I am working on a full tilt review, but wanted to jot down some first impressions as a total surfski frother who paddles and races day in / day out in open water downwind in a V14:
A few thoughts:
1. The stability is shocking. Truly. Shocking. I've had the ski for all of four days, and I've done several downwind, upwind, chop, rebound, wind to 35mph against a full ebb tide with jumbled, messy stressful wind that blows the tops of waves into gun smoke. I've intentionally done things that that would should earn a swim, and this thing just stays calm and surfs on. As an advanced paddler that is in a k1 every morning and a V14 every afternoon, I have a hard time judging stability these days but it feels more planted and secure in the big stuff than a flatter bottomed ski (V10 etc.). It doesn't bounce or skip on the surface. It sits a bit deep in the water, and I think that is part of the magic formula.
2. If the V14 is about commitment, the V12 is a trip to the playboy mansion with a coke budget: I spend most of my time in k1's and the V14. Those types of rides are all about commitment to reap the rewards of a low volume missile and chasing your technique flaws down like a cartel hitman one by one to avenge your ego...The V12 however is just a totally different animal than anything else I've paddled. It's aggressive, but playful and changes direction effortlessly. Today in a very bad stretch of water where the wind waves come together from two directions, I found myself just attacking through everything without a second thought and not even remotely stressed. Think of a pit bull chasing a laser pointer in a china shop. Not a single f*ck given, and totally hilarious. Very unique and very, very fun.
3. The bucket is great for me. The V12 seat is a smidge wider than the V14, but good contact at the hips and no obvious pressure points. I love it. I recently paddled a Nelo 560 and was surprised that even at my specs (6'3" 225 pounds) I would need to pad it out. It also had a strange pressure point right at the tailbone. I've talked to other friends who paddle the 560 and they adore it - so waves for wales, dolphins and sharks I guess. The back of the V12 bucket rises nicely, then tilts away from the waste, limiting chaffing allowing for extreme laybacks when doing silly things in big water. I also noticed that the seat is further forward than the previous generation V12, and that lends a bit more aggressive attitude to the pilot.
4. It's a dry ride. The front of the cockpit is deeper, and has nice transition lines to the foredeck. Very clean and handsome transition lines. But if you look at where the foot board rudder pedals meet the side of the ski, you'll notice a 1.25 or so distance to the top of the cockpit vs. a V14. The bucket is a bit deeper, but not to the degree that it would be an issue in remount with decent technique. At the back of the cockpit I would measure the distance as maybe only .5 deeper at the rails than the V14. Nice move Epic. Heading upwind, it takes a lot more wave to make it's way into the cockpit than the V14 (a fairly wet ride in exchange for the low volume). And it's noticeably dryer downwind. I have started 3D printing my own custom wave deflectors for Epic skis, and I am not sure the V12 needs one. I'll be doing some downwind runs offshore in the pacific next week, so I hope conditions help me to know for sure at that point.
5. There is a bit more volume in the bow than a V14. But a whole lot less in the tail. I set both the V14, and the V12 next to each other. The V12 carries more volume into the bow, most noticeable from a directly overhead point of view. And it has a whole lot less volume in the stern. The tail of the V12 is noticeably petite from a profile view, but wider when viewed overhead... which might help explain why it's pretty unshakable in messy breaking waves but sniffs out runners very easily... there just isn't much back there to mess with with. Also, the 1st gen V12 had lots and lots of volume, which I personally always liked. But now that I paddle the new V12, I don't miss it. As I paddle out beam in the V12 in high wind, there is a bit more ski for the wind to grab than the V14. But the stability more than makes up for this.
6: Rocker rules. The ski has more rocker than any other Epic ski I've seen to date, and it rules for short period, steep, technical messy water.... yet it still glides well in the flat. Not as much glide as a V14. Nope. But it does glide well enough that I would race it flat water and probably be within a 5% margin of my V14 time.
7: The new V12 vs the old. When I switched from the 1st gen V12 to V14, I missed the incredible secondary stability. But damn, the V14 was so much faster and asked me to be a better pilot so off I went. The new V12 however has both primary and secondary in spades... to the point where it messes with your head when you first hop in. "Wait... whut?! Why is it so stable? Is it slow? Nah... Daggerboard?! Nooo... is there a gyro in here?! Better ask Greg..." It is impressively stable.
Final Thought: As a die hard Epic V14 fanboy, I asked myself if I would be willing to part with my magic missile to go frolic in the waves with this mistress? If it's gonna be rowdy and wild, you bet.