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Review: Epic V12 Ultra

Saturday, 15 May 2010  |  Written by Erik Borgnes

The Basics

The Ultra construction V12 that I have is awfully light.  I don’t have an accurate scale, but the advertised 23 lbs seems about right.  Boat construction is not my forte’ so I won’t comment much about that.  In short, though, it seems light, stiff, well finished, typical of the Epics.  The outer skin, according to Greg Barton, is a “combination of carbon (in the higher stress areas) and Kevlar on the outside, and Kevlar and lightweight fiberglass on the inside” with a core mat in between.  Because I’m a “run the boat up onto the beach”  and a “Rock? That’s merely a speed bump!” type of guy, my preference would be more in line with a solid hull that would be less susceptible to pressure point impacts, even if it would add a pound or two.

Click here for a larger image

Click here for a larger image

Footwell

The footwell size and shape seems standard and in line with the Fenn Elite and the Think Uno.  The footplate is angled back a normal amount.  It’s easy to adjust.  The rudder cables are Spectra and continuous as a loop, so you can adjust the footwell length without the use of an allen wrench, which to me, is neither here nor there as it’s easy to do on the Fenns anyway.  I don’t like that the V12‘s footplate creaks a bit when you really “stomp on the gas”, but any two-point anchored footplate will creak to a certain extent.  I think only the Stellar and Red7 skis have the 3-point footplates, though I could be wrong about that.

V12 Seat

The V12‘s seat is “the bomb” [Editor: For our non-US readers, this is “good”].  In my opinion, the V12 and the Think skis have really hit the seat shape and under-knee hump perfectly.  Having said that, I am fully aware that everyone’s backside is a different size and shape and that no one ski will be perfect for every paddler.  But, after having spent many hours in many skis, and having overheard many other paddlers’ similar comments regarding the Think and V12 seats, I feel fairly comfortable generalizing there.  Specifically, the V12 seat is wide and flat at the bottom so you’re less likely to get “hip pinch” if you’ve got wide hips.  The standard V10, V10L, Fenn Elite, Mako 6, original Synergy have seats that are lower and more rounded and thus more likely to result in “hip pinch”.  “Why not “just add a foam pad?”  In my experience, that’s never as good an option as if the seat were simply raised and flattened and paddled bare (bare seat, not bare paddler).

Cowling

I suppose that I should comment on the V12‘s cowling because it’s kind of innovative for a racing ski.  I don’t really have an opinion about it, though.  I do use it but I chopped it a bit so that its “arms” won’t get in the way of my paddle when I do a reentry.  I also drilled a hole in it to attach a gps because I don’t think that the gps will get reception under the cowling and I prefer not having the gps on the footstrap.

Venturi

The V12 venturi is an Andersen SuperMini bailer, common on small boats like sailboats and open canoes.  When open, it sucks air at 5 mph (9 kph). I have closed the venturi, filled the footwell entirely, opened the bailer, and watched it drain while paddling in rough water.  It drains well and the footwell stays completely dry while paddling. One opens and closes the bailer with a wire handle that’s simple to use in a open style canoe or a sailboat.  I, however, found it quite troublesome to open or close when on the water.  I don’t know if it’s my short arms or fat legs, but it’s practically a Yoga position to get my hand down to that bailer handle.  I also practically come to a complete stop attempting to open or close it, and I almost capsize each time I try.  So why incorporate a bailer that a fat old guy like me can’t open or close while paddling?  Well, I thought about this, and came up with a new and improved handle design that is easier to operate and you can operate it with your foot.

New improved venturi handle

The pictures are likely all you’ll need, but just in case, here’s how I made it.  Drill / burn a slot in one side of the tennis ball just wide enough to fit the top of the cage into (I used a Dremel tool with a drill bit).  Drill two smaller slots on the other side of the tennis ball, one in front of and the other behind where the cage top hits the inside top of the ball.  Through those latter two slots, insert a long zip tie through one and out the other, making sure to “grab” the cage.  Tighten the zip tie and rotate it so that the cut end is inside the ball where it won’t cut your foot.

