Has anyone had much experience with this rig? Lahui Kai 14' Orca, just want to know members thoughts for flat-water,downwinders and ocean paddling. Pros and cons!
i Have paddled it and is an ok board i would recomend demo one first and make up your own mind it has a different feel to a normal board constructin its not a race winner but an ok cheaper option for and all round style board i actualy own a 12'6" Lahui Kai and its a slug compared to my DC CUSTOM
I've had my orca 14 for about 2 weeks now. The hollow construction does feel significantly different underfoot. It's pretty tippy, certainly much tippier than a glide 14. Goes like a rocket though, I did a short downwinder on it yesterday and was catching runners at will. I'm pretty happy with the weight, doesn't feel heavy at all. 90kg here
I paddled it today and liked it.. IMO it's not a real down wind board like the 14' Glide but is faster in non-runner conditions.. It's not a real (piercing type) race board and not as fast as the 14' Javelin but still pretty quick.. But.. It would be great as a good alrounder that you can race and do down-winders on.. It has a slight corky feel and you can feel the flex of the hollow hull but it's no big deal and it feels alot like the 14' C4 Vortice with it's concave deck and a little tippy.. and it maybe a little more stable than the C4 and I thought it was pretty close to the stability of the 14' Glide and defiantly more stable than the Javelin.. I was able to catch waves/runners and you can feel those big double concaves trying to get the board to plane but it doesn't take off like the 14' Glide but I think it would catch a small bump that the Naish wouldn't catch.. I also don't think it would surf as good as the Glide but with a better fin and more time on the board it might surprise me.
DJ
The pin tail gives it very good speed but also means its a handful to control when getting on runners. You need to walk quite far back on the board to control it and really demands a lot more concentration than you need for the Glide 14. Theres not much nose rocker so you need to control your speed or pick the next runner to jump on beforehand unlike the glide where you can use the nose rocker to just freight train any runners in front of you.
In flat water it would kill the glide but upwind I think the Naish board is better. I would say the Orca is better downwinder than the Naish is a flatwater racer but it depends what you think you'll be doing most.
Its pretty corky though, I feel like a beginner over again
I have just demoed this board for the last three days from AA at Balmoral Borads. I was really looking forward to getting over here and giving it a go and getting an idea if it would work in WA conditions, i.e. short period wind swell.
I rode it in a variety of conditions and have to agree that as far as a flat water board goes it is better than the naish 14, and in DW conditions it is quite loose off the tail but does like to hunt out the runners.
As an all round flatwater/DW board I believe it is better than the naish 14, but in DW conditions the naish is better.
As far as WA conditions I think the displacement noes would not be as wuick as a planning hull. At no point did i think that the Orca would be able to keep up with Hilly on his 14 Glide or Belly on his DC16.
Sounds like the consensus is that the Orca is a good all rounder, i think i will have to check it out?
this is how i'd rate them
Flat speed
Glide 3/5
Orca 4.5/5
Downwinders
Glide 4/5
Orca 3/5
Stability
Glide 4.5/5
Orca 2/5
Hey DJ, I still read every Melbourne Downwinder thread that comes on the forum. Love those St Kilda to Sandy runs
I think I'll be in Melbourne later this month around the 15th. Would love to join in for a DW if the weather cooperates!
LMAO nice research skills there Einstein.
From the actual wikipedia article:
I had a quick paddle on a full light weight carbon fibre version of this board on the flat and it felt great. I also paddled the surftech proto of this same 14' and that felt good as well.
The carbon was light and felt very quick off the mark. I found it stable to be able to on the first turn step straight back and kick turn no issues. Would like to catch a few waves or paddle in the ocean though. Got one little boat wake and found it very stable and smooth.
I have a DC 14' on order and I am frothing!