NEW EHUKAI!!!!

Looking at the picture grip.jpg, what's the chopstick for?

#71 Mon, 07/15/2013 - 7:22pm

@Kalikikopa3, myself and Sam Adams were searching and searching for that chopstick and finally found it. You got good eyes. I think it went with the Zip pack. I'm still looking to find that tho:)

#73 Mon, 07/15/2013 - 8:54pm

I see. Thanks. I was thinking Aukina is already light years better than me paddling, but if he eats his zip pac while paddling WITH ONE CHOPSTICK then I'm not worthy!

#75 Tue, 07/16/2013 - 6:39am

Just noticed that there is only one setting for the aku's. On the Kaa and other O'zones there has traditionally been two settings. One for stable and one for tippy. Any feed back on why the only one setting? How tippy is this setting?

Thanks

#77 Tue, 07/16/2013 - 7:50am

Gundo has got it right. You can't go wrong with that setting. With the on-board chop-stick, you ready for grind too.

#79 Wed, 07/17/2013 - 1:00pm

Caveat to drilling new hole for iako further out ... Puts more load on internal sleeve ... Should check with manufacture first.

aloha,
pog
who has fixed more and a couple sleeves for folks over the years.

#81 Thu, 07/18/2013 - 1:17pm

Other than "Moving the hole 1 inch out shouldn't put that much more stress on the iako tube" ........100% agree.

aloha,
pog

#83 Fri, 07/19/2013 - 12:27am

for those too young to know who MacGyver is the clip below is just the tip of the iceberg.

http://youtu.be/09UlB17cgKw

#85 Fri, 07/19/2013 - 5:10pm

I also think it is a bad place to put the vent hole for the hull way back there. If it is any consolation, be happy it is not the same type vent as the Storm. Regarding the llakos, the stock will be made of composite material. I wonder if the integrity will be compromised if another hole is drilled through it. Further, if the ends are capped will the llakos fill with water with the addition of another hole? Also if clip should rust or its button gets stuck inside the llako how can you replace or get to the button if the ends are capped? Looks like you gotta get a new set of llakos?

But, if the boat flies, non of these concerns will matter much.

#87 Sat, 07/20/2013 - 4:21pm

Gothor, I'm going to assume the Iakos are similar to the Ozone XM Iakos. If so, they are only sealed on one end. So no more water would get in because of the extra hole. The clips can be changed from the open side, but I don't hope to find out how to get the clip all the way through to the sealed side any time soon. As far as integrity. The hole would silghtly weaken the iako depending on it's location. The bigger problem is the amount of force being applied to the Iako mount tube, and the force applied to the iako at the mount end. If you imagine the force you can put on a wrench by adding a pipe on the handle, you can imagine the extra force being applied to the iako mount. the iako is already a 4 to 5ft pipe leveraging the mount. now imagine you drill your hole so the iako no longer sits all the way in it's mount. You are applying more force on less area.
As far as the Ehukai only having hole in the hull to mount the iako. I don't see that as a problem. Neither did Kamanu when they only put one on the Pueo. The adjustments the Pueo has range from leaning left uncomfortably to way beyond tippy.
No the drain hole. I do agree, although many canoe manufacturers place the plug in the same location. I have come to appreciate the plug in front, like the Scorpius.

#89 Sat, 07/20/2013 - 2:30pm

@aukina3 where do we sign up to purchase a boat??

#91 Wed, 07/24/2013 - 9:46pm

hkimball: Feedback to the representative will most likely be positive. Perhaps the question should be, "Did they order one after the demo?"

#97 Thu, 07/25/2013 - 1:50pm

i would like to try paddling on the Ehukai - the new OC1. But I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. How can I have access to the new boat?

#99 Tue, 08/20/2013 - 2:33pm

EricSpin. I'm not positive, but since the Ehukai can be ordered in the colors Ozone uses for their canoes, I'm pretty sure it would match the Storm at Surfline. Again, not positive since my Ozone XM is all silver and the top and bottom are two different silvers.

#101 Thu, 08/22/2013 - 7:31pm

JF808,

We use the RAL color system to quantify the colors we use. Not every color we use has a matching RAL number.
The RAL number is a guideline. Were mixing colors and adding new colors all the time.

Some of the RAL numbers we use are: Yellow 1021, Silver 9006, Red 3020, Dark grey 7011, Light green 6018, Light blue metal 5025, Orange 2002, Dark green 6029, Light blue 5015, Teal 5021, White 9003

Whoever you talked to is correct, we do not have a metallic brown and that may be where the confusion came in. "Dark metal grey" is what we call the color your talking about and it does not have a corresponding RAL number that adequately resembles it. From some angles/light it looks a little brown, like all metallic paints they change colors, that what makes them so cool.

