Maven is now available

[Sir Adam]

I'm happy to announce the Maven is now in production.

Unseamed halves can be had for as little as $500, depending on the layup.

Finished boats will start at $1200 or so, again depending on layup, graphics, and whether you wish to outfit it yourself or have a boatable craft at delivery.

We can sell the halves cut down at a slight extra cost, or if you provide us with your weight recommend the amount to remove from the hull.

Minimum layup is 5/6, glass and Kevlar mix with re-enforecement in key areas

Pigmented resin included.

Metal flake / graphics are extra.

Boats will be built (for now, unless a lot of folks want them) by a fellow who works for a professional boatbuilder (Hornbeck Boats), but will not be built BY Hornbeck boats, so as not to effect their insurance .

Boats will NOT be as "finished" or "polished" as a PS composites or Murky boat...hence the cheaper price. We'll do our best, but we're still learning too. Consider them one step up from a "home built" boat, as you've have a fellow who has literally built thousands of boats laying it up and finishing it off. You'll be doing business with him directly, though I will act as intermediary and vouch for him.

I have a bit more "polish" work to due on my Maven, and I'll post some images. Laying it up and finishing it off as I did was a learning experience we all gained something from, and I can't wait to put it in the water!

PM or e-mail me for details (see link below message to PM or e-mail me)

A few images of my boat....

[madmike]

What is the most paddler weight the Maven will support?

[Sir Adam]

Thanks for reminding me MadMike!

It is believed the Maven will work for folks under 190 lbs...in other words, I believe it is a low cut boat for 190 lbs when it is "full cut". I can tell you if you're 220 lbs only a few inches of the "turret" will be out of the water...so I would say it can be "expert cut" for mystery moves only for folks 200-220 or so.

I will be testing the latest Maven (with 1/2" taken out of the hull), which I believe will be low cut for my 160 lbs if my math is right....

I suspect it can be cut down for down to around 100 lbs. Further chops may be possible, but the boat will start to behave differently and look a bit odd....

[nam]

any pictures or films of the maven in action?

nam

[LEW]

Check out the "Maven Reports" on the Forum and the "Maven Page" on the Home Page.

[Sir Adam]

Here is a link to some of the previous discussions of the Maven:

http://www.cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php?t=4722

It contains a nice image of the boat in a pool, too:) Hopefully in a month or so I'll have some in the river shots too...


I'll also add that to "do it right" in finishing off the Maven yourself, including the foam for outfitting, seam tape, and West systems epoxy, your easily talking an additional $200. You will have West systems left over, and you could probably cut your cost by 25% by using "normal" resin instead, but I wouldn't recommend it-the epoxy is easy to work with and mix properly (which is very important), and is stiffer and tougher than glass resins (which is important for seams and cockpit rims, IMhO).

[Col]

Adam,

Did you speak to Dave Savage about a Meltdown..? How do you think the Maven would compare to the Meltdown..?

Colin

[adamin]

I did indeed have a very nice chat with him (2am his time!). I wish he had picked up the molds earlier-he seems like a great fellow and I would like to do business with him, but I don't have enough cash right now for a Meltdown.

Regarding performance vs. the Maven, I expect the Maven will be "twitchier", but also possibly have more DT potential due to it's shape and volume distribution.

One of these days I'll have to get a Meltdown so I'll know for sure

[Alden]

Adam,

This boat looks awesome! I can't wait to try it! I recently tried a squirt kayak for the first time, and it was so much fun . . . the only problem was that it was a kayak. I think your boat might be the search to my answer . . . or whatever.

Alden