grahamfitter
Expedition Leader
**SOLD** Old's Cool Raider Wave Ski in Lowell, Mass.
SOLD
If you've taken your modern plastic playboat to the ocean and played around in the soup -- getting laughed at by the boardies and wondering why -- its because you're not really surfing! The shoulder of the wave is where the action is and to get there and stay there you need something light and fast with fins. Sit up for yourself and carve on the face of the wave with this Raider wave ski! Yours for only $250.
The details:
Raider Wedge -- Hand made in South Wales, U.K. sometime in the mid-late 1980s. Back then they were still arguing whether to call them wave skis or surf skis and the former won out despite the cool stickers on this one.
6'6" long -- For small to medium size paddlers but if you're shorter than my lofty 5'7" you will probably struggle reaching the foot loops with any degree of comfort.
Lightweight fiberglass construction with foam core and thruster fins. Foot loops and a quick-release seat belt keep you on.
Great condition -- Minor scratches but no cracks in the gelcoat or repairs. All original hardware. The leash vanished sometime since I last surfed it about a decade ago.
In the interests of full disclosure here are some things you might want to know about wave skis in general:
Wave skis are very unstable when not riding a wave. You would be well advised to get comfortable on it and perfect your roll in a lake or pool before you take it to the ocean.
The center of gravity is way back so paddling out through a large, unrelenting, shore break thinking you can muscle through it will usually get you back-looped and back on the beach. Spend some time learning the beach, identify where the weaknesses are, and time your efforts wisely. Point breaks and rips make things easier.
A full wetsuit is the dress of choice anywhere other than the tropics. In a kayak you're sealed in a warm dry cockpit but on this you'll be much more exposed. On the plus side you won't need to wear a PFD because of the inherent buoyancy in the wetsuit. A helmet is a good idea in case you do end up back on the beach still upside down or get hit by a kayak pretending to surf.
The fins will break if you try to paddle off and on the beach. They're replaceable, of course, but the cheaper option is to walk out and swim in.
A longer paddle helps because you sit higher off the water than in a kayak. That said, I used my regular whitewater paddle and it worked just fine.
For more information on wave skis and some videos of people doing what you could be doing, take a look here: http://www.waveski.info/
Now I'm not going to take any of this "Wow that's really cool but I'm too scared of the boardies" or "Wow that's really cool but its older than I am" malarky. If you want to own the wave, you have to make an investment. You know where I am...
SOLD
If you've taken your modern plastic playboat to the ocean and played around in the soup -- getting laughed at by the boardies and wondering why -- its because you're not really surfing! The shoulder of the wave is where the action is and to get there and stay there you need something light and fast with fins. Sit up for yourself and carve on the face of the wave with this Raider wave ski! Yours for only $250.
The details:
Raider Wedge -- Hand made in South Wales, U.K. sometime in the mid-late 1980s. Back then they were still arguing whether to call them wave skis or surf skis and the former won out despite the cool stickers on this one.
6'6" long -- For small to medium size paddlers but if you're shorter than my lofty 5'7" you will probably struggle reaching the foot loops with any degree of comfort.
Lightweight fiberglass construction with foam core and thruster fins. Foot loops and a quick-release seat belt keep you on.
Great condition -- Minor scratches but no cracks in the gelcoat or repairs. All original hardware. The leash vanished sometime since I last surfed it about a decade ago.
In the interests of full disclosure here are some things you might want to know about wave skis in general:
Wave skis are very unstable when not riding a wave. You would be well advised to get comfortable on it and perfect your roll in a lake or pool before you take it to the ocean.
The center of gravity is way back so paddling out through a large, unrelenting, shore break thinking you can muscle through it will usually get you back-looped and back on the beach. Spend some time learning the beach, identify where the weaknesses are, and time your efforts wisely. Point breaks and rips make things easier.
A full wetsuit is the dress of choice anywhere other than the tropics. In a kayak you're sealed in a warm dry cockpit but on this you'll be much more exposed. On the plus side you won't need to wear a PFD because of the inherent buoyancy in the wetsuit. A helmet is a good idea in case you do end up back on the beach still upside down or get hit by a kayak pretending to surf.
The fins will break if you try to paddle off and on the beach. They're replaceable, of course, but the cheaper option is to walk out and swim in.
A longer paddle helps because you sit higher off the water than in a kayak. That said, I used my regular whitewater paddle and it worked just fine.
For more information on wave skis and some videos of people doing what you could be doing, take a look here: http://www.waveski.info/
Now I'm not going to take any of this "Wow that's really cool but I'm too scared of the boardies" or "Wow that's really cool but its older than I am" malarky. If you want to own the wave, you have to make an investment. You know where I am...
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