Posted on September 12, 2020

This is part 2 in a trilogy of outrigger trials, part 1 was a test of the Kai Wa'a Ares. If everything goes to plan and I get my hands on one, part 3 will be about Puakea's Volare Kamanu's Pueo X. After that I should have a fairly good idea about the different designs and where I want to go in this sport.

I teamed up with Rob, a man who goes paddling when ash is raining from the skies, to visit Jude Turczynski at his factory in Sacramento. Rob had scouted a Huki V1-X outrigger canoe in Jude's inventory which he was offering at a discount due to small blemishes and we were going to check it out. Take note that neither I nor Rob are outrigger experts. I had exactly one session of self-taught OC1 paddling under my belt, see Kai Wa'a Ares demo, and Rob's extensive experience amounted to exactly zero minutes of seat time. In other words, this should be very interesting.

We came prepared by bringing courage and our PFDs.

Jude Turczynski is a legend in the ocean canoe and surfski sport. He built thousands of boats in his career, right here in his Sacramento factory, and shipped them all over the world to just about any country. I knew his story and his picture from many web publications and there he was, just as I thought I had known him all along. We had a friendly introduction, learned a few things about his factory during this terrible COVID pandemic, and soon changed location to the nearby American River.

Jude was in his element and enthusiastically showed us how to rig his boat, how to carry it to shore and onto water and so forth.

I gingerly took a first round. Compared to the Ares the main hull of the V1-X is even narrower, potentially a tick faster, and I tried to avoid an early huli. What made me nervous were Jude's instructions to only paddle on the ama side. This boat must be super tippy, I thought. But as it usually goes, I settled in and soon found the V1-X very comfortable to paddle, and on either side of the ama. I also tested sitting side-saddle with my feet on the ama, and similar to the Ares with the ama rigged at maximum distance to the hull it was doable but also a bit of a stretch to reach over to the ama.

Now it was Rob's turn. Given his seat time there would be a good chance to see a huli. I had my camera ready but Rob kept it together, more than that, he settled in after a few short minutes and looked very relaxed by the time he circled back to the beach. It's the magic of outrigger paddling; you can take an expert's boat and a beginner will be able to enjoy it. This also opens up the possibility of buying a top-level boat and growing in the sport without having to upgrade boats simply to keep up with skills development. "It's so peaceful", he said, and I knew he wanted one. It's fast, too, and someday we'll be riding a good swell out on the open ocean.

I took a second round. There are two distance setting for the ama and I re-rigged to bring the ama closer to the main hull. There are no adjustments possible on the forward iako, but the rear iako has three different hight settings. We ran it in the middle position and I didn't change it as I adjusted the ama distance. Jude pushed me to paddle faster, racing style, and I made an attempt for a few minutes. At some point I had the speed at 6.6 mph. On average I probably moved the VX-1 at speeds between 4.5 and 6 mph, depending on whether I went with or against the current in the American River. Moving the ama closer to the main hull didn't affect stability by much and it was still a very comfortable boat. However, it made sitting in side-saddle a lot better and I think that this would be my fishing setup. Also, keep in mind that for fishing the ama will carry the fishing rod and tackle and doesn't need to be far out as more weight is placed on it.

The V1-X is made of fiberglass with a carbon cockpit and aluminum iakos and weighs 26.7 pounds fully rigged. She comes with a number of cool features, for example stub iakos for transport (nobody else has that) and a sliding seat which can be adjusted on the water (again, only the Huki offers this possibility), all clever inventions by Jude.

As with all outrigger canoes in this class, that includes the Kai Wa'a Ares, these boats are light and won't take impact well. You need to be very carful during transport and when carrying it to and from the water. Once in open water there shouldn't be any issues.

Huki V1-X Dimensions
20' 10" LOA (Length Over All), 14.5" BOA (Beam Over All)
20' 3" LAW (Length At Waterline) @ full speed, 13" BAW for 190 LB paddler

It was a very good demo. We learned a lot and Jude was an outstanding host. The Huki V1-X is legit, the workmanship is excellent and the red-to-yellow fades are beautiful. Jude's paint jobs are amongst the very best in the industry. This boat looks fast before you launch it and then lives up to its looks on the water! And the blemish? It's so small that I cannot see it without squinting. I wouldn't be surprised if either Rob or I ended up buying it.