Another Wheelboy review

[oregonmatt]

I finally got to test my Wheelboy out today. For the record, I'm 6'0", 200 lbs (probably closer to 210 with all my winter gear on). My hat's off to Pawel, Marko and all the others at Drakkar. This is an excellent boat, even for someone my weight. I ran the N. Santiam, a class II-III run, at a medium-low level of about 1200 cfs. I'd never had the boat in the water before (even a pool), but was immediately comfortable in it. The most immediately noticeable thing was the stability of the boat compared to kayak conversions. I was as stable doing offside eddy turns, peel outs, and cross strokes (while playing) as I am in my Atom. At the same time, I could bow stall (for a little while anyway) with one good solid forward stroke and a good lean. I was able to greatly reduce the number of balance strokes and braces I use during playing compared to my experiences in conversions. Rolling is cake.

The best thing about the boat is the stern. The extra volume gave me much more control during cartwheels. In my Id (which has a very low volume stern), I have a hard time not going past vertical and flopping over during stern ends. In the Wheelboy, I could lean back much more without losing control during cartwheels (eddyline and flat water), and could therefore control my angle with more precision. And for a boat it's size, it had good hull speed - I never had to dig too hard to make the moves I wanted to.

I don't really have any negatives to report. The bow did pearl during aggressive forward strokes, and I had to lean back more in rapids than with my Id, but that shouldn't be hard to get used to. Also, I was not very successful in catching waves on the fly - the hull is somewhat slower than the Id. That also should get easier with a little more practice. I found it to be a great play boat, and a very good river runner for class II-III. Can't wait until the local play holes come in.

All in all, an excellent boat. I'm done with converting. Great job Drakkar! Can't wait to see the Fatboy.

Matt

p.s. I received my spray skirt from Drakkar in the mail on Friday, just in time to go boating - thanks guys. It was completely dry and seemed bomber - another great product.

[Cone Bone]

Matt,

Good to hear that you got your WB wet, and that it treated you well.

[Marko@Drakkar]

HI

We are very pleased with this kind of rewievs. It is rewarding to hear that people really like the boat and the deck.

We will be doing our best further develop the product too. So please give your negative points and development ideas too.

I already picked the new footpeg idea for FB and some nice outfitting ideas too for the future.


thanks

Marko & Drakkar Crew

We have big motivation to make FB and it is getting better every day.

[Wendy]

How much is the outfitted weight of the production model? Thanks.

[Pawel Szydlowski-Drakkar]

It greatly depends on the outfitting you want to have in your WB. A kevlar seat option with grab loops, extra foams is about 17.5kg (I wrote "about" as the number of foams may differ)

[Larry Horne]

just wanted to say....
if anyone wants to test drive my wheelboy, just contact me and we can set something up. i'm in cali. (bay area)
no, i'm not a dealer or rep.

[Cone Bone]

Wendy,

I just weighed my WB, and it weighs 40 lbs.

The boat is still damp from the pool, and is empty except for air bags and outfitting, which includes factory pedastal, my straps, misc. foam added here and there, no foot braces.

Hope this helps,

[Wendy]

Thank you for taking the time to weigh it!