Keystone Kayak Racing
2010 Keystone Kayaks - people dedicated to paddling kayaks for fitness and racing
Nelo Heads to Sea by Cliff Roach
I don’t know how he did it, but Vadim managed to get his hands
on a brand new Nelo Surfski. I was only too happy to come out and oogle over it with a few of the regulars at the local lake.
Following are some of our observations.
Unfortunately, this is a flat water review only. This is because we are landlocked paddlers
near Philadelphia and two hours from the nearest beach. Funny place for a ski? Not necessarily! If it is anything
like the new skis we are seeing these days, it would be a nice catch for any flatwater racer. We have been paddling Vadims Epic V12
on the flats this year and over all we agree with Epics claims. This boat is as fast or faster than our K1s! The Mohican
(Ted
Vandusen), with its optional K1 seat is every bit as ergonomically fit as any K1 out there, and rips through the shallows as if immune.
The main advantage for K1s has been their high seat position and uncompromised search for the ideal ergonomics. These new skis are
all about ergonomics and are blurring the line between ski and K1. I for one do not get teary eyed when seeing a ski on a lake.
It is not a sad misuse of an ocean vessel. It is an evolution of design and speaks to the incredible versatility of these new boats
Despite the original intention of creating an open ocean racer, we have to accept that these new skis ARE fast flat water machines.
Compared to K1s, They are faster for all but trained elite sprinters(not so much for light paddlers), more stable with shorter learning
curves, safer (remountable), and able to take chop when it comes. So when one of the oldest and most respected K1 builders in
the world jumps in the market, we were only too happy to take a look. You will see comparisons with the V12 since we are familiar
with it and it is likely to overlap in market share.
THE HULL- We were immediately infatuated with the lines and
finish of this boat. It is arguably the most seductive ski ever built. This boat was the WWR layup, the heavier of the two layups
offered. Nelo calls it 31lbs, but this one felt more like 27 or 28. The entire outside is of carbon. Though heavier than
the E layup(22lbs), this does not at all look like the “cheap layup”. Time will tell, but it may be the “durable layup”. The
finish was flawless black carbon with a wide white gelcoat stripe that filled the cockpit. Unlike the hi volume aggressive utilitarian
and somewhat mysterious lines of the V12, the Nelo is decidedly simple. Clean classic lines that are, not surprisingly, more
K1 like. The gunwalls are level with the deck fore and aft. How refreshing not to be generic white too! Yes, the gods can hear!
Is anyone else sick of seeing white????? How many of us would not be able to spot their V10 in a lineup? The hulls are
more similar than dissimilar. We did note the Nelo to have a more flattened aft portion, and more vertical sidewalls. The Nelo appears
lower volume. The finish is top notch.
FIT AND TRIM- Our boat is a Large, for over 75Kg. So, it was of great surprise when only
a few of us, including me, could fit in the bucket. This will be a major problem for many paddlers. I am just over 6 feet and
185 pounds(84kg) with a 32 inch waist. I fit the V12, V10 Huki S1X(wide seat only), Mako 6, Think Legend, Vandusen Mohican to name
a few just fine. I was wedged in the Nelo and could not properly rotate. This is not a design flaw; the seat is really nice, just
too narrow, as if for a smaller paddler. The back of the seat has a very shallow slope to it, and at first look, we looked at each
other with funny faces. But having paddled it, it works well. Whereas I tend to lock myself into the V12 between foot and rump, there
is more room for altering your position and even leg length enroute. It seems more flatwater/ergonomic designed. The footwell is also
more narrow than most skis, and most of us noted that our calves were somewhat tight and rubbed on the side of the hull. The seat
height is very high for a ski, and noticeably higher than the V12, which we notice is higher than a lot of other skis. The single
footwell footrest does not go to the floor. Rather, it starts a few inches off the floor and ends hi before the peddles start.
No
heel drive here. This seems a little strange at first, but, the reward is paddling hard with full leg drive and easily missing
the pedals, and thus not wasting energy to the rudder zizagging. Again, more like a K1. The adjustable footrest was somewhat of a
disappointment. It requires you to use an allen wrench to remove two screws before moving the rest. The rudder cables are round and
appear more robust than the Epics. The rudder, unfortunately, is held much like the Epics, with two Allen head screws, but at
least the Nelo has half of the shaft flattened to get a better purchase on the spreader bar. The rudder set up on both boats makes
me love my Huki. As unwieldy as it is to switch rudders, or adjust the foot rest, at least Nelo was thoughtful enough to include
a allen wrench that stows on a mount on the hull. Speaking of thoughtful, there is a leash attachment at the crest of the seat/leg
hump. All of the trim is quality and looks durable. Keep in mind that this is one of the first, or THE first ski to hit this country,
so I would expect that like many makers, there will be a stream of changes and improvements as the production gears up. This boat
came from Janet Findlay of Mississippi Kayaks. She is a great lady to deal with and we thank her for allowing us this special demo.
