C-Forum

Anybody have a used spanish fly for sale or know where i can get a new one? i live in augusta GA. thanks dm

New SF at River Sports in Knoxville. THis one is orange and has the newer, better grey bags. They have gotten expensive, however, since I bought one two year ago.

There is a dealer in Ohio (Whitewater Warehouse) who has a friend with a well used SF who told me that he was going to sell his this Spring. THe dealer's name is Bernie and he has a post on this site under boats for sell. His email is wwwh@erinet.com. I would also check with Bernie about a new boat as well. He is a Pyrannha Dealer.

Chuck/Tennessee

Thanks Chuck, i sure will contact Bernie. Had one of my best paddling experiences going to meet bernie in west virginia to pick up a Z C-1 about 5 years ago. He took me down the middle gauley (i think) at a combined flow around 4500 cfs, in february, at a water temp and air temp both around 40. This southerner did not do much surfing that first day in my new Z.

Having some right knee isssues (medial meniscus/ligament) now and was thinking going back to an open boat may help. Any others have comments on this?

Chuck when you say a new one sure has gotten expensive, dare i ask how much. thanks dmm

Yo! Scott in Lexington,here - saw someone on the river the other day who said he met someone who must have been you- "guy from Augusta with an old school c-1 squirt boat " - which must have been your Viper. Sorry to hear about your knee I get away with a saddle in my decked boats that is as high as that in my open boat, so maybe there is some C-1 hope for you yet! Not that open boating is bad in any way -

Scott

I had surgery to repair a torn miniscus in my knee years before I started paddling. My best advice is to do what the physical terrorist says. I doubled my reps & ended up with more flexibility in the repaired knee than the 'good' one.

Also, I have tall seats in my boats. I think the big ez has the shortest one at ~7.75".

Dear David,

River Sports priced their's at around $1400. I am sure you can do better, so call Bernie. HOwever, if you consider the SF as a compeleily outfitting unit then the price is probably in line. I am sure you couldn't outfitt an ABS boat any cheaper.

I use the SF in the Summer and a converted Dagger GTX for Winter. I am not completily comfortable with the conversion and Bernie has made some suggestions that I have made to move the seat forward and lighten up the boat. This new Finkenmeister is 26 inches wide and about the same as the SF. One might get away with a taller saddle because of this wideth.

I understand the knees being a problem and the SF should help. Having said that, you probably know that the SF is a slow boat in a ferry, but you can spin it at the last minute. Obviously the roll is going to be slower. I did not take any foam out of the saddle like some paddlers have. This has helped my knees, but might make the center of gravity high.

I mainly used the SF on the Pigeon and OCoee last year. We got to run the Little River in the Smokey's and the Tellico one time and it was a great low volume creek boat.

Regards,
Chuck/Tennessee

Chuck, at that price my knee feels better already! Thanks for the info and i would like to try one of those boats out sometime. I am going to try to see if bernie has a used one that i can obtain while i save some money. Do you ever padlle the chatooga or anywhere else in SC?

Mike, glad to hear that rehab and patience got your knee fixed up. i am currently doing alot of streching,light lifting, biking. The problem is that i am not really sure how i hurt the thing... could have been biking /swimming paddling or any combination of the three. i just woke up in the middle of the night after a day of biking/ paddling and swimming with a knee that would not bend without pain and/or popping. That was last july...neeedless to say i could not C-1 at all since then. I could manage to get into my mohawk XL15 and paddle the savannah a few times. Right now i can get back in the Z for short periods.

Scott, that day was my first day back in the z and viper, and that dude would not even paddle with me, so i played hard in the millrace and popup. Not too much pain during the day and only moderate pain the day after so i think i am on the mend. I will let you know when i am headed that way again, possibly this thursday or friday. dm

It figures - he's a dang kayaker! But then again, I hain't been paddling much myself either - factors have conspired against it, however I'm fighting back. Shoot me an e-mail, with advance notice, I can usually work something out.

Scott

Dave,
I have not paddled the Chattooga. Here in East Tennessee we have just a great variety that I never took the time to drive 4-5 hours to a river. I know how this might sound to some paddlers.

Now that my family is older, I might start to venture out if my son has an interest. My favorite stuff is low volume creek stuff. My favorite river is the Little River in the Smokies. I like to catch eddies and make tight moves. However, my son Joseph is urging me to play more and I am slowly moving into that kind of stuff some.

When you speak to Bernie, ask him about his friend who paddles a SF and a CUFLY. THis is the one who was going to sell his SF for $400-500. It is already outfitted with thigh straps additional to the bulkhead.

Regards,
Chuck