So after my last update I sent my boat off to get fixed. It came back looking amazing – you can’t tell where it was damaged, either by color or by texture. John at ateammarineandsupply.com did an amazing job. But I paid a high price for it – $500. More than I would have liked, but it’s my best boat.
In the meantime, I’ve been paddling my V12. When I bought the V12, I knew it was a bit old and beat up, but I wanted something that would challenge my balance. Also, it had an overstern rudder option, so I thought it might be useful for inland races, especially in shallow waters. And I used it in a few races in 2015. But in 2016, I ended up not using it in races, in spite of using it for much of my early spring training. The only race I did in 2016 that I’d done in the V12 in 2015 was the week before the Canadians, and I had a theory that I wanted more time in the V10 Sport. I didn’t use it for other races that I’d thought about using it for like Round the Mountain because I just haven’t managed to handle it in waves yet, and I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like on race day. I’d still like to get some time in it in waves with the hope of eventually being able to use it in smaller waves.
But here’s the problem: the boat is in much worse shape than I thought it was when I bought it. I don’t know if I just didn’t recognize how horrible it was when I bought it, or if has deteriorated since I got it. As well as the cracks on the seam line that I knew about beforehand, I’ve noticed a bunch of soft spots on the hull, especially where the boat rests on my V-racks. I had it up on my shoulder today and I could hear the gel coat cracking as it bounced when I walked. Not surprisingly, it leaks like a sieve. But on the other hand, I like the fact that my V12 is a beater that I don’t mind dropping in the mud while spring paddling. It also has the earlier bow shape that doesn’t pick up weeds quite as badly as my V10 Sport (the 2014 V10 Sport redesign changed the bow shape to make it sweep up every weed in the world), which means it might be better at the Seneca Monster race if I do it this year. And the overstern option might be good in that race as well.
I don’t want to spend the money to fix it – if fixing a few small cracks on an otherwise pristine boat was $500, fixing all the multitudinous problems with this pig-in-a-poke will cost way more than what it’s worth. Ideally, I should probably get a replacement (used) boat. But what boat? The fact that I’ve been unable to master this boat in anything more than a single boat wake is bothersome. I’d like something that’s faster than the V10 Sport, but I’d also like something I wouldn’t be afraid to use on the Bay (at least before the motorboats come out to play).
But the other problem is that I’ve got my heart set on a better computer this spring, so I don’t have money for a new boat. So I think the plan will be to keep using my V12 as a beater boat until it finally gets an irreparable hole, then look for a used V12, V10 or maybe something else. According to Wesley’s surf ski reviews the Stellar SEL or Fenn Spark might be as fast as a V12 but more stable. So might the new redesign of the V12 but I bet the new one has the weed sucker bow as well as being more expensive.