A number of years ago Mark McKenzie ,co-owner with Mark Smith(pharmacist by trade), of Elite Ocean Sports, US distributors of Vajda skis and K1’s, called me to discuss options for purchasing another ski. As I recall Mark, an ex cyclist, and novice surfski paddler, and veterinarian from South Carolina wanted to sell his Red 7, and was thinking about a V10 sport. I shared my experience about the V10 sport having owned two of them. Since then, both Mark’s have been in search for skis that fit their needs and skill level for the waters they train regularly on. Sound familiar? While I settled on the Stellar Brand as my boats of choice, Mark and Mark settled on the Vajda line of boats. Vajda well known for the K1’s came out with the Hawx last year. Always curious, about skis, I spoke with both Marks, and Chaz Ross(dealer of Vajda and Stellars) through the winter months about getting a Hawx for me to paddled and review. Home page picture is Mark McKenzie at a local race.
Mark M, Mark S, Cliff(Keystone Kayaks) Photo by Vadim(Keystone Kayaks)
On April 6th after the Narrow River Race, I met Alpert of KAS, on my way to the post race lunch with my new ski in tow. The Hawx was wrapped up tighter than a stuffed New England tick so you could not see the Green Machine in all its glory on my car. After the lunch, ten of us eagerly stood around in the parking lot and unwrapped the Hawx putting it on the boat stands for display. We pawed over the slim design and sculpted bucket, discussed the merits of the Anderson bailer, the soft chines and wondered how it would handle in the ocean. The obvious questions were contemplated: how fast, how stable, and what is the fit like? So that’s where I come in, having reviewed over 30 something skis now, with the last being the Vintage Nelo a few months ago. While I am the New England Surfski, Northeast Stellar Representative, I was reviewing boats before my Stellar days and will continue to do so for the boats I have a particular interest in. Like most paddlers reading this review, I paid for the Hawx and the shipping cost like any other paddlers. Over the last five years, the expansion of surf ski manufacturers has proliferated world wide. Many are specific to different parts of the world. There are many models not available to the US market due to limited distribution, however, Mark and Mark brought Vadja to the US providing another option for surfski and flat water paddlers.
What I love about reviewing skis is that they are all different. For the newer surfskier, you may wonder what can be so different about a surf ski? Namely the fit, handling characteristics, build/quality of construction, speed, stability, and ease of adjustment for the rudders and footplates, and of course cost. When I first starting reviewing skis there were really only two categories, intermediate and high performance skis(HPS). The reality was that you had to be committed to the learning process to feel comfortable in the intermediate skis and then one day you maybe able to upgrade to the HPS. Now, times have changed. There are true entry level skis like the Stellar 18S, V8, Eze, and Blue Fin that virtually any type paddler can get in and go.
With so many skis to choose from, many of us have more than one ski for the specific conditions. For instance, I have my Van Dusen Mohican as my pure flat water ski, and my SES/SEL for ocean paddling. However, with more designs coming out, there are a few skis that bridge the gap from intermediate to high performance skis(HPS). These have intermediate stability and HPS speed. The Stellar SEL and now the Hawx bridge this gap of the boats I have reviewed.
Hawx Design
What stands out from a design point is that the Hawx, has a soft chine that starts four feet from the bow and ends approximately four feet from the stern with a flatter bottom. Also unique to the Hawx is that the rudder moves on a carbon wheel similar to the older style K1’s, where the rudder lines wrap around the wheel vice a yoke like in most skis. The rudder is attached by a robust nut, and set screw, so no fear of rudder failure with this set up. The footplate is solidly built with bungees on the back of the pedals to increase the tension. I like a lot of pre-loaded tension on the pedals so you can apply ample leg drive without over steering. So with the Hawx, you just point it in the right direction and off you go!
Soft chines
It only took a few seconds of sitting in the nicely sculptured cockpit to realize that this is one comfortable bucket. We all know fit is very subjective, however, if you fit in the narrow bucket of the Hawx, I think most paddlers will come away with this conclusion, “very comfortable”. The back of the bucket has a cut out that allows for lean back going down a wave, a stretch on a long paddle, and proper upright seating position with no interference from the back of the cockpit. The center of the bucket has a ridge adding to the comfort. The bucket allows for an excellent upright K1 paddling position similar to the Nelo skis that facilitates leg drive, and proper rotation. This bucket leading to the foot well and beyond is very tapered so don’t expect too much extra room. However, the trade off is another point of contact on the calves offering more stability. With this much taper, the catch is the most narrow catch of any ocean ski that I have paddled. So if you are one of those paddlers who crave a narrow catch, this is your boat. What is nice is that this narrow catch is on a stable,yet fast ski.
