...oops, I accindentaly posted this in the "for sale section" (if anyone's wondering why there are two postings of the same message).
Hello,
I know a lot of people have posted questions about the Zoom, so I won't repeat what they've already asked. Are there any female paddler's out there (or even guys who might know about this) who have paddled the Zoom? I was talking to Ryan Moore this week about the boat, and he recommended it as a good boat for a smaller paddler.
I'm at the point now where I'm tired of running into brick walls trying to find open solo canoes that aren't going to cost me 2400 dollars with tax and outfitting. The Zoom is a boat that I can have in the water in the next couple of weeks. I know it will throw me for a huge learning curve, but that could be a good thing, right? Any thoughts on any of this would be most welcome.
Thanks,
Anna
Zoom questions
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-
the great gonzo
- Paddling Benefactor
- Posts: 1718
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:03 am
- Location: Montréal, Québec
Anna,
I can not comment too much about the Zoom, having only paddled it briefly in easy class 2 water.
It is a great boat, and well suited for a smaller paddler.
I don't know how much experience you have, but the Zoom has , similar to the Prelude, very little primary but a lot secondary stabilityand is quite edgy. Some people do not lke this kind of behavior. Check out the review in rapid magazine.
http://www.rapidmagazineinc.com/onlinei ... /v5i4/42/0
My suggestion is to definitely demo before you buy any boat (although I am known for often not adhering to this advice
...).
About the cost, I know it's bad, that's why I bought a demo boat
...
martin
I can not comment too much about the Zoom, having only paddled it briefly in easy class 2 water.
It is a great boat, and well suited for a smaller paddler.
I don't know how much experience you have, but the Zoom has , similar to the Prelude, very little primary but a lot secondary stabilityand is quite edgy. Some people do not lke this kind of behavior. Check out the review in rapid magazine.
http://www.rapidmagazineinc.com/onlinei ... /v5i4/42/0
My suggestion is to definitely demo before you buy any boat (although I am known for often not adhering to this advice
...).About the cost, I know it's bad, that's why I bought a demo boat
...martin
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
Thought i might as weel re post it here.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2004 10:46 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi anna, i had a chance to paddle Ryan's Zoom, on my Level 3 course last spring. I paddle a Dagger Phantom right now. Im farly tall at 6ft but i only weigh about 155bls. I had a blast in that little thing. I found that you always had to be on edge and really agressive in it. It was really fast, and even faster on edge, and it really carves into the eddies. Compared to my phantom. Great for playing too, surfs anything. I would say it's more like a phantom with occee edges. really hard chines, takes a while to get used to but when this boat is dialed in it rips. It doesn't track all that great cause it's short, but if you have good paddling skills, you will really enjoy the boat. If i were to buy a new open boat right now, it would probably be a zoom. Being a smaller person will make it more forgiving, and it will be easyier to control because it is a smaller boat.
I should realy start paddling my open boat a little more.....all this talk is giving me a craving, my c1 kingpin 6.2 isn't quite the same......
Good luck on finding a boat,!
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2004 10:46 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi anna, i had a chance to paddle Ryan's Zoom, on my Level 3 course last spring. I paddle a Dagger Phantom right now. Im farly tall at 6ft but i only weigh about 155bls. I had a blast in that little thing. I found that you always had to be on edge and really agressive in it. It was really fast, and even faster on edge, and it really carves into the eddies. Compared to my phantom. Great for playing too, surfs anything. I would say it's more like a phantom with occee edges. really hard chines, takes a while to get used to but when this boat is dialed in it rips. It doesn't track all that great cause it's short, but if you have good paddling skills, you will really enjoy the boat. If i were to buy a new open boat right now, it would probably be a zoom. Being a smaller person will make it more forgiving, and it will be easyier to control because it is a smaller boat.
I should realy start paddling my open boat a little more.....all this talk is giving me a craving, my c1 kingpin 6.2 isn't quite the same......
Good luck on finding a boat,!
Drop Waterfalls, Not Bombs
-
tntechpaddler
I bought a Zoom about 4 months ago. So did a buddy of mine. We've both
paddled the boats only about a half dozen times. I'm just now getting really
comfortable with the boat; my buddy is having a slightly more difficult time.
We both paddled the Dagger Ocoee for several years before purchasing the
Zooms. I outfitted the boat myself (kneecuffs, toe blocks, saddle --
no thigh straps 'cuz I don't need 'em with my setup).
First impressions: when I started the outfitting, I realized that this boat is
small! And it's not so much the length as the width. It has a lot of flare from the
chine to the tumblehome, so the bottom of the boat is very narrow. It's short too --
the airbags I took out of the Ocoee nearly meet in the middle of this boat (had to
tie them back to get them to fit, and still my knees are a little bit under the front
airbags). I also noticed that there is a lot more plastic in the chines than there
was in the Ocoee, so hopefully it will last a little longer (I have the ABS version;
I think they may be coming out with another material). If you outfit it yourself,
pay real close attention to the trim of the boat. Mine is dead center, and you
can get a lot of bow or stern air by leaning forward or backward.