We don't have swatches that are available, we refer to www.RALcolor.com . This site does not have all colors in the RAL system but it complete enough to be useful.

Were humans so mistakes happen but were totally committed to a rich customer experience.

Brian

#103 Sun, 08/25/2013 - 11:27am

jf808 raised concerns about customer service at Ozone. Since getting my Storm two seasons ago, I have had great experiences with Ozone. Paddling in the Northeast in freshwater has some interesting challenges. First, I was able to get a weedless rudder that actually sheds weeds. Second, after paddling in 35 degree temperatures (in a dry suit) last January I had a hard time removing the iakos from the hull. I contacted Ozone and Wendy arranged a phone call from the designer, Michael Giblin, to try to figure out a solution (silicone spray on the ends of the iakos). Third, I managed to break an iako during transport, not on the water, and was able to get that easily replaced. The boat itself is beautifully made, super light, super fast in the flats and fun downwind when we get wind waves. Hope this helps.

#105 Mon, 08/26/2013 - 1:23am

I Just completed my order for the new Ehukai. Very smooth process from the Ozone crew. I had questions as well about color schemes and was curious to how they would look. Ozone got back to me almost immediately and we chose colors within a hour. I'm not sure what more you could ask for better customer service.

#107 Wed, 08/28/2013 - 8:43am

I tried the Ehukai on a downwind HK run, moderate wind. Initial impression on first strokes was the boat took off on flat water, felt faster than my Pueo with the glide. As I got into the run I was surprised at how the nose wanted to bury on every small/med bump, much more than the Pueo. Some of the larger bumps it got on clean. It did feel like it could jump ahead and over bumps better as well but then it would bury a bit. I would like to try it again but at this point would not trade in my Pueo for one.

#109 Thu, 10/17/2013 - 8:27am

180

#111 Wed, 10/23/2013 - 7:10am

When will a demo be in Kauai?

#113 Wed, 10/23/2013 - 11:33am

Sycamore:

When fully rigged how much lighter is your former Pueo vs your current Ehukai?

Mahalo

#115 Wed, 10/23/2013 - 1:01pm

So I got mine yesterday, and have done about 20 km or so (15 miles, give or take). My initial impressions are that it is comparable to the Pueo (I owned one before, and have one in the Big Island and love it), but maybe a little more nervous. Conditions in Hong Kong are such that the bumps are not large and often come from several directions and what I noticed today is that the nose tends to get slapped around a bit on cross chop. The canoe sort of instinctively wants to take the line of the swell, which in my inexperienced eyes means that it likes to surf and does it easily.

What I felt more than any other canoes I have paddled before is that it rewards me when my stroke is closer to good, and makes me bog when my technique goes astray. This makes it a little harder for someone at my level (about 4 years in the sport with a year and a half break there, very middle of the pack kind of guy though probably a poor paddler for Hawaiian standards). I find the Pueo a bit more forgiving (but not a whole lot - I called my old one the Angry Owl because it punished me a little at first). If on the one hand this makes the Pueo easier to paddle for me, this one may help me develop faster.

In one of his interviews JP says that he designed it as he did because he found out that leaning back increased his speed. I tested that and found it to be true (or at least it seems so). This may be a bit of a liability on medium to small sized swells where one is chasing bumps, but I have not made up my mind yet. Based on 2 sessions on a Pegasus, the nose behavior seems similar.

The light weight does make it accelerate faster off a standstill, which is nice. It also glides beautifully, reminding me of the ease of a Hurricane in the flats.

I am still getting used to the way it balances. The ama pops up without much effort, but if it does come back down easily in those instances where one did not really intend to fly it and corrects it (which happens a lot to me). I tried to do it intentionally on the flat to learn the canoe’s balance, and it was easy. The way that the footwells are solid helped me balance using my legs in a way I had not done before. Speaking of the footwells, they give you a solid platform for your heels. I always had trouble pushing down and not causing my toes to push the pedals too, but these wells are generous and I did not end up playing footsie with the pedals.

So far, I am very happy with it. If anyone has any questions, I can try to answer them. I’ll be doing the Dragon Run with it this Saturday, so will have a good idea of how it does in a downwind race and will post again. Note, however, that my results will not be indicative of the quality of the canoe, its being far superior to that of the engine.

