According to other reviewers the new SEL has been lauded as having the stability of an intermediate boat and the speed of an elite level boat.
Well after testing a 2016 SEL-Excel back to back with 5 other boats, Carbon Fenn Elite, Swordfish S Hybrid, Swordfish Vacuum Glass, Performance V10 (new version) and a Carbonology Flash in a variety of conditions including a 23km 20knot downwind I can confirm some of the hype is true... but there are also some glaring drawbacks!
Firstly, there is no such thing as a perfect ski... if there was, we would all have one and no other skis would exist. In truth, there is however a perfect ski for each person in typical conditions where they normally paddle and that can be a very different craft for each paddler!
The SEL for me has been a perfect example that you have to demo a ski in the conditions you normally paddle in.
The first time I paddled the new SEL was in still, flat conditions on the river. The stability definitely puts it up against the Swordfish and V10. In a word, it is fantastic! A mid packers dream. In fact in every outing I had, I didn't have a single brace stroke.
It's cruise speed is high, maintaining 12 kph for the first km in the boat followed by sprints up to 15.5 with 30 seconds rest each time. This is pretty much identical to what I train at in my Fenn Elite and are speeds that leave me shattered if attempted in my glass Swordie. Catching boat wash was a piece of cake and it picked up the wave effortlessly but did want to swing the tail around if you tried to ride the face of the wave.
My next paddle was still in sheltered waters, but the wind was blowing 20 knots and there was spray coming off the whitecaps when the wind was gusting. The bow slap from the SEL was a bit of a concern but catching the small 1-2 foot waves downwind was an absolute joy. It picked up the runs easily, linked runs just as easily and I had a great time... could this be the boat for me?
The next two paddles were a week later and back at home in my normal conditions. I couldn't wait! Saturday was blowing 30 knots in the bay so paddling upwind was always going to be a slog. The fetch is only about 10km where we were paddling so the waves weren't big, only around 2 feet, but they were steep and moving pretty quick. Going upwind in the SEL I have never been more disappointed in any ski. The Bow and tail slap was relentless, the fore and aft pitching almost making me sea sick! It was on this day that we had 3 Paddlers swapping between the 6 boats listed above. When it was my turn on the SEL, I was gob smacked to be overtaken by Tony and Eddie on the swordfish pair while they chatted and laughed. I was working my butt off. The SEL was absolutely flogged by every other boat upwind. It didn't matter who was on which boat. Everything thrashed the SEL upwind! All other boats were pretty similar in speed and it usually came down to the stronger paddler who was quickest.
Downwind was a bit of a mixed bag with the Elite and Flash being the fastest, but the Swordfishes were easily the most fun in these conditions, carving up waves with ease. Their only difficulty was trying to climb over the wave in front. The newer Swordfish S is better at this than the older version. The SEL with its high flat water speed had no trouble climbing over waves and linking was relatively easy but it was still at the back of the pack on GPS data along with the MUCH heavier V10. After 90 minutes of swapping boats and logging runs, the new SEL was by far the least favourite boat for all 3 of us. The upwind effort really was that bad! If any prospective owner doesn't have a shuffle bunny for downwind runs you can stop reading here! this is NOT the boat for you.
Day 4 was a 23km downwind in 20 knot conditions from Forrest Beach to Dalyellup. This is my favourite run and speeds are usually as good (or better) than the famous Mandurah Cut Run. The shape of the coast just seems to produce fast clean waves. Today was a little messier than normal as the wind kept gusting from the South rather than the usual SW, but that's still fairly typical. I do this run a lot and normally gap Tony and Eddie pretty easily. Today I was on the new SEL, Tony was on his Swordfish S and Eddie was having his first proper downwind on my older Swordie. With waves averaging 4 foot and some good white cap spray hitting us in the back it should have been a great paddle. Once again I was underwhelmed by the SEL. How can a boat that feels this stable, where I can always get the power down and with easy speed to catch pretty much any wave be so slow?
