C-Forum

For those who don't know me my name is Ronnie. I will be representing Robson here in the southeast shortly. Things are slowly, but surely happening. They are loading a container to be sent over here very soon. I need to decide what needs to be on that container. So I need to know how many of you are serious about the finkenmeister (or any other design) so I can request them to be on the container. Please let me know ASAP. Robson is very c-boater friendly so we need to support their efforts so they support us in the future.

Sincerly,

Ronnie Dilbeck
Marshwater@hotmail.com

That's cool, so I'll finally be able to see other people paddle this awesome boat on the river !
Cool !
Do you know if Robson is going to have a new rep up here in Canada?

martin

Hello Ronnie,
I am very interested. Put me down for a red Finkenmeister. Let me know what I need to do to order a boat. Can you ship out here to California?
Good news!
Bruce Farrenkopf
bpkopf@comcast.net

Hi Ronnie,

Glad things are progressing, I also want a Finkenmeister. I had been interested in one for over a year but was unable get any info or feedback other than the web listing until recently.

I live in western Massachusetts (Springfield area) but would be able to drive any reasonable distance to pick up the boat.

Don Williams
donwbtr@charter.net

What we need is a demo boat, so we aren't having to buy something sight unseen. Will you be doing direct sales, or just distributing to other vendors?
____
Chris

I bought mine unseen, and I am very happy with it .
If anyone is heading up to Canda , you are welcome to try out mine, but hurry, it starts to get pretty chilly up here !

martin

I'm interested as well. I live in Toronto. We'd probably have to get creative about shipping. What are the prices? Thanks. Mike.

I would love to see one of these in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. It is hard to get a feel for the boat with the pictures.

Chris,
We're unlikely to be able to demo this boat. Get real. We can't demo kayaks very often for conversion potential either. It seems that's a benefit for kayakers only. Martin gave us a good review of the boat's performance in the other 'Robson Finkenmeister' topic below this one. Check it out.
SYOTR,
Bruce

Bruce makes a good point about being able to demo this boat. I am looking into a Millbrook and it is the same situtation there. Most C boaters know enough to make an educated decision. I have gotten used to the shorter boats and I am not sure about what advantages this produciton model would have over a conversion. At least a Millbrook would have some customizing potential. Comfort is important in any boat. I can usually adjust to the rest.

Chuck,
I thought I could adjust to any boat too. I had made about 7 or 8 boats work, every C1/C2 I had owned until I met the Perception Stikine and converted it to be my Class 4/5 creeker. It caused me alot of trouble on Class 5 runs. I couldn't get my knees low and wide enough to get the kind of control and stability I needed for difficult water. The converted Stikine was fine on Class 3 and 4.
When I found out about the Finkenmeister's dimensions I was encouraged that the boat was wide and deep enough for correct knee positioning and the length was very good for tight creeks. Then reviews by Martin and others made the decision easy - a BIG GO for the Finkenmeister.
I maintain that a boat designed to be a C1 has a far better chance of performing well in a C1ers hands than a boat designed as a kayak (to be sat in).
SYOTR,
Bruce

Bruce
I had a Slasher and a Gyromax. Neither were great boats and were designed to be C-1's. I found out later that the GYRO was too bow forward because the design was taken from a race boat and that's a good idea for those guys I guess. The Slasher was very unstable. THe point is that once you make the purchase you paddle it until its worn out. With my GTX (8' 2") conversion I am much more confortable than in either of the prevsious boats. I have not done a class 5 yet. But spent time on a pushy 2800cfs Ocoee this summer and some class 4's on the Obed last week. It turns well, has great secondary stability, etc. and rolls very fast. In fact when you look at the Finkenmeister profile it reminds me of the GTX. design.

I am for the new Finkenmeister, I am just not convinced that it is better than what you can convert. Besides I like to tinker.

Best Regards
Chuck

Chuck,

You can't compare 20 year old C1 designs with modern boats, to be fair , you would have to compare the Gyramax and Slasher to something like a Dancer or so.
I have never paddled a GTX, so I can not comment it's performance, but I have tried a few conversions (Redline, Z, Big Gun), and the Finkenmeister beats them all as a C1.
It is way more comfortable, has better stability, is faster, just as maneuvrable and tracks better. Even a paddler as mediocre as myself could notice that for river running, big water and creeking up to class 4 (I am not yet ready to do class 5), the Finkenmeister IS a better C1 than the conversions I have tried .

martin

I *may* be interested in a Finkenmeister in the spring, depending on the ol' cash situation...so, if you order an extra or two, it'll probably disappear to myself or others in a similar situation....

Dear Martin,
I was not comparing the old c-1's to the new designs. I was replying to Bruce that the old designs were designed and meant to be used as C-1's like the Finkenmeister rather than the boats we are converting that were designed as kayaks. The point being that just because we are converting a Kayak does not necessarily mean that we have an inferior ride. It also holds true that just because the boat was designed to be a c-1 does not mean that it will be superior to a converted kayak. I have seen Liquid Logic boats like the Pop and Space Cadet converted with some cool outfitting. My son converted a G Force. Like you said Redlines and old Prions are being used. The Liquid Logic rep is dying to see a Lil Joe or Hoss converted. I was talking to a follow c boater today about this new boat and he mentioned that the small cockpit limits some customizing, i.e forward shifting, similar to the cockpits in the beforementioned posting. I am curious if thigh straps can be installed. Lastly, I am really interested in paddling the Finkenmeister and the rep and I have been emailing back and forth.

Regards

Chuck:D