C-Forum

As a one-time boat inspector for races, I have seen many MEs but have not paddled one. From inspection, I think the ME will not be as good a load carrier and will not be as "dry" as the Caption. I have a Mad River Synergy, a 15 foot tandem/solo WW successor to the ME, but while it has been a wonderf...

Phreon, my old Mitchell has a curved blade that is rather flexible, and softens the impact of the catch. The carbon shaft is also a bit flexy, but I think it contributes less to softening catch impact than does the blade. The blade is glass faced rather than carbon.

Knee blocks pushing against the inner surfaces of the thighs helped me with knee pain. This is in addition to knee cups, which can tend to pull the lower part of the knee joint from side to side against the upper part of the joint. I prefer a rather narrow range of knee motion in the outfitting. YMMV

I've had to stop because of a back strain and other health problems. I could paddle easy now, but loading and unloading boats is a problem. I have about a dozen boats sitting around. I hate to quit at only 73.

The cost of a hull with a foam layer, contacting obstacles. Don't think you can correct when stiff foam was used. Same thing happens to the deck on my slalom boat, which is a Kevlar sandwich.

Y'all have trashed a lot of boats. What has been your experience when you have to get a useless boat off your property? Dump it in a ravine? Negotiate with your trash pickup service? I once had a Sage that had cracked terminally below the seat pedestal. The trash people would not touch it until I cu...

I can visualize it, and it seems a clever solution.

Deep Thoughts...by Jack Handy.

Most of my skill is on the left side. I can just get by on the right side in whitewater. But I switch sides when paddling tandem to make it easier for the bow paddler.

I have a 17 year old Royalex ww boat and have never put skid plates on it. You may never need them. Wear may be more under your solo pedestal than at the ends of the boat.

I love the metal deck plates.

When we drive around the Lower 48, I almost always carry my Mad River Synergy. At 15' long and relatively "tubular", it makes an acceptable cruiser on flattish rivers, but while a bit "wet" in heavy water, it can handle up through class 3 quite adequately. If I were having Kaz lay up a boat for simi...

I had a different problem with a MR Synergy. When the solo seat was in the right place, the rear tandem seat was too far forward. So I grafted a foot of minicell onto the back of the triple saddle and the boat's tandem behavior was much better. The MR Synergy is asymmetrical, swedeform, but not near...

A Zealot (sort of a successor to the Fanatic) would be cab-forward, forgiving, with a friendly stern that could be chopped to 3.5 meters. Unfortunately you are very unlikely to find one in the UK.

You might have liked my old Dagger Zealot, which handles heavier paddlers well, and while slower than a Maverick, has better turning and pivoting behavior. Maverick is too "tubular".

WW downriver open boats in general aren't "maneuverable". That boat would be legal for the "cruising" class in some racing venues, but it depends on the local rules in force. (I used to be boat inspector for the Southeasterns.) It would be fast but rather "wet". I don't think it would be very compet...