Huki S1XL Surfski Review by Wesley Echols

History with Huki

My history with Huki dates back to 2004 when I got my first Huki S1X(orange in pic below) with a fix leg length. That was my second surf ski after a 3 month stint with my first surf ski, a Mako XT. As I have told the story often, Mike McNulty who relocated from California to Beverly, Massachusetts for a few years, bought a stunning S1X that was the first Huki we had seen in New England, at least on the racing circuit.

Garage April 2014

Garage 2005, 1st Huki(orange), Huki S1R,My 1st Mohican on left(blue), My 1st V10sport

That was also the same time frame that most of us were looking to get out of our Thunderbolts and get into safer boats. A few paddlers including myself demo Mike’s boat at the Snow Row that year. I remember Mike wading in the water to make sure none of us ran his new boat up on the beach.

Wesley ,Huki S1X 2008 Blackburn.

So for the next year, practically everyone bought a Huki including myself. That same ski is still paddled today by a local paddler as are two of my other Hukis, an S1R and S1X Special which speaks to the durability of the Hukis. Just last week I got an email from a paddler in Virgina asking me what I thought about the quality of the Huki’s since he was thinking about buying an OC-1 but had never seen the Huki quality in person. I related my above experience and he has an OC1 on the way to his house.

Another one of myold Huki S1R’s.

I owned at least two more S1R’s over the years in various layups. I clocked a sub three hour Blackburn in a 31lb S1R, hard to do in any ski in this class. That ski is still winning races only with a different and faster paddler, Greg Lesher who just won the Snow Row in March 2014 in my old ski. One of my other early vivid memories in my S1R’s is capsizing in four foot seas off Ocean Drive in Newport Rhode Island along with Tim D, and Mike Tracy while reaching for my drinking tube. Shocked that I went over, but the adrenaline kicked in and I was equally shocked that my remount was so easy.

Greg and Mary Beth at 2014 Snow Row with my old S1R that I clocked a 2:59 Blackburn in 2007

Always Learning

Fast forward to 2013 US Surf Ski Championships where I raced another familiar but revamped 2012 version of the S1R. It did not let me down. I was in unfamiliar waters but felt confident with the fast moving waters of San Francisco Bay. While I had demo all the new Hukis the previous day including the S1XL, it was not until the race that it really clicked for me that a better steering and handling surf ski on faster downwind conditions is optimal. We don’t get much downwind conditions here in New England and if we do the water is moving much slower than the pace at San Francisco. So having a responsive boat in downwind conditions is critical. Remember we are all products of the water we paddle in. While I was in the right ski, my downwind skills need some improvement. Don’t get me wrong I was having a blast, telling myself “you are in a race so stop looking around and keep the pace up”. I was having a blast on the waves.

Demo Day at 2013 US Surfski Champs, I paddled this S1R for the race.

Chris and his S1XL

Just prior to our trip to San Fran, Chris bought a slightly used 28lb S1XL from a New England paddler, Jerry Kastner. This boat was outfitted with a gull wing and two hatches, one of which Chris glassed over. Chris’s glass work is professional grade by the way. Chris made sure he brought his boat stands to make ensure the bucket and leg length fit him. With large hips and long legs (inseam 35 inches) there are only a few skis that Chris fits into. The fit for Chris was surprisingly perfect. That was in July. Fast forward to September’s Lighthouse to Lighthouse (L2L), one of our best attended and competitive races on the East Coast, hence we called it the East Coast Surf Ski Championships. That day was perfect for Chris to showcase the S1XL. The start of the race is a half mile of flat water before some small jobbly waves approaching the first lighthouse. Five miles later in Long Island Sound the waves get bigger and chaotic,not overwhelming by any stretch, but you have to pay attention for this half mile before you make your turn on the second lighthouse. In this stretch, if your rough water skills are good then you can make up some time. Once you turn, it was a blissful downwind for 3 miles, consistent three foot waves until the jobblies at the return lighthouse and then the flat water push home. Chris had his best race ever, placing 11th in the most competitive race of the season. So with solid training, good rough water skills, and the right ski, it can all come together like it did that day for Chris.

Chris at 2013,L2L in Huki S1XL, photo by Vadim, Main Street Photography

A few weeks ago in March, Chris and I paddled on the Sakonnet River on a huge day, blowing 30, and gusting to 38. This was Chris’s only second time in a ski since October. We paddled upwind for 3 miles then turned at Black Point surfing 5.5 miles to Island Park before we turned upwind/up current in a gale for 2. 5 miles in what was the hardest upwind paddles I had ever done. Chris in S1XL was up for the task. After that paddle, we put his boat in my garage where I got to paddle it for two weeks and 30 miles for this abbreviated review.

