The Slingshot

To complete our quiver for this years World Championship we introduce "The Slingshot” All out waveski performance and beyond in a kayak. Seat height is adjustable from 1" - 5" for maximum performance leverage, Integral "suicide block" to give contol and prevent deck implosion on BIGGER DAYS and lap belt anchors for our "Pro Paddlers".

With a bigger Power Pocket a slicey front end all emphasis has be put on generating kinetic forces and how the kayak can pull more from the wave. When we finished with the power we took away the resistance. When we finished with resistance we added "Total Attack". - The result... With the flat hull low rails and bigger volume power pocket rear end you will send this boat into orbit. Ski type Ariel's are a thing of the past! Dont rely on gravity - Defy it!


 
 

 

Reviews of the Slingshot:

Chis Jones
"It's when you get on the wave that this thing kicks ass; for my second session I paddled out in head high sets on a river mouth bar, where there where two other boardies out.  After a couple of waves these guys were hooting and calling me in, basically because I could surf like they could.  I could take off with them, made every section, and had speed to burn.  The boat carves tighter and harder than any other I've been in, and really comes off the tail without any loss of speed at all.  I can get hard over on top and bottom turns and the rails bite all the way through, giving you a ton of speed to hit the lip with, and just willing you to attack the whole wave.

"In summary, the seating/paddling position is weird, and it takes some getting used to.  You'll probably spend more time setting this boat up than you would with most others.  But once you catch your first wave you'll find it was worth the hassle !!!"

 

 
 

Review from Buck in the USA.

I hesitated writing this report because I'm not that knowledgeable about edges, fin placement, designing characteristics and the like.  But then I decided that since there aren't that many Slingshots around, I may as well pipe up and let y'all take from it what you can.

I've had the boat out 4 times since buying it from Malcolm in Santa Cruz.  The first time at Manressa I had only the feet and upper thighs foamed out.  The seat was still in its original position with a 2" piece of foam under the seat instead of the 3" it came with.  Since then I've foamed out the hips and carved out a foam cradle for the outer and lower thigh.  The seat has been moved forward and inch (there's about 1/2" between the seat pan and the centre post).  It's a fairly snug fit now.  A bit more foam to narrow the bottom of the seat pan should complete the outfitting.  I'll post a picture when I'm done with it.

The more time I spend in the boat the less tippy it is feeling; which is a good thing because the first time out I spent most of the time between sets bracing.  It is a very comfortable boat to sit in.  While I've not done a marathon session, my back and butt haven't been uncomfortable at all.  

It is a slower paddle out than the micro.  It pops over the foam piles fairly well, the hump in the back kept me from pitching over backwards at times that I believe the micro would have looped.

Wave selection is much more critical.  Compared to the micro I'm catching about 1/3 the amount of waves.  That can't all be blamed on the boat as I'm slowly getting used to steeper take offs, so as my positioning gets better I'll get more waves.  That being said, the boat doesn't like chasing waves.  Taking off on the shoulder is a thing of the past.  I'm going to have to get comfortable with beach breaks--not my favourite right now.

Rolling the boat is more difficult than other boats, taking good technique to come up cleanly.  I haven't got a water tight skirt on it yet, and adding just 1/2 gallon of water makes rolling a bitch.  I had to scull it under me a couple of times today after taking on a bunch of water when a wave broke on me.  Then once I roll up, all the water collects in the stern, sinking it, making the boat very tippy and even slower to paddle.  A watertight system is a must.

Performance on the wave is like nothing I've ever experienced.  The slingshot is much quicker than my reaction time.  I've come off of waves because I mistimed lip turns.  The feeling of acceleration after cranking a bottom turn is also something new for me.  The boat likes to be pushed.  Going rale to rale really makes this thing fly.

I'm really looking forward to when my reaction time catches up to the boat's speed.  I can picture using more of the wave than I have been up till now.

Thoughts and feedback are appreciated.

Buck

 





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Cheers,

Malcolm