Flowrider....wave comparison....various ships

[skiiergirl]

Mr. Ski is addicted to the stand-up surfing on the Flowrider. We are creatures of habit and repeat the same few ships over and over. I am trying to get him to “expand his horizon” and sail other ships.  He wants to know how everyone thinks the “wave” on the Flowrider on various ships compare.  He is specifically interested in how the Liberty and Allure compare to the Adventure, Freedom, and Symphony.   If you are experienced on the stand-up surfing on the Flowrider.....please list your comparison of each ship you have “surfed”. (List specific ship(s).) 

 

Thank you in advance!🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️

[Biker19]

58 minutes ago, skiiergirl said:

If you are experienced on the stand-up surfing on the Flowrider.....please list your comparison of each ship you have “surfed”. (List specific ship(s).) 

Thing is, yes, experienced riders may be able to tell the difference, but it's like describing food - very subjective. Also, even small things, like the redecking that happened on Oasis (I assume will happen on Allure during dry dock) can affect the ride, so it may also depend on when one rode it.

[xpcdoojk]

Hi Skiiergirl.  Tell Robert hi.

 

Exactly as Biker says the experience on the different waves can be different, and the experience on the same wave different day or cruise can be different.  For example on The Oasis a few years ago, day one in port they wave was fine.  Overnight they resurfaced the wave and it was night and day different, much slicker.  So, slick it was actually hard to stand in the gutter.  Then the next week we did a side by side on the Liberty.  The Liberty wave was very sticky, especially in the middle where the two pumps intersected, I was constantly catching the bottom as I crossed the middle.  Nothing throws me off and destroys my confidence like that.

 

On the Ovation this past April, the night we were departing Sydney harbor the wave was horrible.  I was constantly sticking and basically struggling to have any decent runs at all.  I was a bit depressed at dinner after thinking I had a 15 days of dreading the wave.  The next morning, the wave was completely different.  No resurfacing, no clue, and the wave was fine for the rest of the sailing.  Which made me wonder if the wave had water added after we left Sydney.  Later as I met the regulars and we talked about the various waves on the various ships.  John (from south Florida) and Adrian (English, but buddies with John I suspect spends a lot of time in south Florida) were both very experienced stand-up surfers, and they made lots of statements about different waves declaring many of them to be total crap, including my upcoming Allure wave.  

 

I can tell the difference in that there is a difference, but I am unable to declare one wave to be better or worse, because I think it is changeable.

 

On the Symphony TA with you and Robert I felt like the port wave (regular stand-up) was much better than the mixed Starboard wave.  That said, I can’t say they were completely different, but it seemed like the mixed wave was a tiny bit taller in the middle.  

 

IN other words tell Mr Ski to suck it up and try new things.

 

jc

[FlowBroTy]

I Have Been On Mariner OTS, Oasis OTS Pre Amped, Harmony OTS, Navigator OTS, And Freedom And Explorer OTS. Here Is My Rating Of Each Wave From Of The Scale Of 1 To 6 With Number One Being The Best.

1. Mariner OTS

2. Harmony OTS

3.Oasis OTS

4.Explorer OTS

5. Freedom OTS

6.Navigator OTS

 

        My Least Favorite Wave For Stand Up Is The One On Navigator Is Due To The Modifications Done To The Wave. 

But That Wave Is Great For Bogie Boarding. I Also Agree With @Biker19. It Depends What Type Of Wave You Like To Ride.

[mil76]

Biggest difference is that the older installations (can't say older ships since some older ships got Flowriders after ships much newer than them) have a solid metal rail at the top of the wave, where the newer installations don't have this and the top of the wave has a soft pad.  On the older waves with hard rails I'm able to do a step-in load from the top and go right into heel-side that I can't do on the newer waves.  I find it easier/safer to ride and do stalls on the top on the newer waves since it is more of a bump than an actual rail.  They made the change for safety reasons as falling on the hard rail is not fun.  My worst injury ever was falling on the rail on my hip years ago and I still feel it.  The change to "pillow pads" (that's what Flowrider calls them) happened about the time of Quantum being built and Navigator being retrofitted, so all Freedom class and Oasis/Allure had the hard rail, and all Voyager and Quantum class, along with Harmony and Symphony have pillow pads.  From what I'm reading it sounds like they may have retrofitted Oasis with pillow pads during the recent drydock, but AFAIK they haven't retrofitted pillow pads to ships that already had hard rails before that.

 

The condition of the pump has an impact as well, so somebody saying one ship is horrible due to how it rode a year ago may not apply today.  I was on Allure in October the week after the 2nd pump was replaced after the 1st was replaced the week before and thought it was awesome.  The pumps cost about 100 grand each, and each Flowrider has 2, so they run them as long as they can, even to the point of complete failure before replacing them.  Nothing worse than being on a cruise where a Flowrider pump gives up the ghost.

 

I also remember cruising Navigator out of Galveston a few weeks after it got its Flowrider and it was the strongest wave I had ever ridden.  Of course it was so strong that I saw a kid doing boogie board get an injured shoulder from being slammed into the back wall by the force of the water, so I can understand if they modded it since then.

 

That said, Liberty has been may least favorite wave and it is just as bad every time I cruise it.  It has a dead spot right where you want to carve on the goofy side.  You can't do hard carves on that spot or your board will go flying.

 

My preference is the older waves with the hard rail (other than Liberty), then the new waves with pillow pads, with Liberty taking up the rear.  But then again, tell me I'm leaving tomorrow to cruise on Liberty and I won't complain in the slightest.

[xpcdoojk]

I don’t have the experience of you guys, but I completely agree about the Liberty.  I absolutely hated that wave and surfed badly all week, that said, there were people surfing it like it was perfect.  I do like the soft tops, have fallen on them a few times and they are much better than the old rail.  Of course I have fallen on the deck at the top of the wave a few times, and it seems like some of those are softer now too.

 

jc

[skiiergirl]

JC....he says “hello” back!
 

Thanks to everyone for the info!  You pretty much told him what he thought he had heard from others. I guess I had better plan on moving the Liberty booking I had made. He had heard it was horrible and based on your comments....sounds like he would hate it. 

Edited December 21, 2019 by skiiergirl