C-Forum

Hello,

I've unfortunately witnessed my friend breaking his first Kingpin after 2 month's of use, and then when he got his replacement, after 2 weeks of use he showed me the oil canning on the bottom of the hull.

Has anyone else had similar experience with their own kingpin or is it just a random occurance?

Also how do I stiffen the hull of a kayak that I want to convert to C1?

Thanks Garett

I have a KP 6.2 from june, a lot of fun and no problem untill now.

I wouldn`t worry that much about some oil canning, unless it is severe. One way to support the hull is to run an old paddle shaft between the front and back pillars, close the bottom of the hull, then try to foam out underneath. Or keep your plastic tracks in place that come in many kayaks these days (ie LL) and reinforce it some more. The dagger conversion console would like help support the floor as well. that said, I had a comp. weight ultrafuge a couple of years ago, no major problems with just full foam outfitting.

I've been paddling a g-force for about 1 month now that had very little use until I got it. I fear that this boat will only last 3 months if I am extremely lucky. The plastic is crap. Plain and simple. You can scratch it with your fingernail and it has a waxy feel to it. How is plastic that soft supposed to withstand the rigors of your average river that might have gasp - rocks in it!? After two river trips there were scratches in the bottom of the hull that could be seen through from the inside . I contacted Dagger in regards to this. Since I bought the boat used I'm not entitled to any warranty service of course and none was expected. Mark Jackson from Dagger refered me to this product http://shop.store.yahoo.com/oceankayak/ ... inpol.html for filling the scrapes but of course it is not a structual fix for when I peel the thing open like a banana!

I'm pretty pissed about this and I really don't like investing my money into what appears to be a disposable item! I'd like to paddle it and enjoy it a while and then pass it on to some other boater to enjoy. I don't want a 55 gallon bright blue flower planter. Live and learn I guess.

And that is my Dagger rant for the day. I won't even go into the open boat issue....

Dave

I hate hearing the horror stories of the paddlers who have had bad experience with plastic boats. It makes me feel very fortunate that I have not had similar problems because I feel my time is probably coming as for the rocky rivers we run.
I just bought my son a new Dagger Kingpin Icon (the one with attachable volume pods and fins ). I questioned the dealer about the Kingpin plastic problems I've been hearing about and he said he felt the weakness problems some were experiencing was from the increased number of holes drilled the the seat attachment area so it's nice at least having a year warranty on the new boat.
As far as general plastic problems, I wouldn't point my finger at just Dagger. I have owned six Daggers, two WaveSports, one Liquid Logic, one Perception among others. They are all polyethelene and they have all scratched and gouged about the same. Thats just one of the cons of that plastic. I've had analogs of polyethelene like "super linear" in my Lettman Pinball but it gouged just as bad and it's the only one that has ever cracked open(thank goodness for the plastic welder). WaveSports cross link was tuffer but the industry has strayed away from cross link for other reasons. Every time my buds and I get off a rocky river we all look at the bottom of our boats and cringe, with no manufacturer excluded. I'm certainly in favor of the industry finding an affordable more durable plastic.
But until then, hey man, its PLASTIC.
LarryD

I haver a Kingpin 6.2 C1, and yes the plastic isn't the most amazing thing i have ever seen. I haven't had any problems with mine yet... YOU MUST Keep the center pillar in when you convert it to C1 it is crtical that you do so. Outfitt around and keep all pillars in place to keep it rigid.!

Sounds like something is up with dagger plastic these days, surprise to me. My old cross link creekboat is so tough, just smashed it hard into a rock wall at the bottom of a steep drop, I thought the boat would have been bent or broken. Just some deep gouges. Main drop on the eagle section of the beaver, quite a hit!

Crosslink is the large steaming pile of dog doo! to bad it's the worst thing in the world for th environment and will take 5 billion years to decompose.