I received the Fenn Glide at the same time I got my Huki S1X Special since both were on the same KAS trailer back in April 2014. So why am I just getting around now to reviewing the Glide? Other skis to review, the race season, and an initial improper fit. I time trialed the Glide back in May and was impressed immediately with its speed and it was pleasantly more stable than I had imagined it was going to be. See my initial time trial back in May.http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/499646935 However, I could not quite get comfortable in it. The hump was too high, the bucket too deep, and I felt too cramped for my short 29.5 inch inseam. So I put it on the back burner and went on to review the rest of the boats over the past year. During this time frame, I would often think about the positive attributes of the Glide (speed, handling characteristics) but then put it up for sale on the classified section. If the bucket does not fit properly, speed does not matter. Thankfully it did not sell! Another GPS time trial. http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/505380606
Fenn Glide 21ft by 16.7 inches, 23.5 lbs
Last Saturday Chris Chappell, Tim H and I paddled eleven miles on the Narrow River with Chris in his V14, Tim H in his V10L,and me in my Uno Max Ultimate. We did some short intervals where I was able to stay a boat length or two behind Chris which is typically the norm for us even if we are in identical boats, our Ted Van Dusen Mohicans. The difference on Saturday was that I was working very hard to maintain that gap. Chris reshaped his V14 bucket to make it fit his hips but still needs to add a seat pad for a good fit. So I thought for the first time since I had the Glide, I should try a seat pad and see if that helps. Most guys will add a pad to gain extra width for their hips, stability training or added height for a better catch. I do have collection of seat pads of all different widths but I decided to try the Linke one first at 1/4 of inch. It has a bottom seat pad with a hinged back for the back of the cockpit.
Linke pad transform fit.
The next day I played with the fit while sitting in my boat stands. What the pad allowed me to do was push forward the footplate one full inch since I now was forward in bucket relieving the cramped feeling I had. It felt like I was in a sit up position before without the pad. By pushing me forward this allowed my calves to extend over the long hump so they don’t bottom out. My calves still touch a fair amount but leg drive is not impeded. The pad also raised me up slightly so I did not feel like I was too deep in the bucket. The Fenn buckets have the deepest buckets of all the skis with high gunwales so remounting takes extra practice for sure.
The test would be in the water. I put on the 4 inch flat water rudder I ordered from Don Keisling and took the Glide over to Blue Bell Cove, my flat water testing waters. I was completely surprised by the difference a seat pad made for this boat. It was transformative. It went from a boat I had up for sell to a ski that I am throughly enjoying despite having used it a total of 10 times! With the new found fit, I swapped rudders and took it down to the Sakonnet River and paddled it for another three miles.I paddled it one more time during the week before today’s 8 mile paddle on the Sakonnet with Chris. He was excited about trying out his new V14 for the first time in the flat to 1-2 foot waters on the Sakonnet with some small downwind using his newly fashioned Don Keisling rudder.
Chris getting warmed up!
Getting warmed up too.
While I had a well above average trial back in May after being in the boat for only the second time, I was curious to see how I would stack up today against Chris. Today we paddled mostly at tempo for 3 miles with some quick 20 second bursts to catch the small runners. On the return trip, we slowed to begin one of my time trial distances which I call “pier to pier” which measures .26 miles. My fastest time ever was in my SES Ultra racing Reid Hyle and Rob Milenbrink also in Ses’s, days before the first East Coast Surfski Championship. I clocked a 1.59 with Reid a 1:49, and Rob a 1:57. Over the years I am in the range of 2:05 to 2:20 for this particular interval. Most times I do at least two because it is tide dependent with a difference of 5-10 seconds in each direction. If I am in the 2:00 to 2:20 range, the boat as excellent speed. Below 2:20 is where the intermediate skis will fall. After 6 miles, we lined up against the current and wind and powered through the interval. Chris as expected, got a half boat ahead of me as he has no turbo lag. Within ten yards, I over came my turbo lag and jumped on his side wash. Chris had two tap braces that allowed me to stay on his wash by gaining a foot each time he braced. That is how we finished with me on his side wash. I was pleasantly surprised. I fully expected Chris to be two to three lengths ahead of me. He would have been if I had not got on his wash as quickly as I did. We clocked a 2:06 against the tide and wind which is impressive. Chris commented I was looking smooth and controlled with the Glide nicely locked into his bow wake while putting down full power. See link for the gps data and look at Lap 8. http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/615768925
Notice 1st Pier to 3rd, .26 mile time trial in background.
