may want to knock me down a peg.  His coach back east was downright mean.  He would literally make people weep.  I've worked for people like that.  The rough edges are easy to overlook when you realize they just want you to STFU and listen.  They always have the most to teach. 

Mike isn't mean at all, quite the contrary.  But, imo, the suggestion to try an inch and a half pad is pretty crazy.  I'll just ask him what's up with that.  I'm an old man, I don't want to slip a disk.       

Zsolt will be here in a few weeks.  He's based on Oahu.  If I were you, I'd look him up.  My advice to anyone on ski is to only listen to the real experts.  The equipment and technique is so complex...   

http://www.zsoltski.com/

[1paddle2paddle]

I misunderstood - I can see why sitting on a pad would make the ski more tippy - I prefer sitting on the boat with no butt pad other than my neoprene paddling shorts.  I was referring only to the pads on the sides of the bucket, I found those made the XT much more stable.

Maybe five years ago Zsolt helped me with some issue with my boat - if I remember correctly he had just become the Epic rep on Oahu at the time.

[Tecpartner]

laPer: Ypu're making incredible progress.  You have the benefit of good coaches, great conditions, and time. It's a pleasure to see you taking advantage of them all.

I'm not surprised Jeremy didn't fall out of the ski, I'm just surprised he didn't stand and paddle it like a gondola.

Mike suggested the thick seat pad to me, too, and also to go out in challenging conditions, to improve my balance. I have gone out in the (relatively) big conditions, but I haven't padded out my seat. 

LaPer / 1paddle: So the side pads really helped your balance?  I really like the loose bucket in my old school V10S.  I tried a Fenn Swordfish recently, and although I liked the ski, I found the bucket was tight, and the feeling put me off. I'll have to try padding the sides, and throw 3/8 in the seat.

If only I could paddle my board 5 days a week, and my ski 6 I'd get better....

[LaPerouseBay]

I'm not surprised Jeremy didn't fall out of the ski, I'm just surprised he didn't stand and paddle it like a gondola.

A few sessions with a coach to set up his equipment would have him moving right along.  The conditions we paddled in were perfect for brain damaging oc-1's.  Had we switched earlier, he probably would have dropped me.  The elite paddlers here in Hawaii are on a whole different level.  I had forgotten about this pic in the kaiwi channel when I told him it was too bumpy for him.

LaPer / 1paddle: So the side pads really helped your balance?

The instant feedback of where the boat is helps me a lot.  Also, the side pads have probably prevented some falls in bigger stuff.  It's like a seat belt if you go way over.  I've overheard Mike and Richard tell others that it's a very good idea.   

[1paddle2paddle]

Tec, in my XT (with its wider bucket) I just put in enough padding on the sides (maybe a 4" x 10" piece 5/8" thick each side) so that if the boat started to roll I could push my leg against the pad and not be sliding around inside the bucket.  I never put as much padding as LPB has done so if the boat did huli I was always thrown clear and never ended up stuck upside down.

I think a bit of paddling it did help with my balance and preventing flips in the XT because for me it gave a much more responsive feel to the boat as compared to sliding/slipping around - remember I never used a butt pad so it was possible to slide around in the XT's large bucket.  The regular V10 bucket is much narrower, so I never even used the side pads because my butt wasn't sliding around in the boat.  But after last weekend's miserable Hanauma Bay run I threw the side pads in to see if it improves things for me.

[Tecpartner]

I'll pad out the sides of my V10S and give it a try.  Thanks for the input!

[LaPerouseBay]

Here is a look at the pads on video.  The bucket is really big.  My butt is about average for someone 190, the pads just barely touch.  The seat pad is coming out.  Balance is everything at this point.       

It's my first look at myself on video, other than the vids HM posted. 

Great tool for self improvement.   

Hoping to get some footage of downwinders.  The mount works on the tail or in front of pedals on ski and oc-1 and tail of F-16. 

[1paddle2paddle]

Keep up the good work LPB.  I will try to put on the helmet cam and get some decent downwind footage as well.

[LaPerouseBay]

Here is another camera angle.  This camera only records 29 minutes at a time, regardless of memory.  I could not reach the camera, so let it run.  Boardwalk to the Cove is 40 minutes.  This vid shows how the swells build with time.  The edit is 0 to 1, 5 to 6, 10 to 11 etc., for a total of 6 minutes.  Next time I'll try mounting it in front of my pedals.  A helmet cam sounds interesting.  I'll mount it to my bike helmet.

   

Here is the line, boardwalk to cove ~ 5.5 miles.  8 mph average.  Very good wind, 8 of 10 conditions. 

[DavidJohn]

Very nice.. But just my luck.. Someone in a green shirt and white hat came along and sat down right in front of me making it hard for me to see.. 

DJ

[1paddle2paddle]

LOL DJ.  LPB - nice video.  Also, when going sideways to the bumps, have you had a wave break over the seat for the instant "bathtub" of water effect?

But I had a thought watching the video - wouldn't it be nice to be able to see the GPS calculated speed in the lower right (or left) hand corner of the video?  Maybe we could try to mount a GPS in an area where it would be visible in the picture?  I think it would be interesting to see how fast we are going when we catch and ride bumps.