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.
!st Huki(orange), Huki S1R,My 1st Mohican on left(blue), My 1st V10sport
Mike McDonough
Demo at 2013US Surfski champs, S1X Special
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.
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.
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.