Still wanting to put our boats through the paces, we paddled another 1.60 miles to Sandy Point and then turned going downwind. This is another time trial course so I was excited to see how we would do. I started off two boat lengths behind when I hit my start button. I caught up quickly and off we went. Chris would accelerate quickly on to a wave and get a boat ahead before I would catch up. This happened for the entire 13.05 minute interval.So we finished with Chris a boat length ahead. Since I had owned a V14, and time trialed it over the same course in much flatter conditions, the V14 still holds the edge in speed, then our Mohicans, the Glide, Spark, the (SES, V12, Uno Max) all grouped together. The difference in these top end skis is the variation in stability, boat feel and seating. The V14 is the least stable and requires attention with its persistent rocking motion. The Mohican is a pure flat water surfski with great ergonomics, little drag and great stability but is limited to waters not over 8 inch chop. Both Chris and I prefer our Mohicans on a longer paddles. While Chris had some expected boat fatigue, I had none in my Glide which speaks to the stabilty of the Glide. From the beginning the Glide for me had no twitch and barely any side to side roll. This characteristic is very noticeable in light downwind and upwind conditions. It stays remarkably centered without much effort. I am sure this is do in part to my skill level but also speaks to the boat dynamics for such a narrow ski. See my garmin recording of this time trial and notice the speeds when I would catch a wave. For first time readers this is one of my standard time trial courses so refer to some of the other reveiws for a comparison with other skis.http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/615768953
Island Park 3 mile from McCorrie Point
Chris at Island Park
This is a good time to remind you that both the V14, Glide, Uno Max(Ultimate) are our flat water surfskis. We have no illusions of paddling these skis in any thing but the small the conditions like today. Though I can see us getting much more confident and more efficent in these surfskis, we have other skis for bigger water. Link to my V14 Review https://surfskiracing.org/2014/02/v14-ultra-first-impressions-wesley-echols-surfskiracing-com/ Chris has two Huki S1XL’s, a Nelo Vintage and can use his wife’s V10 Sport Ultra on the very big days. I have my Huki S1X Special, SES’s, and an Evo II Ultimate on the way for the truly big days. So we are at no loss for having the right ski for the right conditions. Chris who lives on the Sudbury River(pure flat water) also has five K1’s, Nelo Moskito 90, Epic Legacy XXL, Nelo Classic, Van Dusen Eagle II, and Nelo Vanquish 3 XXL in his garage that he can share the nuances of each of these K1’s. He hopes to try the Stellar Apex in the next month. We are all products of the water we train in and we buy boats to maximize those waters. Since Chris has pure flat water, the V14 with a more K1 feel helps him with stability training since he can not get to the ocean weekly. On the other hand, the Glide or the Uno Max offers me stability training in small bay like conditions. So when we switch to our true ocean going skis, we are rock solid.
So this group of skis is for paddlers with similar skill levels who want a flat water surf ski to augment their more stable surfskis or those paddlers that paddle flat water. One guideline I have before keeping a surfski is to ask myself “Is there a race I will use this ski while being faster or more comfortable than what I currently have” ? Fortunately, we have a great mix of races from true ocean going to the flat water races which keeps it interesting. If I had to race flat water all the time I would be bored to tears. So the Glide I could race and do well at the Narrow River Race, Essex River Race, Run of the Charles and Sakonnet (if a truly flatter day) and the any of the Connecticut River flat water races. Below are two clips of Chris and me just before we take off.