The Answer: Where both Swordfishes were catching every single wave and having 60-90 second runs without the paddle in the water, I was paddling as if it was a flat day. The new V10 suffers from this as well to a certain extent, but that is a MUCH heavier boat (I'd like to try the ULTRA or GT versions in these conditions). Yes I caught lots of waves, and plenty that the Swordfishes had no chance of running down, but it is still really demoralising to be on a decent wave, paddling to maintain momentum for the next link and a beat up old swordfish catches you, overtakes you without paddling, and the mad bugger on board grinning from ear to ear shouting out "How awesome is this?" In these conditions I am normally on my Elite and I stop every 5km for the others to catch up, often paddling back upwind for a few minutes because I've lost sight of them. Today, on the SEL, I was the one working my butt off and twice Tony had to wait for me. He finished the run fresh and relaxed. I was knackered.
In smaller conditions I can totally believe all the favourable reviews and comments the new 2016 SEL is getting. The finish on this boat is absolutely first class. The footplate is fantastic, the seat is much more comfortable than previous Stellars and it is super stable. Any intermediate paddler will feel comfortable, and it is really quick in light conditions. On the flat it is easily a match for my old 2010 Fenn Elite, but that's almost expected as it has a lot less rocker.
In a proper downwind however the SEL is probably the slowest of the intermediate boats I've paddled. And for the record I have paddled a lot of different boats. I currently have 14 in the shed (hopefully the wife doesn't read this) including Clint Robinsons carbon V10 that still holds the record for the Rottnest Doctor race and have owned more than 40 in the last 10 years. A younger fitter bloke might like the SEL better, but I'll stick to the Swordfish. for racing. The lack of outright speed isn't a huge disadvantage when you're getting so many rests.
Not everyone paddles much upwind, but I do. Local conditions and my nearest paddling buddies living 25km away unfortunately make it pretty common for me to paddle 7-10km into a 25 knot wind for the solo down wind run back to the start. For this reason alone I wouldn't consider adding the SEL to my current fleet. Some boats are a pleasure upwind. The Oceanbuilt, Zeplin and the new V10 are brilliant at it, even the Custom Kayaks Synergy was a joy upwind. Most boats however are simply tolerable upwind for the joy that comes on the way back, The SEL for all 3 of us that day of up and backs was horrible. There was always going to be a trade off for that brilliant stability along with flat water speed. Once again proving - There is no perfect ski for everyone.
Well after testing a 2016 SEL-Excel back to back with 5 other boats, Carbon Fenn Elite, Swordfish S Hybrid, Swordfish Vacuum Glass, Performance V10 (new version) and a Carbonology Flash in a variety of conditions including a 23km 20knot downwind I can confirm some of the hype is true... but there are also some glaring drawbacks!
Firstly, there is no such thing as a perfect ski... if there was, we would all have one and no other skis would exist. In truth, there is however a perfect ski for each person in typical conditions where they normally paddle and that can be a very different craft for each paddler!
The SEL for me has been a perfect example that you have to demo a ski in the conditions you normally paddle in.
The first time I paddled the new SEL was in still, flat conditions on the river. The stability definitely puts it up against the Swordfish and V10. In a word, it is fantastic! A mid packers dream. In fact in every outing I had, I didn't have a single brace stroke.
It's cruise speed is high, maintaining 12 kph for the first km in the boat followed by sprints up to 15.5 with 30 seconds rest each time. This is pretty much identical to what I train at in my Fenn Elite and are speeds that leave me shattered if attempted in my glass Swordie. Catching boat wash was a piece of cake and it picked up the wave effortlessly but did want to swing the tail around if you tried to ride the face of the wave.
My next paddle was still in sheltered waters, but the wind was blowing 20 knots and there was spray coming off the whitecaps when the wind was gusting. The bow slap from the SEL was a bit of a concern but catching the small 1-2 foot waves downwind was an absolute joy. It picked up the runs easily, linked runs just as easily and I had a great time... could this be the boat for me?
The next two paddles were a week later and back at home in my normal conditions. I couldn't wait! Saturday was blowing 30 knots in the bay so paddling upwind was always going to be a slog. The fetch is only about 10km where we were paddling so the waves weren't big, only around 2 feet, but they were steep and moving pretty quick. Going upwind in the SEL I have never been more disappointed in any ski. The Bow and tail slap was relentless, the fore and aft pitching almost making me sea sick! It was on this day that we had 3 Paddlers swapping between the 6 boats listed above. When it was my turn on the SEL, I was gob smacked to be overtaken by Tony and Eddie on the swordfish pair while they chatted and laughed. I was working my butt off. The SEL was absolutely flogged by every other boat upwind. It didn't matter who was on which boat. Everything thrashed the SEL upwind! All other boats were pretty similar in speed and it usually came down to the stronger paddler who was quickest.
