A couple of weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of joining with the Stellar Kayak’s company owners and with other Stellar dealers in the first annual Stellar dealers conference in Virginia Beach, VA. Now it’s true I had to suffer through an 8th floor time-share unit overlooking the beach and plenty of excellent food, but the opportunity to learn a whole lot about the company and boat construction, along with the opportunity to test many of the boats in the line, made it all more than worth it. 🙂
Of all the boats I tested, the one that stood out the most is the completely redesigned 2015 Stellar SR intermediate surf ski. What an awesome boat! My wife and I received our first taste of Stellar boats when my wife bought a 1st gen Stellar SR in Excel layup to replace her Think Fit. The SR was a well-built boat (the construction so impressed me I turned around and purchased a Stellar SE Ultra) with very fine manners on the water, but one aspect didn’t suit me all that well: the cockpit was large, and not particularly well fitted to my posterior shape. All that is now a thing of the past; the new SR has one of the best cockpits in the industry! Aside from the very solid 3-point footplate (which they’ve had all along), the new cockpit is an ergonomic wonder: it just fits exceptionally well! Twin venturis and a lower-volume cockpit substantially speed draining over the 1st gen boat, another improvement. And then there are some tweaks to the boat, such as moving the cockpit forward a bit and narrowing the catch. All the improvements sound small, but it adds up to a boat that feels utterly delightful on the water! The classic stability is still there, but the boat just feels lively, fun, and fast! I think the other participants were certain I wasn’t going to let them have a chance at trying out the new boat, it was so much fun! I’m not the only one that thinks so: read Wesley Echol’s review of the new SR at: Wesley’s SR Review. But perhaps of great value than the opinion of professional reviewers is the opinion of a customer who recently bought one: he wrote back to tell me he and his daughter love the boat! Stellar really hit the sweet spot on this boat; try it – I think you’ll like it! And of course you can always obtain an SR for yourself from River Bear Racing! Call me (Steve) at 260-452-6447. And stay tuned for the latest updates on Stellar boats. More exciting things to come this summer!
