Nice Canoe, one of the best I have been on. it definitely has speed ,nice ama action, longer than the my Pegasus. felt really durable but I just had taken it for a test run. I would defiantly would love to have that under the Christmas tree.

I own a Karel built Zephyr. First of all can I say what a pleasure it is dealing with those guys at Outrigger Connection... they were in regular contact with me as to the progress of its construction, and went out of their way to assist with helping me to get it out here in the middle of the South Pacific.
As for the canoe, well it takes a bit of getting used to - but I've found that to be the case for every canoe I've ever owned (viper, hurricane, pegasus, fusion, and now Zephyr). The deep hull makes flying the ama a challenge, as the canoe will 'fall' onto its side much more quickly, and makes the canoe seem tippy. I find the ama is very well balanced anyway, and when the canoe is on the wave, it will tend to sit on the very back part of the ama, which more often than not makes it unnecessary to 'pop' the ama. The canoe definitely has less volume than the Fusion at the back end - it has a pin tail - which is good for sidewind conditions etc. It is also an inch narrower than the Fusion.
I have found the canoe to be very, very fast in medium/large conditions with following waves, and exceptionally easy to manoevre from one wave to the next, especially when it starts to plane.
I also have the feeling I am sitting quite high on the canoe, which I guess is a result of the deep hull design. Some people may say this makes the canoe more tippy, but I like it because the angle of paddle entry into the water is better (feels a bit like the tahitian cockpit style canoes, where you sit higher and have more leverage 'leaning' into the stroke).
I think the canoe is a very technical design, and an experienced paddler will get alot out of it, but like the fusion, it takes a bit of getting used to - which is fine by me.
SO those would be my thoughts at the outset, I'm still working out the subtleties of this canoe, and will provide a more detailed assessment once I have been on it long enough.

Do you guys feel the slightly lower stern volume helps to balance the bow out a little better ? Not including rocker please ,,, just isolate the sea-saw effect of volume.
Downwind:
Less 'tilting' from a volumeous stern 'angling' the bow down ?
Upwind and downwind in steeps:
Less resisting the bow from riding up over stuff ?
Hope this makes sense.

That Zephyr must be the fastest boat ever, Look at Fuzeriders hair, Must have be hot on reentry, He looks a little red,

Impressive belly chines on the fuzerider.

Although you can hardly say that the Pegasus is the best flat-water boat around, it beats the snot out of the Zephyr in the flats.
...of course that's with Lauren B. paddling the Pegasus, and Grover from Sesame Street in the Zephyr.
And I KNOW about flat water.

i'd like to hear the comparison with the zeph and the scorpius which has simular measurements and characteristics

If you really want to sell a boat that's perfect for most paddlers on the east coast, you'll get in touch w/ Keizo and co. and pick up a few Kaimanas!

For those not familiar with the Aussie specs for OC1/2's. all our canoes must have no bolts or fittings exposed (including covering up the rudder tiller bar with a cover)
Legend has it that a paddler was smacked front on in the chest while punching over a wave and ended up straddling the stern, the only thing preventing a complete exit at the rear was a Goolie bag snagged on the tiller bar bolt. He was also inappropriately dressed in " Speedos", which are skin tight short bathers or togs .. ala the "HOFF". After a short layoff from paddling activities, the stitches were removed, the AOCRA specs upgraded and paddling resumed.
This paddler never called "Huts" ever again, voice was too high pitched.
True story.
Cheers Rambo

I just got a super light one today made in Hawaii. Wow is all I can say so far. Very true, almost no up and down movement. I was told it slices through chop and thats no exaggeration.

He's half the man he use to be but still rockin' the Zephyr for all it's worth. Nice one jc.
I swear the car in the video is a Studebaker Zephyr ??? ... could be wrong
Cheers Rambo

it has glide in the flats.it defenetly runs.

Koa Nui Day 1. Kea and Kai on Scorpius. Not bad for a canoe made for the surf! Glide!!! Surf!!! Lauren Bartlett- Pegasus -not bad in the flats and surf. I'll be interested to see how day 2 went.

think we covered this before
http://www.ocpaddler.com/node/2424

Hell yeah

I have to say Fuserider - as a fuse owner myself, I am disapointed in the finish of the china boats. I think they are dull and I can see some of the buffer marks on the deck. This goes for all the fuse / fusion and zephyrs. I am surprised Karel lets them out to market after making such beauties in hawaii.
Do you why this is ?

Last time i saw both the Hawaiian made and the China made side by side in the racks at Karel's shop, the only difference i could see was the stickers were in different places.
If you're comparing Gelcoat to Polyurethane paint, then the former will appear duller.
Are the buffer marks on the surface from a finishing polisher or is it bleed thru of the underlying fabric?
Rambo

Now lets get back to the topic on the Zephyer ,well after over three months now and many Hawaii Kia runs downwind I can tell you this boat punches through small wind fetch with ease and gets you right into the action up ahead when you need it.It surfs like Laird Hamilton in the large ground swell, thats if you have the power to get into them in the first place...Over all we have tested this boat with the same course runs with the same paddler against the Fusion and it always comes out on top in times completed...now lets test the Scorpious anyone got one to loan ????

...or maybe it was his training and skill. What happened to his chine-effect last year?
Bottom line, there is no evidence for your chine-effect. None. Zip. Jr's a damn good paddler and was long before chines were on his boat.

Very Informative ..lots to be learned here :-)

you all notice Jr. had a different ama? it apeared thinner and more pointy at the front were the iako goes in...take a look at the pics and look at pics of a normal one...just an observation...

No, im actually a Karel fan and I really like the mirage six man canoe. Then again the lightning was 15 min. faster in the channel..hum. maybe the lightining was designed better. Dont really thing so. All the boats are designed well, but what I am saying is the paddler makes the difference. So, without Jr's amazing paddling skills, would Zephyr have done so well?

the new Kamanu boat has no chines. that would just be silly sheep like behavior. it is called the Pueo.

Then you're chine-enabled, poops. You're good to go. No training necessary. Just turn on the chines in the final third of the race.

Westside,
Good point about chines on the Mirage. If chines are the ultimate, how come there aren't any on the Mirage.

Seems to me that when you pick up a runner on an OC6, that you're definately on plane.

I'll be planing tomorrow in Seattle at about 11pm PST, and de-planing in Honolulu a few hours later.
During the flight I was thinking about sprinting through the aisle, up to the cockpit, bursting in through the door, (no matter who tries to stop me) and asking the pilot if a plain plane with chines can plane as well as a planing plain six-man without chines.

Also, what's my favorite flavor of yoghurt?
...Vanilla.

I know that proper grammar dictates that names, sentences and headings begin with capital letters, but my name is: goto. All lower-case. It denotes my rank among paddlers - I have not yet earned the big G.
Hopefully the SWAT team finds Goto, and not me. Cross your fingers!