More on the Bucket and Footwell
Unlike other skis, the hump on the the glide is longer so this presents a problem for short guys. Hopefully they corrected this for the new Glide L, otherwise bring your seat pad. I assume Fenn made the hump longer to displace water in the bucket. However,the longer hump presents another problem, difficulty putting your foot under the footstrap since the hump is angled too high as it slopes to the foot plate. If I always go barefoot, no problem, but I never go barefoot and paddle year around. So to correct this, I had to tied the footstrap at a high angle so I can get my size 9 feet under the straps. Remember the Fenns with the deeper buckets can be harder to remount so there is nothing more frustrating than remounting a ski and you find out you are struggling to get your feet under the footstrap. Over you go again. I tried to take the foot strap completely off but it is integrated with the footplate so that maybe for another day. My last Fenn Ski was a Mako 6 and I had a similar problem. Master fabricator Dave Grainger lowered the hump in that ski after I sold it to him years ago. That transformed the ski as well. I really liked it after Dave’s alteration and told him to give me first right of refusal if he sold it. Dave still is paddling that ski. This ski has a very narrow and deep bucket so it will fit the smaller/medium size paddlers or taller paddlers with smaller hips. The Glide drains great with two venturis. I have ample space forward of the footplate with is perfect for my hydropack to lie in the footwell. The Glide had the deepest vertical footwell of any ski I have paddled. I assume like K1’s you need to get volume some where so you can go horizontal or vertical.Vertical is the preferred method since going horizontal obviously increases the width of the ski.
The catch is very narrow with only the Spark more narrow. A more narrow catch magnifies the imperfections in your stroke. So if you are attuned to improving your stroke, this helps. My big adjustment with the Glide like the Spark, there is no leash attachment. I tried putting it on the footstrap but ultimately glued a fastener to the hump for my leash. Not the best solution but later I may have my repair guy integrate a leash attachment. The Fenns come with no back bungees so I glued them on as well. Fenn uses the standard tracking for their footplate adjustment along with the cable stops that you need an allen wrench to adjust. It is easy to over steer these boats so take the time to adjust the toe angle.
With cable rudder lines, the Glide has precision steering but you need to get a feel for it. What is impressive about the Glide is that is tracks wonderfully with little side to side movement in small conditions. This allows for maximum leg drive without boat fatigue. It comes with the standard 8 inch rudder which is fine for my conditions. Like I mentioned earlier I have 4 inch flat water rudder that makes turns exceedingly well. I may order one more slightly bigger rudder for the bigger days. My Glide is light coming in at 23.5 lbs in the carbon lay up and is significantly less stiff than my other carbon skis. It is 21 ft long and has a 16.7 inch beam making it slightly wider than my 16.6 inch SES.
Speed/Handling
Accelerating with the Glide is instantaneous. The V14, Mohican, and Glide are similar in this regard as evident by yesterday’s run. The slight speed advantage Chris had over me in his V14 was mitigated by the speed and extra stability the Glide offers. I have no doubt on pure flat water Chris would have been his usual 1-2 boat lengths ahead of me on short intervals. With these top end skis,you also feel you can go faster with an increase in effort even when tired. You don’t get this feeling in the intermediate skis or some of the intermediates/advanced skis. So as Chris accelerated on to a wave, I felt confident I could catch him on the next wave which I did. We have all experienced the feeling of a fellow paddler catching a wave that you could not get over the top and watch him gain 3-5 boat lengths on that one wave.
I like to do at least one race before I do a review though this does not always work out. However, with the ocean race season over, there is still one flat water race to go, the Potato Race, November 2, which I will substitute my Mohican for my Glide to have another reference point. I have had the Glide in some small refractory and beam conditions and found it manageable but I will need more time in the bucket to be able to exert full power in these conditions. This ski has very little rocker so ideal for the conditions I will be training and racing in. I wished I had tried the seat pad back in May and then I would have had full summer paddling it. Darn it!
In summary by adding the seat pad,it transformed this ski for me. The fit is now very comfortable allowing good ergonomics with a narrow catch. As my skill level has improved over the years, I could paddle the Glide right of of the box with not too much of a learning curve in flat conditions which is what I had hoped. Speed is wonderful combined with limited side to side rolling, great tracking, and pin point steering. It is at the very top of the speed chart along with the V14 with more stability. I wished it had a dedicated leash attachment. Having no leash attachment these days is like have a car with no seat belts. I also would have enjoyed back bungies, all the other manufacturers have these. See http://www.oceanpaddlesportseast.com/ for your Fenn Surf Skis on the East Coast. Next review the Think Ion, Think Big Eze!
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.