Spindrift – Ken Katz

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 (launching, Spindrift), 4 comments

Ken Katz in Oregon launched an impressive Spindrift earlier this fall – impressively built, functionally and visually and with lots of instructive photos of the process. Intended for mostly small to moderate waves, Ken decreased the rocker slightly, which means higher top speed for a not too heavy paddler, but with the downside of also limiting the maneuverability when surfing bigger waves. This is a tricky balance that I would love to hear more about.

"Hi Bjorn,

I finally got around to putting some building pics of the ski together. See the link below. Thanks for a great design, I love it! Haven't been in any big water yet but that will change in the next couple of weeks when I head south to the San Francisco bay area. She floats perfectly on her lines is very stable and fast. Elegant is a word that comes to mind. I guess I will find out if removing the rocker was a mistake soon. So far, so good. I may be in touch next Spring if I get motivated to build another ski for Luanne. Hope your Winter is going well and happy holidays.

https://picasaweb.google.com/kennneee/StripSkiBuildAndLaunch?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers,
Ken"

Here is the link to the photo gallery and one to an article about the project on SurfSkiRacing.com. On Kayak Building Forum Ken's surfski have been discussed, admired and commented.