Design & features
Our mission was to design a surfski that would bring new ideas to the scene, be stable enough for a casual paddler, light enough for everyone to load onto their car, yet refined enough to catch and ride a wave like a surf ski should. Not to mention, be comfortable for a broad range of body types, plus all the usual challenges of kit storage, durability and safety. It was a painstaking process that took a full year to pull together, and another year in testing, but we are thrilled with the result.
Let’s start at the front, because the bow is probably the most recognisable feature of the Neon. The clean lines at the cutaway swoop forwards and up, to a particularly full front deck. We love the look but it’s super practical too as it gives the Neon remarkable recovery if it becomes buried in a wave. Even with its compact length, the cockpit remains dry and the boat keeps moving. We’ve shaped it in such a way to avoid introducing significant windage, and it functions exactly as we hoped it would.
Being designed and manufactured from the ground up, by us, we’ve had the luxury of introducing new custom lightweight fittings and touches throughout. Including comfortable CNC machined plastic bow and stern handles, a robust 4mm integrated leash pin, a self-bailer, a bottle holder recess and carbon fibre side carry handles – which are long enough for a two-handed grip.
A drainage bung is located on the front bulkhead. We install a small breather tube here to allow the air to equalise and prevent damage in hot weather. There is a handy cross of bungees directly behind the cockpit that can be used for temporary storage, a tether point for an action camera or even as mounting for a waterproof deck bag.
The light-weight carbon pedal footrest has a huge range of movement, accommodating paddlers from approximately 150 to 193cm (4ft 11in to 6ft 4in) tall. It’s easy and quick to move, and the self-adjusting system means there’s no need tension the steering ropes after adjustment. We’ve also optimised the centre-of-buoyancy and rocker line, to give a huge payload range while maintaining excellent handling. It can comfortably accommodate padders weighing from 60 to 120kg (130 to 264lb) and will work well a little outside of this range too.
