Yes, another seemingly useless comparison but helpfull for me...

I'm coming from a Z and looking for somthing more playfull to learn
playboating skills on small steep waves yet also a good river runner.
I bought the Z back when I was 215 lbs. I'm now a lean 189 making the
Z a tank now. Also, it's less defined rocker seems to make it prone to
pearl on small steep waves.

I paddled an S8 for a half hour and enjoyed it though the seat felt
high to me. It's constant rocker really seems to help it surf easy.
I've not found a Big EZ around to demo (always checked out). Are they
very similar?

--
Kinzie

I think the S:8 and the BigEZ are very similar. I have an S:8 and one
of my friends has a BigEZ, so we've done the side by side comparison.
The S:8 is a little longer, pointer, and has a flatter stern deck. The
biggest difference seems to be the seam between the top and bottom is
higher on BigEZ. I think this makes the BigEZ a little more forgiving.
It's a little less likely to catch an edge, I think they're both good
boats, and you won't go wrong with either.