Good perspectives all - hope to get a chance to try one or more of these boats. I sat in the Valley Rapier once, had a good feel. Never paddled any of these fitness/racing kayaks though.

On the surf ski thing - seems falling off them can be a hazard so you've got to be tethered in (to the boat and paddle) and as in sea kayaks paddle in a group (perhaps even more important to not go solo).

Wesley Echols and Mark Ceconi have a surf ski website focused on the CT/NE area. They posted this recently - about an ankle tether that came off a surf ski on a Lake in MN resulting in a fatality:

http://surfskiracing.org/2011/10/todd-ellison-dies-in-tragic-surfski-accident-by-zach-handler/