Author Topic: Sealion Wings - International purchase experience  (Read 1498 times)

jpeter

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Sealion Wings - International purchase experience
« on: October 06, 2020, 04:45:02 PM »
As many of you know,  I'm a fan of the Sealion Sup/windsup concept.    I started with an XL model,  150L 9'0".  Next was the 135L 8'3.  It surfed better for my weight (175lb) and sailed nicely as well.   The next model that AHD came out with was the Wings,  which adds a foil insert and changes the dimensions a tiny bit.  And it's all carbon construction.
  I was interested in the 8'6 Wings that dropped the volume for me another small step.  It's 125L and is supposed to sail and surf better.   Problem is no US distributor or anyone in the US who would import on their own.   I finally contacted the company directly, and figured out the prices are lower than expected.   The website pricing includes the 20% VAT,  so once that was deducted, shipping to my door was covered.  So price delivered to my door was about 1500 USD.   The board arrived one week after I ordered it.  We will see if customs ends up sending me a bill. 
  I think Nahskwell is under the same company,  so those sups might be available in the same manner.
  In general the Sealions are heavier than standard wave SUPS,  but are very heavy duty to handle the wavesailing.  The 8'6 I just got weighs in at 22lb.  Its the same weight as my 8'3,  but has both Tuttle and 2-US foilboxes.   The tuttle box came with a filler and I made some fillers for the US boxes.   I plan on surfing and sailing mostly but might break down and get a foil if I get bored next summer.
  My test run yesterday started out choppy, rainy and dark so I wasn't feeling dialed in straight off.  It felt like more than a 10L difference until I figured something out.   I base my neutral foot position on the handle hole location.  With the weight of the foil inserts,  the handle is at center of gravity,  while the center of flotation is 2 inches forward of that.
 
General info:  https://sealion-concept.com/en/
My new board:
https://pbase.com/jaypetersen/image/171097722
https://pbase.com/jaypetersen/image/171097723

JP

Wetstuff

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Re: Sealion Wings - International purchase experience
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2020, 11:43:05 AM »
JP.. it may be a fine product, but the Swiss Army Knife concept does not seem to generally hold up in the marketplace.  This reminds me of the Honda Ridgeline which looks as if it ticks all the useful concepts in practical-Honda fashion but peaked in the low-30,000 sales* for the last few years.  The Ford F-150 punches above its weight a ~900,000 annually with an unambigous objective.  I suspect this is why we are seeing 'wing-boards' from the almost all the brands, large and small.

Jim

*USA - ' may be different in other countries.
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jpeter

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Re: Sealion Wings - International purchase experience
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2020, 10:51:27 AM »
  I usually agree with the swiss army knife theory ... or jack of all trades / master of none.   In the case of this particular product line,  they seem to surf pretty darn well.  And I have no complaints on the sailing.  Don't know about the foiling, have not crossed that bridge yet.
  For a while I thought I liked how they surfed due to ignorance by not having tried better boards.  While I owned the 8'3 Sealion,  I did a Maui trip and rented a Jimmy Lewis 8'5 127L Worldwide quad.   I was expecting to feel a performance increase.  Basically I got on the board and felt at home,  not much different than what I had been riding.
JP

 


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