Bell Prodigy?

[carter1]

Haven't found many opinions on this boat. I just picked one up, but haven't been able to get her wet yet. anyone here paddled one? this is not the X.
My wife thinks its pretty, it may end up being her first OC.
c

[arhdc]

Prodigy's are considered by many to be excellent boats for women (but I won't tell your wife )

[Shep]

My sister doesn't paddle often, but loves hers. I think it is a popular "women's" boat because it is pretty light, and doesn't take a ton of power to get it moving. I have paddled my sister's for a weekend, and I think it is a pretty friendly boat. Comparing it to other 11' boats, it's faster than an ovation, and less twitchy than the Ocoee (also doesn't turn as fast). I think it's a good buy for anyone that isn't too abusive to their boats, but that's more about the Royalex that Bell used than the hull design.

Hope this helps,
Shep

[pblanc]

My experience is limited, but similar. I paddled one a bit on flat water, and demoed one on the Nantahala. Only made it half way down the Nanty because I ran into a fellow who was demoing a Spark from NOC (which he had already fallen out of 5 or 6 times) and we swapped demo boats.

My impression is it is a user-friendly river runner which is a little quicker than some others, but without terribly exciting maneuverability.

[ezwater]

OC1-kanubi, often on boatertalk, used to paddle a Prodigy X and liked it, saying it was fast for a ww boat, well behaved, controllable. I assume the X and the smaller version behave very much alike, as long as they are loaded proportionately.

[Riverken]

I paddled one for a few years until I wore it out, even though I'm a 180 lb male. Most of the time, I liked it. I did recommend it to women students in WW school because it was light and fast. One little bitty thing who didn't even weigh 100 pounds used it, and she didn't like it much because it was hard for her to turn (see below). She preferred the Esquif Paradigm although it was quite a bit heavier. She had a big, strong boyfriend to put it on the car for her.

The Prodigy accelerates well and rides nicely over big waves, so it is a good big water boat (somebody told me Bob Foote designed it for the Grand Canyon, but I don't know if that is true). It is not tippy and stays pretty dry, although now that we all have electric bilge pumps dryness is less of an issue. I bought mine specifically for Dragon's Tooth on the Deerfield Dryway and it performed well there.

Now for the not-so-good news. At a good speed, it tends to lock in place and you have to heel it over hard to turn it. That is a particular issue when trying to cross a hard eddy line. It won't spin flat very well, so that when you find yourself turned around in a little flaw in the current and you want to turn back in a hurry you have to heel it over. Now, putting a boat over on its side to turn is no more than good technique and so this shouldn't be taken as a criticism of the design; it's just that we're spoiled by the shorter boats that will spin even using poor technique. The Prodigy does what it was designed to do very well, but it can't do everything. No boat can.

My conclusion is that the Prodigy is a good boat for anybody, provided that you spend some time learning to heel it over reflexively when turning. Also, I don't think it makes a good creeker because it won't take the abuse that the Esquif boats will take.

An excellent alternative for somebody looking for a light boat that is reasonably fast and turns well would be one of the new Millbrook models, but they have the limitations that go with lightweight materials.

One more thing. My Prodigy did not come with a thwart behind the saddle. I installed one and was much happier. It was more comfortable to be able to lean back on it and it helps a lot with forward thrust.

[carter1]

Thank you very much. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect.
c

[carter1]

I'm coming out of an Outrage X and and Outrage. Had a Zoom and a Nitro before that. I think I'll like the edges of the Prodigy, I tended to slide out of eddies in the Outrage hulls. It may not matter for long, as the wife has committed to an open boat this year and she really likes the Prodigy.

Hopefully I'll enjoy it for a little white before she takes it (and I've saved enough for another boat!), I'm still liking the looks of the Phiend-hopefully get to paddle one at ALF, I really like the Viper 11 too. Octane, Option and L'Edge would be on my list as well.

Thanks again for the help guys.

c

[btaylor1951]

I have 2 fellow paddlers that have seat time in the Prodigy. 1 is a female and she paddles class III-IV rivers with this OC-1 and it is her main ride for WW, she likes the boat, w factory set up w dbl thigh straps. I added a single Tsunami pump, battery box, switch, and thru hull system to it last year. The 2nd paddler is a class IV level WW instructor, a male, my guess 160-165#'s wet, and he only gets wet "on pupose" ..and exc. finesse,v. technical solid WW paddler, while not his main ride, he has a few dagger OC-1's, oceoo , phantom ,I'm sure others; I know he purchased a prodigy, new not used and outfitted w stnd canoe seat, but dropped it, and bagged it out for Class II-III water. Hope that helps you. I too am coming from an Outrage X and found it similar to your opinion. I'm now paddling a Millbrook Shacho OC-1, and will run all but the boniest low water with this canoe.My ability is class IIi mainly, but run IV occaisionally. Decided my outrage X is just too heavy for me at age 61, on the carries and Currently selling my 2010, X if you know of any interest, I'll be posting pics on Cboats soon,..Bryan,....enjoy the ride!

[carter1]

I love the idea of a Millbrook, but wouldn't want it to be my only boat and with 3 paddlers in the house, I can't really afford to have more than one at this time.
Thanks for the reply.
c

[carter1]

I took the Prodigy on the Upper Rocky yesterday at high flow. I got used to the edges real quick- love them, feel like I can control the boat much easier. I had a hard time spinning it though. I'm gonna put an inch of foam on the saddle back to move my center forward to see if that helps. Also going try paddle it more- I know that will help!
c

[Shep]

I'm not surprised you had trouble spinning it. That was my impression as well... That it does a lot of things well, but turning quickly isn't one of them.

[carter1]

Hopefully I'll get a couple more runs on the boat and get the feel for it before ALF, otherwise, you guys will have a few laughs.
c

[carter1]

Missed ALF, life happens.....

Thanks for the opinions folks, I agree with them after putting a few more runs on the Prodigy local and in the mountains. Its definitely better for me than the Outrage X, even though my 235 lbs w/out gear is most likely pushing it with this boat.

Paddled a L'Edge (thanks Eli!) over Easter weekend, wow! Most stable boat I've been in, I can't believe how the boat pretty much points where you look. My favorite boat so far.

I'm going to try to make it to Charlotte for the Mohawk demo day in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, They'll have a Phiend there. Also hoping to spend some time in a Viper 11.

For now, trying to work on skills, fitness and diet. I'm coming to the realization that those things matter than the boat. I'm seeing more and more really skilled open boaters in everything out there.

c