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by The Hitchhiker

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For about 2 years I have been the very proud owner of a black Pyranha S6f 191. Yes I know. Black. I thought it was a silly idea until I actually saw the thing. You definitely should not choose a kayak based on the colour, but I must admit it did influence me just a little.

The S6f is designed for freestyle hence the f'. As with all freestyle boats it is low-volume and hard work to paddle in a straight line, with little room for more than about a day's worth of equipment (although loading it up kills the freestyle performance). It's not a good boat for long trips unless the river is moving very fast. The low volume also means that on very large rivers the boat is fairly unsafe it comes with plenty of buoyancy (foam pillars), and there is room for additional air bags, but water in volume has a terrifying power enough of it (less than you might think) would be enough to fold it in two with you inside.

I make this sound worse than it is the S6f is designed to withstand some pretty awe-inspiring white water, but it is by no means a creek boat and shouldn't be used as one if you value your life!

As an all round boat therefore, the S6f is passable, but not brilliant. As a freestyle boat it comes into its own.

About as short as you can get in a freestyle boat without needing to trim your legs the S6f makes basic moves such as cartwheeling fairly easy, even for beginners. Obviously you can't hop in it without any experience and be cartwheeling like a nutter, but it's still not bad. The flat bottom and square sides make for decent stability and good flat area to allow smooth, accurate surfing and flat spins. If you are willing to fork out the extra cash (about 20.00 or $40.00) you can get your hands on a pair of fins to also aid directional stability when surfing mainly of use when in surf rather than on a standing wave, as they will make turns harder. How effective they are however I don't know, as I've never tried them.

That having been said, the boat is getting fairly old now, and for the really serious has been superseded by the likes of the Wavesport ZG, or Pyranha's latest offering, the 4 Twenty. Obviously the designs are being constantly refined, so newer boats (tend) to allow smoother spins and turns, improved performance on waves and in holes, and greater comfort of outfitting.

The outfitting is comfortable, easily adjustable and if you buy the boat new you get a myriad of pads and rolls of foam to customise the thing to your heart's content.

It is, however, all a question of taste. Even if my review were enough to make you go out and buy an S6f without another thought, I would strongly recommend trying out a wide variety of boats before you decide. Some people find different outfitting more comfortable than others I am about 6ft tall and fit in the boat fine, but I have shorter friends who are in agony trying to squeeze in. The main problem is that the range has been discontinued so either you can get one of the last few made, or it will have to be second hand.

All things considered, the design has few flaws and because it is an older model the price tag is considerably less hard-hitting than new models I got mine for 600 ($1200) last year (2006). If you are not planning on competing in the world championships any time soon, but want an excellent, affordable freestyle boat, then certainly spare a moment to have a go in an S6f.

Buy one new and they even give you a piranha shaped sponge. Pure class.

Visit: http://www.pyranha.com/osb/showitem.cfm?Category=5 for more information.

Learn more about this author, The Hitchhiker.

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