1621 San Luis Rey Avenue, Vista, CA 92084 (619) 724-7200
Mike is a former Olympic paddler, Navy helicopter pilot, and fireman who has been designing and building surf kayaks since the late sixties. His long association and collaboration with Merv Larsen (the father of modern waveskis), his meticulous craftsmanship, his innovative construction techniques, and above all, his commitment to excellent surfing performance have brought forth some of the finest surf kayaks ever built.
His original surf shoe design, which incorporated a fully planing hull into a kayak body, spawned a legion of imitators in Britain (where his Mark II was licensed and built by Valley Canoe in 1970), as well as the United States.
Now in his fourth decade of kayak surfing, Mike Johnson's experience is unmatched in this sport. His creations are renowned for their remarkable quality of construction and radical surfing capabilities. Each one is hand-crafted by Mike personally and custom fitted to each new owner. He uses only the highest quality materials and unique construction methods to construct kayaks which will provide years of surfing enjoyment.
The latest design generation from the father of modern waveskis! Merv Larsen designed and built the original waveski in the early sixties. Since then, he has improved and refined it into the ultimate surfing paddlecraft. His three-plane, finless hull forms the foundation for all of Mike Johnson's kayaks. Mike won first place at the '96 Santa Cruz contest in Expert Waveski class paddling this ski.
LENGTH=9' WIDTH=25.5" WEIGHT=25#'s
Essentially a Mervski with a kayak deck, this radical performer first hit the surf in 1992. It's unsurpassed ability to turn and 360 has made it a top contender in High Performance class competition, and a absolute blast to surf in. It features short length, light weight, and hard tucked-under rails with a rounded square tail for super turning, and minimum rocker for maximum quickness down the wave.
LENGTH=8'8" WIDTH=25.5" WEIGHT=25#'s
Introduced in 1996, this International class surfing kayak (in the capable hands on Ken King) took second place in the '96 Santa Cruz International class competition, and an amazing first place in the High Performance class. This kayak is the equivalent of a big wave "gun" surfboard. It's long for extra paddling speed, wide for extra stability, and has a rounded pin-tail for dropping down big faces with more control. It can 360 and carve turns in high performance mode, yet still meet the criteria for the International Class.
LENGTH=11'6" WIDTH=26.5" WEIGHT=30#'s
This is it! Just hot off the mold for 1997, this "Swamis" kayak can do it all. Designed to rip at Mike's favorite break, this craft incorporates some subtle, but important, improvements over the Taco for High Performance class competitions, and the ultimate in recreational kayak surfing. It's lower volume from nose to tail, scooped out in front to slice through piles on the paddle-out, low rear deck for easier rolling and pivot turns, low angle sides for greater edge control and a forgiving soup ride, a little more rocker, and greater length for paddle and down-the-line speed. This boat is fast! As an avid Taco fan, I was amazed at the acceleration the first time I aimed this kayak down the line of a good sized wave. Like all of Mike's Mervski-hulled craft, it will 360 easily, and absolutely shred every wave you can find. There just ins't a better surf kayak than this. Period.
LENGTH=9'6" WIDTH=25.5" WEIGHT=27#'s
For pricing and availability of the above models, contact Mike directly at (619) 724-7200.
Back
to the SOSKA Homepage