Downwind was a bit of a mixed bag with the Elite and Flash being the fastest, but the Swordfishes were easily the most fun in these conditions, carving up waves with ease. Their only difficulty was trying to climb over the wave in front. The newer Swordfish S is better at this than the older version. The SEL with its high flat water speed had no trouble climbing over waves and linking was relatively easy but it was still at the back of the pack on GPS data along with the MUCH heavier V10. After 90 minutes of swapping boats and logging runs, the new SEL was by far the least favourite boat for all 3 of us. The upwind effort really was that bad! If any prospective owner doesn't have a shuffle bunny for downwind runs you can stop reading here! this is NOT the boat for you.
Day 4 was a 23km downwind in 20 knot conditions from Forrest Beach to Dalyellup. This is my favourite run and speeds are usually as good (or better) than the famous Mandurah Cut Run. The shape of the coast just seems to produce fast clean waves. Today was a little messier than normal as the wind kept gusting from the South rather than the usual SW, but that's still fairly typical. I do this run a lot and normally gap Tony and Eddie pretty easily. Today I was on the new SEL, Tony was on his Swordfish S and Eddie was having his first proper downwind on my older Swordie. With waves averaging 4 foot and some good white cap spray hitting us in the back it should have been a great paddle. Once again I was underwhelmed by the SEL. How can a boat that feels this stable, where I can always get the power down and with easy speed to catch pretty much any wave be so slow?
The Answer: Where both Swordfishes were catching every single wave and having 60-90 second runs without the paddle in the water, I was paddling as if it was a flat day. The new V10 suffers from this as well to a certain extent, but that is a MUCH heavier boat (I'd like to try the ULTRA or GT versions in these conditions). Yes I caught lots of waves, and plenty that the Swordfishes had no chance of running down, but it is still really demoralising to be on a decent wave, paddling to maintain momentum for the next link and a beat up old swordfish catches you, overtakes you without paddling, and the mad bugger on board grinning from ear to ear shouting out "How awesome is this?" In these conditions I am normally on my Elite and I stop every 5km for the others to catch up, often paddling back upwind for a few minutes because I've lost sight of them. Today, on the SEL, I was the one working my butt off and twice Tony had to wait for me. He finished the run fresh and relaxed. I was knackered.
In smaller conditions I can totally believe all the favourable reviews and comments the new 2016 SEL is getting. The finish on this boat is absolutely first class. The footplate is fantastic, the seat is much more comfortable than previous Stellars and it is super stable. Any intermediate paddler will feel comfortable, and it is really quick in light conditions. On the flat it is easily a match for my old 2010 Fenn Elite, but that's almost expected as it has a lot less rocker.
In a proper downwind however the SEL is probably the slowest of the intermediate boats I've paddled. And for the record I have paddled a lot of different boats. I currently have 14 in the shed (hopefully the wife doesn't read this) including Clint Robinsons carbon V10 that still holds the record for the Rottnest Doctor race and have owned more than 40 in the last 10 years. A younger fitter bloke might like the SEL better, but I'll stick to the Swordfish. for racing. The lack of outright speed isn't a huge disadvantage when you're getting so many rests.
Not everyone paddles much upwind, but I do. Local conditions and my nearest paddling buddies living 25km away unfortunately make it pretty common for me to paddle 7-10km into a 25 knot wind for the solo down wind run back to the start. For this reason alone I wouldn't consider adding the SEL to my current fleet. Some boats are a pleasure upwind. The Oceanbuilt, Zeplin and the new V10 are brilliant at it, even the Custom Kayaks Synergy was a joy upwind. Most boats however are simply tolerable upwind for the joy that comes on the way back, The SEL for all 3 of us that day of up and backs was horrible. There was always going to be a trade off for that brilliant stability along with flat water speed. Once again proving - There is no perfect ski for everyone.