C-Forum

Hey guys,

I am a tripping kind of guy, and want to move into open play boating. I am 6'2" about 200lbs. I have a couple of quesitons.

1. What is a good boat to buy?
- used exclusivly for playing in, i have my tripping boat
- want an open boat
- will be used in the southern ontario region mostly
- should be something that is good to learn in but still able to do radical stuff when i progress to that point.


2. What size paddle should i buy?

Thanks for you help.
Dan

2. This forum has a handy search feature. There's been tons of threads with lots of good info on paddle sizes, and manufacturers. See what you can find, and if you have any more questions, we'll be glad to fill in the gaps!


1. I guess it depends on your definition of radical, but there really isn't a boat that is going to be forgiving for a beginner and be able to do radical rodeo stuff. They really are at opposite ends of the spectrum, the features that make a boat great for play, make it bad for learning and vice versa.

In a nutshell there's your

Mad River Outrage/OutrageX,
Dagger Ovation, Rival, Caption
Esquif Nitro, Detonator
Mohawk Probe

These are all good OC1 playboats that will let you run anything and surf your brains out. Generaly reasonably forgiving so they are good first playboats. Many folks stay with one of these forever. ( I love my Outrage.)

Dagger Occoe
Prijon Prelude
Esquif Zoom
Mohawk Viper

These are "Hardchined" boats. More maneuverable. Less forgiving. These are the only boats for many more advanced paddlers.

Then there's the Dagger Quake, Savage Skeeter type boats. Maybe somebody else can fill in what models are out there for these. If you realy want to get radical in an open boat these are the ones.

I'm sure I've left some out and I've ignored the many fine composite boats so don't take this as the definitive and mostly HAVE FUN!

Tommy

Tommy T provides a pretty good list of the boat options. Though the Caption is more of a tandem boat that can be paddled solo, and I assume you're looking for a solo boat? The other boats (Outrage, Probe...) are in the 12' range or smaller (Detonator, Ovation). And some (Rival) are out of production and very hard to find used.

My tripping paddle and ww paddle are the same. I'm 5'10 and my paddles are about 58" 58" should be too short for you, but 60" might be too long? Start with a cheap paddle until you decide - my wooden Gey Owl C-1 has stood up relatively well.

Tommy T, in terms of paddler-weight and perfomance, how heavy are you given that you chose an Outrage over an Outrage X? I'm 200lbs (same as Dan the asker) and recently bought a used Outrage that I'm looking forward to.

Pat.

I'm 5'10" and use a 56" paddle in my Detonator, with a 10" saddle in it. I recall a great article on paddle sizing in Rapid Magazine a while ago - can't seem to find it online though. The gist was, kneeling in your boat (i.e. paddling position), with your paddle in the water, your top hand should be around shoulder height (maybe just above) and the shoulders of the blade should just be above the water. Your shaft hand should be just below gunwale height.

That's a guideline. It does suggest that ideal paddle length will vary with the boat and the outfitting. Basically it gives a starting point and form there you fine tune according to what works best for you - a clear indicator to me that my paddle is too long comes when my shoulder starts hurting....at that point you hope you can figure a way to shorten your paddle or otherwise buy a new one.

Hope this helps

Matt

Pat,
I weigh in at 195. The Outrage works fine for me on the New England class IIIs that I paddle. I thought that the X felt very similar. The only difference I noticed was 6" more on either end to get in my way. I like shorter boats and if I had to choose a different OC1 it would be a Detonator (10' 6") or maybe a Prelude (still looking to demo one of those).
I'm told that the X is "dryer" but I'd have to paddle one on bigger water to confirm that. The Outrage handles OK when it's full of water if you don't mind that "my camaro just turnred into a dumptruck" feeling.

I know a few big guys who favor the Caption as a solo boat. At 14" it's way too big for me though.

Dan,
I'm 5' 10" with a 30" inseam and a long torso. I use a 58" wooden Mitchel spoon.

Tommy