C-Forum

Greetings fellow kneelers. I am a class iv open boater who has become increasingly interested in steep creeking. I've been thinking of transitioning over into the c-1 realm and I have been quite interested in the finkmiester. My question is where do I find one of these things? I live in western NY and I don't think I have the money to make a trip to Belgium. Do they sell these in the states? I also don't really want to buy one without paddling one first. Is there anyone out there in NY or close that has one and would let me take it for a spin?

there is a dealer stateside, however doing business with them is impossible, and i cannot recommend it at all. The amount of hastle i have had with them has almost outweighed the fun ive had in the boat, because right now they're preventing me from using the boat. they have had my skirt for repairs since early october, but left to go to germany for 4-5 months, without attending at all to business, i have tried to get into contact with the person she left in charge, and have had no success in locating my skirt, even less so getting it back. im very heavily debating buying a mountain surf skirt, and sending them the bill. i havent been able to get ahold of the U.S. rep ever, i began my attempt this july, and still have not succeeded, nor has the shop that i ordered the boat through over a year ago. (which arrived on time, yet had to wait 3 months for a skirt, which turned out to be crap.)

so i cannot recommend anyone pursue ordering a boat, because of the lack of any attempt at customer service that has been shown over the past 7 months.

however the boat is fun, and paddles well, uber stable, quick, all that jazz. it is truly unfortunate that they are completely inept at helping people who spend a lot of money on a boat.

too bad a good company made a bad choice on a stateside contact.

cheers
-isaac

Hans-olo,

I have a Robson Finkenmeister here in Toronto Ontario, you are welcome to try it out next spring. when the creeks are running in upstate NY.

Since I got my boat directly through Robson before they had established their new rep out West in Washington, I can't comment on bearboater's experience.

I have a Mountain Surf spray skirt for my Finkenmeister, and after over 2 years of hard use, it's still in excellent shape and as dry as on the first day.

martin a.k.a. The Great Gonzo!

There's a guy in CT who posted to NPMB saying he was a Robson rep. The post has been pulled (I think all posts to Commercial Announcements are pulled after 30 days or something).

Don't know how reputable he is, but I do have contact info:
Robert Coates [ikayakalot@yahoo.com]

Good luck,
Rod

i would recommend that you try this other contact in CT, i was unaware of another in the u.s. the boats are great, i cant stress that part, but my experience in the after purchase period has been hades. if there is another dealer pursue it, or you could do like Martin, and try to go through them directly, however i did have a problematic email with Robert Sommers about my skirt. where he told me that since it was only sticthed so bad in places, that i take it to a shoe repair person ,and have they try to stitch it up, i dont know what the deal is, but i wouldnt suggest you get the fink skirt they offer, i am thinking more and more heavily about getting a Mountain Surf, and simply requesting my money back from robson for the other skirt.
which may be a less harsh thing, than to get a MS and send them the bill.
so it goes.
hope you get a chance in the boat, its a blast!
-isaac

thanks for the info on the reps. sorry to here about all the problems, that should be taken into consideration. I'll have to try out the contact you supplied. I just need to convince my wife I need a grand out of the tax return for another canoe. "but you allready have two! what do you need another one for?" I'd love to get over the lake to check out a real finkster though. Any good stuff on the North side of lake Ontario? Maybe I could catch the so called fast ferry from Rochester. I've got some friends that have been catching some good surf off the ferry when it comes in to dock. c ya

hans-olo,

Right now there is obviously not much running up here, almost everything is frozen, but in the spring, usually from about mid April to about mid May there is some good boating withing a few hours North of Toronto, anything from creeks to big water, definitely worth checking out.

martin a.k.a. The Great Gonzo!

Hey, I myself work for a Robson Dealer in OR, but i know of a competing shop that has one in stock. I would be happy to pack it and put in a Reddaway truck your way. Nextadventure.net, they are cool, its a consingment new boat, but its been there a while, low ball em.
Nick

wow, you guys rock! I'd have to secure the funds before I could make an offer. I wish there were stores around here in the east like that. I lived in Seattle for a short while and used to love going to a place called second bounce in freemont. The people and goods there were so cool. I was allways broke while I was there. I traded some mountaineering boots for a rope bag once, but what do you care. I'll make a note of your e-mail. hopefully I'll get in contact with you in a month or so if someone else on this forum doesn't first. It'll be 55 degrees tomorrow! I'm going to tug hill to paddle my buns off yee-haw!

I can confirm that Next Adventure in Portland, OR has a new finky in stock - I saw it hanging from the wall in there yesterday. They also have a CU-Fly (which I never thought I'd see in a boating shop in portland). Next Adventure is a great shop, so i'd have no problem ordering from them even if I lived across the country from here. For what it's worth, both of those boats have been there for a long time. Also, note that I posted an ad offering my fink for sale in the "boats for sale" forum today.

Matt, why are you selling your Fink?
Bruce

Hi Bruce - in a word, my fink combat roll is not good enough for harder runs, but my Cascade roll is. I've therefore been paddling my Cascade a lot more than my fink on steeper/tighter runs, and have been in my wheelboy for easier runs. I wish I had the time to devote to learning how to handle/roll the fink well, but I'm lucky to get out once or twice a month these days, and it doesn't look like i'm going to get any less busy at any time in the near future. Therefore, it's time to liquidate and make room in my garage for an eventual Drakkar fatboy (if they ever put it into production...).

If I manage to sell the fink, I'm sure I'll regret it, as it really is fun to paddle. If I don' t sell it, I'll probably put some thigh straps in it and try it some more once the sun comes out up here and swims aren' t so cold...

Matt,

for me, the thigh straps made all the difference from going from a so-so roll to a reliable combat roll in the Finkenmeister . Try it!

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!