Comfortable Bucket
The Hawx drains extremely fast with virtually no water entering the foot well once moving . It comes with an Anderson bailer(first pioneered by Ted Van Dusen in the Mohican) years ago. The placement of the drain in the foot well is perfect. I wondered why this boat with a similar drain configuration to the Nelo Vintage, but without the Anderson Bailer,you need a bailer at all for ocean paddling. My Nelo like the Hawx is virtually water free. I left my bailer open all the time in ocean paddling. My Mohican, a pure flat water surf ski, has an Anderson Bailer as well, where keeping it closed enhances your speed marginally, and keeps your feet warmer in the winter time. I found in the Hawx’s narrow foot well, opening and closing the drain was difficult especially in the ocean while trying to access the bailer. My only design concern was the leash attachment next to the Anderson Bailer where entanglement can be problem. When wearing winter shoes, the back of my heel gets caught momentarily on the attachment when exiting the boat.
Replaced foot strap, Bailer, Leash attachment
Rudder Compartment
It is worth noting, the carbon weave/foam core construction is excellent on this boat. It feels very,very solid and at 28 lbs is an excellent weight overall for racing, training, and an everyday use. With a slim design it fits nicely on my shoulder for easy portaging to and from the car.
Stability
This ski has excellent initial stability with no twitch. At this point I preface my comments with the usual disclaimer that stability is subjective based on a variety considerations, namely:
- What is your most recent reference point( boat have you been paddling lately).
- Have you paddled several different skis to have more than one reference point in varying conditions.
- Fit (if you are too tight in the bucket, stability suffers greatly) point in case yesterday, I was giving a lesson to an intermediate paddler who without knowing bought his first ski that was way too tight because he did not know how a ski should fit. He spent a lot of time swimming unnecessarily, decreasing his learning curve for proper technique and enjoyment. Fortunately, he stuck with it, and bought a second ski that fits him and his technique and fun factor has only improved.
- Rudder size
- Skill level
- Cold Water paddling(where consequences are magnified if you capsize, leading to decrease in confidence level vice warm water paddling.
- Age
- How discerning are you to the nuances of boat stability. I have met paddlers that for whatever reason, can’t really differientate the stability of boats unless there are gross differences in stability.
So initial stability of the Hawx is great, so what of the secondary stability? In a word, excellent. Meaning intermediate stability for most intermediate paddlers, and excellent secondary for advanced paddlers like myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the Hawx in refractory waves, in fact, I was searching them out. What I found unique to the Hawx, was that it stayed centered with almost no roll from side to side, I mean almost none. Most boats have varying degrees of (1) roll rates(speed), (2)the distanced traveled before capsized is eminent, and (3) for some boats the unpredictability of the roll. The roll distance traveled is minimum and the rate is so slooooooow. The soft chines limits the roll distance and in the Hawx’s case adds to its stability. So pretty darn stable. Upwind, quarter beam, beam conditions: intermediate stability. Downwind it displayed similar characteristics but not to the same degree of predictability as in the other conditions. Tracking downwind was good with good responsiveness.
Black Point, 3.2 miles back to McCorrie Point.
1st boat seen on Sakonnet all winter. Gave him hearty wave, and got a resounding horn blow!
Slim design
Speed
Like all my other skis, I time trialed the Hawx on my standard 1.63, 3. 2, and 6.4, and 11 mile courses on the Sakonnet River. I have not raced it or done comparative time trials with my training partners as another reference point. I will add to these comments as I paddle it. I would categorize the speed in the HPS range, not as fast as the top tier boats,but solidly in this range. Anytime I am consistently in the 7.2mph to 7.5mph (8-8:30 min/mile) range on these courses qualifies as HPS speed. In the fastest boats while time trialing/racing on this course, I can average 7.3mph to 8.2 mph (7:30-8:15 min/mile) range with the same heart rate, conditions, rudder size, and weight. As one point of reference, below is a link to TC Surfski and my fastest ocean mile time ever recorded on a average winter day in Narragansett Bay.
Time trial
Time trials
http://www.tcsurfski.com/#!fastest-mile-challenge/c1kfo
On several occasions, I was hoping for slightly more speed given the excellent conditions but found I could not push it further. This prompted me to weigh the Hawx since weight is one determining factor of boat speed. It came in at 28lbs for their Elite(carbon)version. Vajda makes a lighter version that I am sure has slightly better speed like all lighter boats of the same model. I also have a smaller rudder coming, that in flat to moderate conditions will further increase its speed.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/296227563
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295456972
Overall Summary
I thoroughly enjoyed paddling the Hawx in all conditions. Excellent stability with HPS speed, solid construction. The green machine’s comfortable bucket screams” just sit in me”.
Garage in April. May looks different!
Contact Mark and Mark at Elite Paddle Sports for more info on the Hawx and Vajda line. They too have paddled many skis and will steer you in the right direction for the ski that meets your needs. Stay tuned for more reviews to come. See the links below for more info.
http://www.keystonekayaks.com/new_kayak_030.htm
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