C-Forum

I may have found the c-boaters answer to the sea kayak, at least to a large extent.

Behold the other kind of oc-1 : http://www.waldensports.com/photos/Naluben.jpg

The one pictured is a Walden Kayak Nalu and I just picked up a second hand one - so far, it is fast, stable enough for me to stand on (carefully), support me plus all three kids (though not going anywhere fast), and it is open topped (accomodates the dimensionally large). It should be fun in the surf. It's a little light on storage capacity compared to my sea kayak, though.

I'll be working on my sit and switch technique!

Scott

Hey Scott, neat boat! A freind of mine has the Savage River OC-1 outrigger. She tells me it's a strange feeling to see the ama coming over your head as you flip ! Is the ama adjustable on yours? If so, that will really effect the stability & speed.

Hey, Scott! Why is that guy sitting with his feet out in front of him? Seems that would help make the boat feel tippy. I suggest the way to paddle that thing is in the high-kneel ("Hi, KNeal!") position .

Pretty cool, Scott. I remember you telling me you were itching to get one, so congratulations! BTW, the bbq mustard sauce is just about gone--I've throwin' it on just about everything that can hold it . And the ginger ale? Yeehaw! That thing STILL has some bite to it! Thanks for bringing the sauce and the ginger ale.

KNeal

Pretty wild looking Iakos to hold the Ama. We had a local denizen recently show up with a two man outrigger for a flatwater river race. It was one sweet boat. He had rigged up a section of aluminum ladder with the blue kayak foamies to properly support its straight keel line (its 27' long). He also made two wood frames to attach to the the boat with the two bolts for the ama and then attach the ama over the boat, ie a square with two holes in the bottom and one on top. Neat rigging for transport. The boat was easily 10% faster than OC2 marathon cruisers (18.5'). Have fun and Huli often Scott. pjc

Why is he sitting that way? It's because the boat is 20" wide and kneeling just ain't going to work for most folks. I tried and my legs barely feet in the foot "trays". A high kneel might work, except the seat gets in the way of my back foot.

The folks I bought it from have another that I did not get to see. It has a rudder and thigh straps, though the straps are set up like those in a sit on top kayak.

As for transport, it all disassembles - the iakos (thanks for the word!) unbolt from the boat and the ama. It ends up looking like I'm carrying a sea kayak and a drop tank.

The kids were quite taken with it, I think I could turn it into an OC-2 while they are still small enough to fit in the cockpit together.

I head back to the beach this weekend for further sea trials...

Scott

About that sitting position. He's doing that 'cause its fast. With your feet on a good brace and toe straps you can really activate the big muscles in your core as well as the thighs. If you're really hitting a good sit 'n switch paddle stroke your legs will be cycling almost like running in place.

Look here:

http://www.jjcanoe.com/Idealstroke.html

These things are fast! My marathon C-1 goes 7-8 mph in a sprint and cruises at 6-7. Outriggers that are really working the swells can cruise in the teens and hit top speeds in the 30's.

WW

Thanks for that link - I'm new to sit and switch.

It will be a while before I'm "working the swells", first it sounds like I need to get some foot braces. Walden made them, of course, but this boat didn't have them and they are no longer stocked. So, to the workshop I will go!

As for speed, this one is only 15'5" and is made of plastic - I'm sure it is not as fast as it's competition grade brethren. All the same, it sure seems to fly to me!

Hey, Scott. Did ya notice on that webpage what the guy was sitting on? A Concept 2 rower with the canoe paddle attachment ! We were talking about that very thing when you were up here. Pretty cool stuff. I REALLY want to get a Concept 2 rower for my studio (another toy for my romper room ). Nice link.

Neal (KNeal)

I have tried a paddle machine like the one pictured. It's great for practicing sit & switch type paddling. The one that I tried even had a Wenonah seat & a Zaveral paddle shaft . When you switch sides, the arm swings over to maintain proper alignment with the stroke. That way you don't just practice your stroke, you also practice making a fast switch (granted the recovery tension is different than a paddle).

I think that you would need to modify it a little for the knealing position. I'm no expert, but different muscles are sore from paddling sit & switch than from the knealing position. I know that I use my legs a lot with sit & switch, I think I also use the lower back more, since that hurts the next day .

Walden Sports apparently is no more, but the Nalu lives on! It's now made by Riot :

http://www.riotkayaks.com/v3/fw_nalu.asp