SUPERSTAR REVIEW: uncut... billy harris

SUPER STAR REVIEW

For anyone who doesn't know me I paddle for and am paid by by Jackson kayaks... That being said I don't get paid enough to say something that is not true what I write is my own thoughts unchecked and as open as I can be.

I am 190 pounds. I have 32, inch inseam and 30" waste. My torso is kinda normal and I am a smaller guy that just weighs allot for whatever reason. Nick Troutman would say I am fat. But he’s mean and nobody likes him but his mommy……


Getting into the boat the size of the boat around me seemed smaller than the old super star, I found it to be WAY smaller than the old super. But the outfitting and space inside was much more roomy. The boat, ignoring the visual size throws around like the old star not the super star but the old all-star, but a bit harder to pull the stern down than the old one. The ease in which it throws around on flat water surprised me but you have to look the stern into the water when you pull. You also have to remember that I paddle 300 days a year and work on being strong at the gym as well. (Bit o salt with my words) I am also used to being the boss with my boats too. I got into 7-8 holes at 6 and a bit and felt like I was in a past vicious relationship with an old girlfriend. To be short the extra volume is amazing for small spots and the ends being short stopped me from hitting the bottom at places like S BEND on the Ottawa. But Like the x I get bossed around a bunch in large holes and to be frank......... I let out a bit of a squeak the last round I got out of the hole and ran away with my tail between my legs.


The knees are way Higher, I found and we discussed it at length over the winter with Eric during the design process. IT was the team’s thoughts that the knees on the all stars were a bit low and were killing the guys with tree trunks and was causing hip pain to some.

Foot length, I found that the new foot bags are not quite right for the new boats they work ok but they shift a bit especially if yer a shorty like me. I have short legs and have to pump the foot bags up to the max to have the bags reach my feet. I just jammed a big chunk of foam up there in the bow and that fixed my shorty problem. There is a new hip pad coming out soon as well that will help But I can't get more hip pads in the hip pad case.

(Special note) I drill out the cockpit rim with 2 holes and put the straps of the hip pads though the holes to hold the hip pads high on the rim and in turn it holds the backband a bit higher.. email me for deets... b3harris@gmail.com

The length of the new 2010 superstar is the same as the old all star, and its very easy to say its WAY faster just the same. Because I float higher its moves faster too so check it out before you believe it. Its hard to gauge cause I found the old super too tough to paddle too wide too big to throw around, I could but I felt like it was allot of work...

The Rocker on the new boat is lower, it gets more speed but now the bow seems to get caught a little more and you have to pay attention to it after moves a bit more than the last one and on flat water you have to be trimmed well or you will burry the boats bow. It’s SLOWER on the flats... if your paddling with anyone with a river running boat your going to suffer keeping up.

(I trim the boat back a bit and the water line seems to be stern heavy and it works great for me... I also sit on 150 with 2 shims under my butt to make up for my short torso..)

At 190 I am perfect for the boat. I land miracles on the waves now and seem to never flush. I feel like for the first time the BIG heavy people that have been jipped for so long finally get a boat to paddle that works. It will seem big at first but we big boys have been paddling tiny little things for a while so everything will seem big. And that’s about all the leg humping your going to get from me.

Mission: Torturing mothers, poor choice of pets and the DUO..

My parents always had big tough dogs, hunting dogs, and bird dogs Chesapeake Bay retrievers. Pretty tough animals. Swim forever in cold water, curly fur, wicked animals to hunt over. I say all this to set context of our family. My mother out of the blue shows up in her car with a new Wiener dog she named Sam. Being a nutty old dear she named the dam thing after the dog in a children’s book, “green egg’s and ham”, were all so embarrassed. She actually yells, “SAM I AM” when the dog is on the lamb or needs to come inside.… We (the three brothers and dad and I) all call it the family disappointment. IT got a bit of street credit chasing the next-door neighbors German Shepard off the yard one day. But after badgering the neighbor about his wimpy Shepard laying the smack down on the pure bread canine protector. Sam goes in the house and takes his reward out on the cat by pinning it down and sexually assaulting it. That confermed it Street Credit gone again. I took my mom out paddling with me on the last visit up to beachburg, I bought a house up here. Took her out for a paddle in the bay, dam dog had to come with us too. So when I ran it over with the little inflatable raft in the bay I didn’t mind all that much. My mom lurched to the front of the raft to get the dog. But because it was a cataraft and it takes two to tango if you know what I mean. There was nothing I could do but do dounuts over the poor thing.
She yells at me, “back up,” From the front of the raft groping for a little dog under the tube” Being not all that upset I kept repeating, “Mom you got to paddle backward too” I was also thinking I’ll just do circles on top of your stupid over sexed mutt and the brothers and my dad will be so happy. I might get a metal out of the deal. She always said the dog couldn’t swim, she was wrong and my hopes of chest hardwear left with it.


As I said, I bought a house, got a bunch of cool people renting rooms and now I got a place for all my junk. Along with the Junk come family visits. The duo has been great to stem the tide. My wife’s mom was the first to take the bait. I guess she felt like she had been duped. Someone told her that the river was a short trip. “Wrong”, the first rapid is a wall of water that caught her square in the face. It was silence for the next 10 min and then for the rest of the trip it was all, “you tried to drown me”. Carly, billy tried to drown me. "and repeat for 2 hours". Carly and her dad and I paddle down the river all the time. It was nice to bring the old dear down for a change to see them paddle and experiance the day. We say herons, osprey, fish, deer. Wild kingdom really... The old duck liked that part. Too be honest torture for the extended family has never been so fun. The whole day was a hoot for me, even the surfing was great. Big waves to surf and someone to dunk under the water again and again. I LOVED IT. So if you want to keep the extended unit at bay and away, get a duo promise a trip every time they come up. That will slow em down. But it was also fun to show the unit what we did.

Billy