So you have heard of the new Fluid Element...But haven't seen much of it right?
Well feast your eyes on this fantastic little gallery of Andrew Pollock ripping it up to the max...

www.lifebywater.com/linesandblunts

Enjoy
Scotty R

It would be good to have this boat in the playak boats database. If anybody knows the exact details, please post it here:
playak.com/kayaks.php?op=newboat

I'll post it as soon as the exact specs are available, this will happen when the boat goes into production which will be soon.

Have got to say those pictures have turned me green with envy....those waves look amazing and that boat on them....and me stuck indoors 'revising'! Jeez...keep it up guys, such sweet boats there!
Dolly

looking good...

Looks really good. Is that the production model or how much will the production model change? When will it retail in Europe?

It looks like it should be fun but it is certainly a little less like a surf boat than when it was first conceived. It now looks like a very fast butt bouncer (still slow for a surf boat though), it should be a giggle though.

Denzil

The later prototypes are faster than the initial ones and the boat sure as hell is not a butt bouncer, i can tell you that. The boat in the video is the final prototype so the production boat is going to be pretty much exactly the same.
As for being slower than a surf boat - it is designed to be a hybrid between a playboat and a surfboat, it is slower than a traditional surf boat but that is largely because there are no fins attached to the boats you're seeing.

Check the latest video out: www.lifebywater.com/videos/element.mpg

And tell me if any butt bouncer you know can move that fast?

scottyr wrote:

The later prototypes are faster than the initial ones and the boat sure as hell is not a butt bouncer, i can tell you that.

The way he pushes down and bounces up to clean blunt suggests that it certainly has some butt bouncer qualities, that would just not be possible with an out and out surfy hull, they was it skips along the wave trying to bounce into the air also suggests a certain butt bouncyness.

The boat in the video is the final prototype so the production boat is going to be pretty much exactly the same.

I look forward to seeing the release model and having a play in one.

As for being slower than a surf boat - it is designed to be a hybrid between a playboat and a surfboat, it is slower than a traditional surf boat but that is largely because there are no fins attached to the boats you're seeing.

The lack of speed has less to do with fins and more to do with hulls, This looks like the one of the best hybrids yet but in order to attain this it has clearly had to make some compromises on speed and surfyness to make it more playboaty. Note the way it skips along the wave wasting some of it's energy but making bounced playboat moves possible. Fins would certainly add drive out of the turns are not essential for straight line speed, there is even an argument to go finless for greater speed in a straight line as it reduces drag.

And tell me if any butt bouncer you know can move that fast?

By the looks of it the Fluid element ;P Pretty much faster than any non surf specific boat out there (a Squashtail might generate similar speed, may even be slightly faster, I am not sure but the squashtail is a bit less playboaty) and you can still but bounce into the air. It is an impressive feet and I look forward to playing in one when I get the opportunity.

Denzil

Denzil, i understand your point of view here. Especially with your idea behind the generation of speed. I don't think we're ever going to see a boat which is as fast as a surfboard yet can bounce and do moves like i typical spud boat. There are always going to have to be sacrifices from either discipline but I think the mix is as good as its gonna get in the Element.
The general aim of the Element is to allow those playboaters, not necessarily surfkayakers, who spend the majority of their time in the ocean to maximise wave potential. And i guess it is ideal for a surfkayaker to enter the world of freestyle kayaking.

Do you see what I'm saying?

I'm a freestyle kayaker currently in a country with no big river waves so i have to resort to ocean waves - and here in SA we have some of the best breaks in the world - i can tell you i have never had so much in the surf before.

Cheers
Scotty R

scottyr wrote:

Denzil, i understand your point of view here. Especially with your idea behind the generation of speed. I don't think we're ever going to see a boat which is as fast as a surfboard yet can bounce and do moves like i typical spud boat. There are always going to have to be sacrifices from either discipline but I think the mix is as good as its gonna get in the Element.
The general aim of the Element is to allow those playboaters, not necessarily surfkayakers, who spend the majority of their time in the ocean to maximise wave potential. And i guess it is ideal for a surfkayaker to enter the world of freestyle kayaking.

Do you see what I'm saying?

I'm a freestyle kayaker currently in a country with no big river waves so i have to resort to ocean waves - and here in SA we have some of the best breaks in the world - i can tell you i have never had so much in the surf before.

Cheers
Scotty R

I can definitely see where you are coming from and what the boat is aimed at. I think the goals of this boat have been achieved admirably, it looks like the best of the surf / play mutants yet. I am not meaning to be negative in the slightest, I think this boat will be a hell of a lot of fun, it is just not quite what I was expecting from the element.

I must admit I may find it hard to justify buying one for myself unless I can get away with using it as my main playboat but you never know, maybe eight boats isn't enough after all.

Denzil

Looks really fast compared to a normal playboat,yet still bounces well. Looks really fun. I cant wait to try one.

I think it probably is quite fast for it's length.
I remember surfing the same reef 10 years ago on something called a Prijon Alien - that boat had serious speed and would flat spin like crazy. It felt like you were riding on ball bearings and it was pretty easy to stay ahead of the close-out. It could'nt do any of the other stuff Andrew is doing - or should I say I could'nt do any of that stuff. Also the Alien was quite a bit longer than the Element.
Like the guy said it is ideal for countries like South Africa and Aussie where low rivers mean you have to look at the ocean for having fun.

Wher can you try them in the UK,also when will they be for sale and where over here. I was thinking about a ST buit it just doesn't seem to have that funky bounce factor to it that I love so much:dance: -this looks like exactly what I've been looking for!

butt bouncer

Just because a boat acheives air doesn't make it a butt bouncer. There are more ways to get aerial than simply to bounce into it. The air that the element acheives(much like the ST by DR) seems to be generaed by speed and carve rather than using the slow driving the edges into the water and slowing the whole thing right down and pausing whilst the boat get rejected-like the astro by riot does(best example I could think of). I think it is just a new phase of freestyle, butt bouncing is for a certain type of boat that is slow on the waves, the Element is something different.

From the two prototypes I tried they were incredible. Very fast and indeed as from the above post, not a butt-bouncer. Should be getting my production Element in the next 4 weeks or so... Can't wait..

mine arrives wed, anyone any tips on getting the most from it

valierm wrote:

mine arrives wed, anyone any tips on getting the most from it

Did you get my e-mail?

yeah, got it cheers. sent you a quick message before - lost your e-mail address already - doh!

out in it tomorrow, sort the roll, get surfing - can't wait.

cheers for your help.