My thoughts on S1XL

Below is the link to the Huki web site on the design changes of the made in June of 2012.

http://www.huki.com/index.php?page=S1-XL

Cockpit- Fit is the key

The Huki has a universal cockpit that can fit many size paddlers from Chris’s size down to my size. Surprisingly, I needed no padding for an excellent fit. The seat height is slightly higher than some of the other brands with good height separation between seat and heels. The hump is dramatically lower than the pre 2012 models so leg drive is unimpeded even for the short guys like me. The Huki’s have the most customizeable options of any brand by far, and this one included hand slots within the cockpit for easy lifting and carrying, perfectly balanced for one arm lifting, Nice! The other nice feature in the cockpit is that the sides are lowered for easy remounting. I found the draining to be excellent with two venturi’s well placed. Even while stopping, the foot well had limited filling. Huki’s have always used cable rudder lines. I have found that skis with cable lines to be more responsive and no slippage that you can sometimes get with spectra rudder lines.The cockpit to foot well is tapered nicely allowing your legs to have the appropiate contact with the cockpit sides for stability and leg drive. This taper also allows for a very narrow catch that is preferred by paddlers. So the Huki’s have a very comfortable and ergonomic cockpit that most paddlers should enjoy. The buckets on all the Huki’s are very different from the older versions in case you were wondering.

Handles. Replacement footstrap. Missing Huki footstrap when Chris bought it.

The Huki set up is quick and easy with no centering of the rudder needed like on many skis. Once the yoke is attached, the rudder is screwed tight by hand(no tools), then you adjust the rudder cable by pulling it through the holes in the toe pedals to adjust the angle. The spacing on the beaded cable is spaced at 1 inch intervals. While super easy, the angles are limited with 1 inch spacing. If you need more adjustment, you can get the bead set at 1/2 inch as an option. The footplate track uses the same system used on other popular skis, mounted flush in the footwell as opposed to a top mounted track system found on some other brands. The Hukis have a bungee that runs through the toe pedals to the footplate to create more tension. The system works super and only takes 30 seconds to adjust to different size paddlers. For years I have wasted more time with adjusting/tying/retying, centering rudders on spectra line boats. The foot plate itself is rock solid mounted by 6 beefy screws with no flexing, sqeaking or rubbing. The foot strap is a nice quality, wider and better quality than other foot straps and is placed slightly higher on the footplate allowing for easier remounts without worrying about a slouching foot strap. This ski was missing the original Huki foot strap and replaced with a Lincke strap, one of my favorites.

Huki set up. I added the center bungee for even more tension.

I mentioned the no tools system for the rudders. Unlike other skis,there is no rudder compartment. The rudders go through the hull and attached on the deck by simple locking washing and nut. My Van Dusen, Mohican is my only other ski that has this system. Like my Mohican, both brands are built in the USA, a plus. This by far, is the best rudder system in the industry, EASY, taking literally seconds to swap out a rudder or do a visually check of the exposed yoke and rudder lines.

Through Hull Rudders

Performance

While the first you thing you notice about Huki skis are the vibrant color schemes, the second thing you will notice is how well they surf downwind. While all skis can be paddled downwind, the Huki’s make it easy and fun while inspiring confidence. I think paddling a Huki makes me better downwind paddlers because of the ultra responsive steering and stability on any wave. I have much to learn paddling downwind but what became clear to me, was that I was really experimenting with my downwind paddling skills like never before, searching, scanning the waters for bumps. To use a alpine skiing analogy, Huki would be the Mikaela Shiffrin of the surfskis, the women’s slalom world champion who is one of the best technical skiers in the world. She makes it look easy, carving those turns effortlessly with grace and poise. Contrast that to Bode Miller’s style, who is on the edge of being out of control or appears so. Both get down mountain in record time, but with different styles. http://www.nbcolympics.com/athlete/mikaela-shiffrin

While the S1XL excels in downwind conditions and is stable on any angle of a wave, it also has excellent secondary stability in the slop and chop. On a training paddle coming back from the Ride The Bull course, Tim H. and I had all we could handle as the wind picked up to 25mph in the Jamestown Harbor directly out of the east, stacking the water against the long commercial dock creating a mini chaotic potato patch effect for about 100 yards. After about five seconds in the patch, I thought for sure I was going over. It has been along time since I felt I was going to come out of my boat due to conditions, yet here I was, riding the bull in my Huki. I did not get bucked off, in part due to my mantra, “when in doubt, keep paddling” and in part due to the overall stability of the Huki. Tim by the way did get bucked twice but got back on completing his ride though taking a little longer. To Tim’s credit he is a young buckaroo! So whatever the conditions are, the S1XL always feels planted in the water from tip to stern. It is like driving a finely tuned sports car at speed around a turn feeling totally in control due to to instant feedback you are getting via the steering, suspension, and power/braking allocations the car’s computer sensors are directing to the engine and wheels. For an intermediate paddler, they are not going to get in the S1XL and think they can paddle it in conditions. However, the advanced intermediate and certainly advanced paddlers are quickly going to realize they are no longer in a Honda Accord made for the masses but in a redesigned 2015 VW GTI or the 2014 Subaru WRX. My only improvement I wanted was a built in leash attachment that I have grown to like. However, with no attachment point, the foot strap and foot plate are very secure to withstand the tension place on them during a remount.

Nice profile with lowered sides

The S1XL has more than ample flat water speed and always will be competitive in any race. So if you are thinking it is just for downwind conditions, think again. I think Chris demonstrated that a capable paddler can get the S1XL spun up and hold its own in any race not unlike the West Coast paddlers that have been paddling the updated Huki’s for a two years now. So after paddling this boat for a few weeks and 30 miles later, I now have the little brother to the S1xL in my garage, the Huki S1X Special that arrived at my house along with two other skis for me to review. More to come as you can imagine!!