C-Forum

Hallo,
pardon for my poor english but i'm not really used to communicate in this language. I can better read as write ..........

My questions are :
here in germany it seems to be impossible to get information about OC1´s. Because it seems to be impossible to test a OC in germany i would be glad if anybody can give me some information about follwing OC1 ovation, ocoee, spark, zephyr, zoom ........ I´m looking for an oc1 for riverrunning up to class4 an some playing and
slalomtraining on easier rivers. (I'm 220 lbs)

I know this are a lot of questions, thanks for all informations and a nice time on the river, oldmann

1) Ovation: I have not paddled it, but have heard it is not a great boat, also, it is no longer in production
2) Spark: Incredible boat-very good for river running and slalom gates-it's very fast, and it will teach the user to use bow correction strokes rather than stern pry's etc. One of my favorite boats, it is very fast and responsive.
3) Ocoee, I have not paddled it, but have heard from many many people that it is one of the best river runner/ playboat designs in production
4) Zoom, I again have not paddled, but it is much smaller then any of the other boats in question, great playboat, and very responsive. I have also heard that it is very stable.

Good luck in choosing the right boat.

Nate

I can only talk about the Zoom and Ocoee:

Ocoee is a great all around river runner and playboat for larger people.

The Zoom is awesome river runner and playboat but for larger folks you will really need to be on your game as it will feel pretty twitchy due to the narrowness of the design and your weight will be riding a bit lower in the water. For reference - I am normally about 205-210 lbs. The Zoom runs drier and rolls easier than any other OC I've paddled. The Zoom is a more high performance boat than the Ocoee but for larger folks I would spend some time in the boat before you lay out the cash.

The Ocoee - easy decision - buy one.
Zoom - if you are comfortable with smaller boats like K1 conversions you may well like it. If you are used to larger OC designs it may take some getting used to.

I have paddled all the above but the Zoom.

The Ocoee is a wonderful play boat. It is not as fast as the Spark but will play better in holes. Its chines are quite hard and so is responsive.

The Ovation is very slow. I think it does nothing well.

I have only paddled the Zyphyr once and liked it; turned well and was pretty fast. My concern wouold be that the company has not yet worked out all the kinks with regard to glueing stuff to the new material. When they do I think Twintex will be the canoe material of the future.

My newest boat is a Spark. It is the fastest plastic whitewater sole canoe I have ever paddled. It was designed by a master canoe racer so wil be very good in the gates. It attains wonderfully and front surfs like a dream. It is not the best for hole play.

For the purposes you have articulated,I think the Spark is the best boat of those you mentioned. Good luck and have a good time with whichever boat you chose. Chris Kelly

oldman,

I agree that the Spark is a great boat, but it's made of royalite, which is not the best material from a durability and abrasion resistance point of view, and as far as I remember from back when I lived in Switzerland, the majority of the class 4 rivers in the alps are low volume and many would actually be considered creeks over here.
In light of this I would suggest you evaluate how much time you will spend on shallow and low volume runs the Spark may not be the best choice for you, and neither will the Ocoee, purely from a material durability point of view.
If you tend to do a lot of low volume runs, you should consider the Zephyr or have a look at the Robson Homes, which looks like it's essentially a shortened Ocoee and made from a similar material.
If most of your runs are in deeper water, by all means, go for a Spark or Ocoee.

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

Hi Oldman

I also sent you a PM - I have a Zoom in Switzerland (near Bern) you're welcome to try out.

It's a great boat for me, but I'm 65kg (150lbs). It is definitely not stable - very twitchy, but it has great secondary stability. It prefers to be on edge.

There is a Robson Homes at Kanuschule Versam available for demo. Also, near here there is Siesta-Oppi, who also have a range of different OC1s available for demo/rent - although mainly from Indian Canoe (Mohawk).

I also know of a Taureau in northern Italy that might be available to demo.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi, you can test my Homes in Karlsruhe, Germany. A test of a heavier paddler than me you can read here: http://www.open-canoe.de/open/canoes/homes_en.html

Greetings Frank

Hi, Du kannst auch einen Homes in Karlsruhe testen.
Einen Test von einem schwergewichtigeren Paddler als mir kannst Du hier lesen: http://kanu-verein.de/homepage/privat/k ... bson_homes

Grüße Frank

ChrisKelly wrote:
The Ovation is very slow. I think it does nothing well.

Chris Kelly

ChrisKelly wrote:
The Ovation is very slow. I think it does nothing well.

Chris Kelly

People didn't just call it the 'Slovation' for no reason... ...

I've had experience in most of the boats you mentioned with the exception of the zephyr.
I currently own both a spark and an ocoee and greatly prefer the ocoee for all around boating. The spark is wicked fast and is great for gates, atainments and zooming around the river like a nut catching every eddy and ferry. It's not a boat for holes and I'd hesitate to take it anywhere bony. It is light and stiff but seems a bit fragile.
The ocoee does everything well imho, especially for someone in my size range, 6'2" about 190+ lbs. The royalex does get beat up and I look forward to trying some of the new materials. The design can handle all types of water from creeks to huge.
At my size the zoom is pretty darn twitchy, more so than my phantom ever was and I pretty much maxed it out.
I personally liked the ovation but it was suited to my level of boating at the time. Not very responsive and kinda slow. I'm toying with the idea of buying one for my quiver to take rookies out in. Not a horrible choice if you can get it cheap and resell it when you outgrow it in a year.
gl with your choice
dave in mt

what Dave said......