SF said...
Hi Stuey, welcome to the forum.
I have a head start over most of others because I have seen the Penetrator in action and it certainly was impressive the way it picked up swells easily, much like a racing surf ski. I was chatting with the happy owner, I cannot remember his name, but I do remember he shaped the new Oxbow boards.
I suppose my first question is how accessible is the board for average paddlers? Its rounded hull doesn't look too easy to balance, especially for someone like me who is 188cm tall weighs 100kg.
What are the construction options? Can you specify you want it for cruising rather than racing?
Have you considered putting a sailboard sail on it? It looks a little like the Starboard Serenity sailboard.
Steve
Thanks Steve, first up I'll let you in on a little secret, I too am an average paddler but have no problem with the Penetrator. Shocked? I'm too busy building the things, they won't even let me out of the cage for meals! Fortunately one of the benefits of the boards slick underwater design is that stability comes on the more you need it. Picture a more traditional type surfboard rail and flat bottom design, it's at its' most stable when in the upright position, once you have buried the rail the ammount of righting moment actually decreases. Hence the beauty of the Penetrator set-up, maximum volume is at the top of the rail as opposed to the bottom, so being, the further you tip it over the more it resists. So if you start to go over, like an old buddy it helps you up instead of throwing you off. As they are all still hand shaped at present there is the option of de-tuning the rails slightly with a tad more volume, it's up to the customer though I'd advise sticking fairly closely to what we've got. Before long you are accustomed to the initial tippiness and next thing you know those speedy rails are your friend. Cheers, Stuey.