Then cement some sort of “stopper” astern of the bailer so that the ball doesn’t “flop” backwards too far.  You can now close the bailer by rolling the ball forwards with your heel, and open it by rolling the ball back and down to open it.  I can now open or close the bailer even while paddling rough water or while surfing.

Just don’t take your dog’s ball like I did, or you’ll have one frustrated dog.

Hey dad, what did you do with my ball?

Speed

I have done several interval sessions on the V12, and I think that I have a pretty good idea of its speed.  Firstly, the boat speed that I think relevant for most of us is the steady state marathon race pace speed, i.e. about 7.2 to 8.2 mph (13.3 to 15.1 kph).  I’ve done many of these sessions in a variety of skis with a gps and HRM.   Usually, I’ll do several back to back 2 km intervals with 1 min rest in between, on flat, deep water, and I’ll average about 7.5-8.0 mph (13.9 to 14.8 kph).  To me, the V12 with bailer all the way open seems be a bit slower than the Uno and Fenn elite, but with the bailer closed, might be a hair faster than either on very flat water.  Paddling with the bailer all the way open increases the drag noticeably – and my guess is a drop in speed of about 0.1 to 0.2 mph (0.2 to 0.4 kph) at my interval speed.  That’s on flat water.   On rough water, the drag from the bailer probably matters considerably less.

Handling

How does the ski paddle?  Well, I think you can tell a lot just by looking at the hull shape and how it’s different from other elite racing skis.  Below the waterline, the V12 looks pretty standard with a narrow rounded cross section, no chines, and no flat spots, so, it should feel fairly predictable on the water and like it has low drag and somewhat low initial stability – and it does.  Where the V12 is different from the other elite racing skis, though, is that from the waterline up, it flares considerably from the bow to the stern.   So, secondary stability is actually pretty good and very predictable.   As a result, the V12 feels quite stable in waves because the waves “hold” onto the wider waterline beam higher up on the ski and they do this at the bow, amidships, and at the stern.  In beam waves, it performs well, too, and because its bow has a rounded cross-section like the new Red7 and Uno, it doesn’t get rolled and pushed much by the wind and waves.

Downwind

Downwind, I think the bow flare works well and gives the ski a really stable and soft, floating feel much like the Custom Kayaks Mark 1 which I think is like a magic carpet ride.  I’ve had the V12 on a few downwind runs, one of them a 22 mile (41 km) straight shot in 3-5 ft (1-2 m) seas.  The V12 steers very neutrally and seems to lift or stay on top of the runners as opposed to porpoising up and down, digging in to the waves, or feeling too loose or squirrelly.  The cockpit placement must be a bit forwards on the ski because the V12 seems to drop down and into runners fairly easily, surprising me occasionally.  The Fenn Elite has that same tendency.  Initially, I though the steering on waves to be a bit sluggish.  I speculate that this is because of the interaction of the slightly flexible rudder pedals, the Spectra lines, and the spacing on the rudder yoke.  If you simply use a bit more rudder pedal movement, however, to steer the boat, then you’re fine and it becomes a non-issue.

At first, I was burying the bow quite a bit while surfing.   I then learned that the V12 responds very well to slightly leaning back to get the bow up and running on top of the wave, so in the end, I don’t see it as an issue for me where I paddle.

Rudders

I’ve used the standard Epic rudder, the new weedless Epic rudder, and two custom rudders, one quite small and raked at 45 degrees, made by Don Kiesling (DK) from Seattle.  All seem to work well with the ski, even the small DK one, which tells me that the hull’s stability is mainly from its shape and not from the rudder.

DK rudder for the Epic V12

The yoke that holds the rudder in place seems solid and practical and works well enough for me to not be worried about the rudder coming loose or falling off.  But, in my opinion, the simplicity of the Fenn’s hex-nut on top of the square-top rudder post or the adjustable Think system are better and more fool-proof.