#117 Wed, 11/19/2014 - 12:25am

I agree that a fragile paint job was the issue on earlier runs of the Ehukai. Since then, I believe with the 2nd batch of canoes coming into Hawaii, the paint issue has been resolved. I have no complaints about the paint. I am very impressed with the durability and the quality of the paint and the way it has been applied. The boat I feel is great for persons in the 100 - 175lb range. It certainly feels smaller than an XS or a P1 or P2. It has a lot of gitty-up and will get you into the bump with minimal effort. On bigger stuff, I think the XS or the P2 will "feel" more secure because they are bigger volume boats. The boat does feel edgy sometimes in larger stuff particularly if you try to man-handle it too much. If you anticipate correctly, and sometimes letting the boat find itself, ya better hold on 'cause it's gonna rocket you to the next bump real quick.

#119 Thu, 11/20/2014 - 3:51pm

It's possible that not all of the boats in the second shipment had the new paint. The six month delay allowed for a number of boats to be made. What was your serial number? I assume they are in sequential order. I think your rep might be able to tell you at what serial number they switched to the new paint. I have no issues at all with the paint. I use mine 3-4x per week. I never bag the boat but it is stored in the shade.

#121 Thu, 11/20/2014 - 6:56pm

Jc9_o: I too wish the manufacturer would not have shipped boats with the old paint, scrapped them or offered them at a discount. I don't think this was the case. I believe at some point in the manufacturing process the paint application was modified. It just so happened that the mod resulted in a more durable paint job. I was lucky to get one with the new paint process. Once upon a time I was going to buy a Storm. When I talked to the manufacturer he mentioned that the newer Storms were going to use a different composition material which would bring the weight from 15 to 17 lbs. He told me the boat would be stiffer and more durable. Both type boats would be available on the incoming shipment and he would be able to tell by the serial number which boat had the newer material. I never went through with the purchase though. It reminded me of how they modified the paint on the Ehukai but apparently kept production going. Yes, you run the risk with China boats...like a box of chocolates, you sometimes never know what you going get. It looks like I was lucky on this one.

#123 Fri, 11/21/2014 - 12:13am

I promised a review after the Dragon Run, so here it is.

It was not a good race for me, but it was my fault, not the canoe’s. It is indeed a surf demon, and wants to catch everything that comes its way. This makes it fairly sensitive to the direction of the swell and in some cases it makes me struggle to go where I want to go because it will tend to seek alignment with that direction (not necessarily perpendicular to it). In a small number of cases, it makes me struggle with course corrections and the Dragon Run was one such race. I think that was more because of my lack of experience than the canoe itself, as I feel that the range of swell directions that I can use to my advantage improves day by day as the canoe gives me more feedback. Feedback is my favorite thing about it, so I focus my evaluation on that aspect of it.

What ultimately killed me on the Dragon Run was that I rigged it lighter than my ability and comfort with the canoe warranted. That made me huli about 5 times, with its attendant time and psychological tolls. During the times when I could focus on being smart, the canoe would just scream along the surf allowing me to link and jump bumps that I would not otherwise be able to catch. This is probably how it feels to drive a performance car with the electronics switched off. A less experienced driver will make it fishtail like crazy where someone better will just be able to put it on a controlled slide around corners and not lose speed. I still fishtail but when I hit the sweet spot it is a giggle fest.

Which brings me back to the week after Dragon Run. After being thoroughly schooled, I rigged it as conservatively as it gets, and went for time in the seat. I paddled it about 4 times after the race, getting used to the balance learning to negotiate side chop. I would say that, for an intermediate paddler, the greatest thing about the canoe is how immediate the feedback is. If I take a poor line for the conditions the swell slaps me around and forces me to be smarter. When I drag my paddle past my knees, the ama reminds me that I am braking the canoe and that if I do not quit doing it I will eventually go for a swim. When I reach and plant my blade at the face of a little bump just ahead of me I can be sure that my stroke will bring the hull to that spot and that I’ll get a push from the wave. It has helped me improve faster than anything I have ever paddled. Part of it is that I am more aware of what I am doing, but the vast majority of my improvement has to do with the amount and quality of the feedback the canoe gives me. We had a smaller OC1 race this past weekend, and I was finally able to pass guys that I had been chasing the whole year.

The verdict: this canoe is making me faster, but not just because it is an inherently fast design (which it is). It is making me faster because it is also an excellent teacher. It rewards me noticeably when I am doing something right, and it only tolerates my bad behavior to a limited extent. It imposes me a speed penalty when I mess up, and if I persist I can be sure that it will dump me so I can cool my jets and pay attention to what I am doing.

No issues with the ama thumbscrew so far. The paint is not as good as Kamanu's, but nothing that causes me concern at this time. There are some nice touches. like the clear automotive tape on the side where the catch would be that helps reduce dings.

I am glad I went for it.

#125 Sun, 11/30/2014 - 6:10pm

Where is the Dragon Run Alex M is referring to?

#127 Tue, 12/02/2014 - 9:30pm