Super star review….kind of

February 14, 2005

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the write up of the boat. I am VERY happy
that you are happy with it! I know that I am VERY happy with my All-Star!

Happy Thruster it is called!

🙂 EJ

 

EJ,

It has been a LONG winter here. I was just able to
put my Super Star on whitewater last Friday. I was a little worried, at
6’5” and 245lbs I am a little big for such a small boat. People
couldn’t believe I was able to get into itJ I was comfy all day,
even with size 14 booties on, and a full drysuit with insulation on under
it.

At first, it was a little harder to keep the stern
under me (compared to the Super Fun, but that’s not a fair comparison),
but I quickly gained confidence in the boat. Within a ½ mile of
class III water, I was confident and making moves without hesitation.
Posture means everything in this boat at my size, but that can be an advantage
too.

This is the weird part. I thought that it would be
appallingly slow, and that the lack of speed would contribute to me getting
blown off of small features. I found quite the opposite. I could sit on
a little wave for as long as I wanted, slight weight shifts would place
me exactly where I wanted to be. No learning curve, it was very intuitive.

I didn’t really know what loose meant; now I
think I do. By only turning my head and torso I could spin that thing
around, but instead of getting “stuck” at 12,3,6, and 9 o’clock
it just smoothly turned around. It was like remote control.

It was very cool.

All of that is fine, but this was the coolest part.

I got into a little wave hole, nothing big but the
only relatively sticky hole on the river that day. I did my usual little
front surf then decided for a couple 360’s. I cut right to set up
then using only a weight shift I cut back left…the boat snapped
up and dug in…then accelerated left faster than I have ever felt.
Instead of the normal controlled carve the same edging with the Super
Star resulted in a violent series of exceedingly fun bounces and mini-blunts
that I have never experienced. I started throwing the boat all over the
wave/hole as fast as I could; it was bouncing all over but tracked just
exactly where I wanted it to go. Corrections were instantaneous. Where
in other boats a hard rudder or even braking rudder would be needed to
keep things straight I would just twist my torso and the S.S. would follow.

Anyway, it was a very cool feeling. I guy my size doesn’t
get to feel that on small features, and now I can.

Looking forward to a season of fun with the boats.
My biggest problem is that I have both the Super Star and Super Fun. While
they complement each other, the lines where I would choose one over the
other are getting blurred. My Super Fun surfs better than anything I have
ever been in, but the Super Star will let me get jiggy on the same wave….choices
choices.

Congrats on the Worlds by the way.

Oh, and when the heck are you going to show us the
seat inflatable thingy we have been hearing about. Post a picture…even
if its prototype. Please.

See ya,

Robert Trask