The initial stability is definitely an issue. First time on the water, I was very
uncomfortable -- I've paddled a Skeeter some, and it did not feel as tippy as
this boat. The secondary stability is solid, but I still felt real uncomfortable
getting to the edges, especially on the offside. The boat was extremely
responsive -- eddie turns happened a lot faster than I was used to. And it
surfed like a dream. Biggest problem I had was the sticky feeling in holes --
it felt like the stern was getting grabbed and the bow was riding up.
Second trip out: still squirrelly-feeling, but not as bad, especially on the
onside. The first trip was on the Ocoee; this trip was on the Tellico (more of
creek -- more gradient but less volume). I could tell immediately that this
boat performs better on creeks (which is what I wanted, anyway).
Third and fourth trips: getting progressively more used to the boat. Didn't
feel nearly as tippy.
Last two trips: I love this boat! Still on class III water, but I had no problems
(well, maybe a little still on the offside). The couple of rapids that were
borderline IV were actually easier than I remembered. The manueverability is phenomenal. And you can tweeze stuff because the boat is so small. But I
am still wondering about those holes -- I have a feeling that the fatter bow
on this boat has been giving me false impression of the holes grabbing the
stern (the bow is just riding up the downstream face of the hole, not
slicing into it like the Ocoee). But we'll see later.
Bottom line: probably not the first open boat you want to buy. If you're used
to another boat, you'll feel uncomfortable at first. But you WILL get used to it.
And probably faster than you think.
One more comparison: I'm 6'1", and weigh about 140 pounds (I know, skinny
as a rail). My buddy is about 5'5" and I'd guess close to 180 lbs. Couldn't be
more physically different. While he's having a little more trouble getting used
to the boat, we're progressing at about the same pace.
paddled the boats only about a half dozen times. I'm just now getting really
comfortable with the boat; my buddy is having a slightly more difficult time.
We both paddled the Dagger Ocoee for several years before purchasing the
Zooms. I outfitted the boat myself (kneecuffs, toe blocks, saddle --
no thigh straps 'cuz I don't need 'em with my setup).
First impressions: when I started the outfitting, I realized that this boat is
small! And it's not so much the length as the width. It has a lot of flare from the
chine to the tumblehome, so the bottom of the boat is very narrow. It's short too --
the airbags I took out of the Ocoee nearly meet in the middle of this boat (had to
tie them back to get them to fit, and still my knees are a little bit under the front
airbags). I also noticed that there is a lot more plastic in the chines than there
was in the Ocoee, so hopefully it will last a little longer (I have the ABS version;
I think they may be coming out with another material). If you outfit it yourself,
pay real close attention to the trim of the boat. Mine is dead center, and you
can get a lot of bow or stern air by leaning forward or backward.
The initial stability is definitely an issue. First time on the water, I was very
uncomfortable -- I've paddled a Skeeter some, and it did not feel as tippy as
this boat. The secondary stability is solid, but I still felt real uncomfortable
getting to the edges, especially on the offside. The boat was extremely
responsive -- eddie turns happened a lot faster than I was used to. And it
surfed like a dream. Biggest problem I had was the sticky feeling in holes --
it felt like the stern was getting grabbed and the bow was riding up.
Second trip out: still squirrelly-feeling, but not as bad, especially on the
onside. The first trip was on the Ocoee; this trip was on the Tellico (more of
creek -- more gradient but less volume). I could tell immediately that this
boat performs better on creeks (which is what I wanted, anyway).
Third and fourth trips: getting progressively more used to the boat. Didn't
feel nearly as tippy.
Last two trips: I love this boat! Still on class III water, but I had no problems
(well, maybe a little still on the offside). The couple of rapids that were
borderline IV were actually easier than I remembered. The manueverability is phenomenal. And you can tweeze stuff because the boat is so small. But I
am still wondering about those holes -- I have a feeling that the fatter bow
on this boat has been giving me false impression of the holes grabbing the
stern (the bow is just riding up the downstream face of the hole, not
slicing into it like the Ocoee). But we'll see later.
Bottom line: probably not the first open boat you want to buy. If you're used
to another boat, you'll feel uncomfortable at first. But you WILL get used to it.
And probably faster than you think.
One more comparison: I'm 6'1", and weigh about 140 pounds (I know, skinny
as a rail). My buddy is about 5'5" and I'd guess close to 180 lbs. Couldn't be
more physically different. While he's having a little more trouble getting used
to the boat, we're progressing at about the same pace.