Check out her website - mkayaks.com
STABILITY- Speaking of Janet Findlay: On her website, she says the stability is similar to a Vanquish Vintage
K1. Coincidently, that is my primary boat. And, having paddled them both, I am pleased to say that the ski is much more
stable than that. Still, it is a full out racer not intended for novices. They will have a “Vintage” ski arriving here in the
states shortly that is to be more docile (can’t wait for that one too). This Nelo is not obnoxiously tippy or anything, but
it will be more of a handful than many of the popular skis. We had one paddler that found the Nelo
a little higher up the learning
curve as he swam on his first time out. He paddles the V12 with relative ease.
For those of you that paddle K1s regularly,
there will be no problem at all, but our K1 paddlers admitted it would be more work in the chop than the V12. For an experienced skier
that fits loosely in the bucket, the remount will be no problem. The sidewalls are relatively low, and the bucket is shallow. Balance
will be the key to novice paddlers. Two of our paddlers that remounted the 12 successfully remounted the Nelo well, only to fall over
the other side. One of them was an accomplished downriver racer. Was it complacency? Too challenging? Or, perhaps a strong desire
to amuse the crew? Who knows. Primary stability on both boats is fairly similar. If anything, I think the 12 is just a tad more twitchy
at dead center. It has that slight quirkyness that fades quickly once you get used to it. It is never really a problem though. The
Nelo is a little more predictable and takes direction a little more naturally, more like a K1. The big difference between the
two is the secondary stability. The sidewalls are steeper on the sub 17” nelo, and the seat is considerably higher. Once off center,
it is up to the paddler to correct the problem, or swim.
Don’t get me wrong, it does have reasonable secondary, but it
just does not measure up to the Safety net secondary of the V12. An elite paddler on the Nelo probably won’t lose time due to
stability,but a novice likely will.
SPEED- Unfortunately, we only had 3 hours to test the boat. How best to spend
our limited time? Rowan Sampson and I did four 500 meter sprints. We are both 80ish kg paddlers of similar speed.. We
never did get to time Holm which would have been very interested given his background (East German Olympic sprinter). He did say he
felt he lost nothing in speed to his K1 or the V12. The first sprint with Rowan and I in the V12 and Nelo was 2:19 and 2:25
respectively with a slow rolling start. We then switched boats and found the V12 and Nelo tied at 2:22. I then did a sprint
in my K1 at 2:25, and one last sprint in the V12 at 2:22. If you look at the first four sprints, the V12 was 6 seconds
faster combined. However, the V12 had a cut off rudder and was several pounds lighter(24 lbs). In addition, there was some loss of
rotation in the Nelo for me due to the tight seat . So, in this less than ideal, not completely scientific, for arguments sake, backyard
shoot out, the only fairly obvious conclusion is that they are very similar in speed. Both are genuine contenders for any flatwater
race. It is interesting to note that of the 5 sprints I did, my slowest time was in the K1 that I paddle everyday. One could argue
that the Vintage is not a full on sprint boat,
and I am not a professionally trained athlete. But then again, how many of us
are.
OVERVIEW- We all really liked this ski. We liked the speed, and the drop dead beauty. We liked the K1 feel that allowed
truly unhampered rotation. With the higher seat and the K1 positioning, there is little in the way of transition from ski to K1. Strong
flatwater paddlers like Holm will love this boat . Two of us regularly have back/neck problems with the low seats in most skis. No
problem here. We liked the apparent durability of the hull and its rigidity. We like that Nelo is offering their skis in large and
small. Women and smaller guys don’t have to paddle a ski designed at 50 over their weight. Most of us liked the raised footrest,
except the one with small feet. We liked the leash attachment. We were not fond of the Allen head nuts on the footrest and rudder.
The rudder system is, well how to say, not like the HUKI. I am not plugging Huki here, but I have yet to meet anyone that does not
like that set up. Our complaints really are overwhelmed by the plusses. Asked if we would like to own it, all that could fit in it
said yes. It is a refreshing alternative to the generic bignose milk trucks we call skis. I don’t know how this boat will fare
in big water for the average paddler. I will leave that to the men and women that paddle in the humps daily.
However, for a flat water
paddler, this is a great alternative to K1s and may represent a new trend.
Cliff Roach
Cliff Roach
