C-Forum

That the LOCO ISTHE BEST BOAT I HAVE EVER PADDLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got my Loco in the other night at 3 am, and had it outfitted via velcro, and foam by 5 am, waited for the sunrise, and had it on the water at 7:48 am... This boat slices like I never thought possible, it puts my old Zealot to shame. I feel like twice the paddler. I had no idea that they were so sweet. I can get my knees under the cockpit rim, and have them spread more than 7 inches apart, (big thighs prohibited any further spreading in the zealot) they are now 13 inches apart. The boat is just so amazing, I just finished putting in straps, I went with vynil patches, instead of kelvar rope to make it a little more temporary until I figurre out exactly where I want them. It is just a beautiful boat, and just so much fun to paddle, it feels so much faster in the water than the zealot. All I have had it on was flat water, and was unable to really play around with it, but it was such a blast, I am super psyched to get back to the west where we have water (Minnesota is wicked low at the moment).
cheers
-isaac

Issac- yeah you better get back to montana while we still have water. CLiffside is "in" a little flat but would be real fun in your long boats I'll tell you this its real fun in the FLIRT .
Looing forward to having you on the westslope and getting you in the water.
C ya when I smell ya-

Issac,

What layup did you choose for your Loco? I'm interested in getting one and looking for durability so I am considering Flexi with an extra layer of carbon/kevlar on the hull.

Matt

I got the Flexible, and it is very resilient, it holdds up well, I have had to patch it once, I cracked it right along the edge. all of the rivers I paddle out in montana are fairly shallow, and rocky for most of the year. and so far with about 25-30 days of paddling, and 1 patch, there is nothing but little aesthetic scratches that you acquire with time. however, it is more flexible than I assumed. If I had known that the boat would be as flexable as it is, I would have gotten the one level up. It isn't that big of a deal, It's more likely that I am just that anal retentive. but if you add in an extra layer of carbon, I think you would be good. definetely a fun all round boat. and it surfs great.
Prost
-Isaac
if you want pics PM me with an address, and I will take some as soon as I am back in montana. (thanksgiving)

Matt,

I have a Loco in the flexible layup as well. As I mostly paddle on Potomac my experience with durablility is going to be different. I have had no problems what so ever. Some other things you may want to consider on the Loco are, the cockpit is pretty big but kind of narrow towards the stern. I installed the Mad Dog Hip Blocks, Gen 1 from www.treybay.com and found they have made a very big improvement. My pedestal is 5.75" and 3" off the back of the back rim of the cockpit. I am now deinstalling the Gen 1 Blocks for the Gen 2 Hip Blocks which are an inch taller and I think a half inch narrower. I think they are going to be just the ticket. Adding the hip blocks improved my pivot turns tremendously as I could now pivot from the hips instead of trying to pull my knees up to my chest with the thigh straps. In addition, I would seriously consider the carbon fiber pedestal Trevor Soileau designs and sells through his website referenced above. It is really a good idea and looks like it may only be slightly more difficult to install then a slalom K1 carbon fiber seat.

I raced the Loco in three races this summer and fall. Although I got my butt pretty well whipped my margin of defeat got narrower each race. The Loco is an awful lot of fun to paddle and is much easier than about any other Short Slalom C1 out there. I have not raced with the above hipblocks, Gen 1 or Gen 2. I have a lot to work on this winter and will campaign harder next year!

Adding the extra layer of Carbon may well stiffen it up, however, might as well get the Profi at that point. The Profi layup is less weight as well. In talking with Dave Kurtz who manages and coaches Mach 1, a regional slalom team my sons and I are members of, he recommends the Flexi as he has found them to be more durable than the Profi. His boats are pretty heavily used by kids in development who are heavy handed with them. Also, the Flexi layup does not use foam, so repairs can be several orders of magnitude easier.

Another point on the Loco if you have a spray skirt that fits an Atom it will fit the Loco. Snapdragon makes one that will need to be ordered from them. A round cockpit skirt will not fit!

Have fun!

Tom

Issac:

Tom let me try his Loco at one of the races he attended this fall. I only paddled it briefly on some flatwater above the start, but it was amazing how easily it pivoted and yet how well it still seemed to track. I haven't tried any of the other short boats to compare it with, but I would agree that it is a huge leap from the Zealot, which I currrently paddle. (Of course, the Zealot is a 10-year-old design.) As I currently weigh about 195 lbs., and the other short boats are generally for lighter paddlers, the Loco is clearly the current choice for me. Now all I need is a couple of G's to pay for one!!! Maybe I can pick-up your's or Tom's boat on the cheap after you trash it or when you move onto the a newer design in a couple of years!

Meanwhile, I've cut-down my Zealot to 3.65 meters in hopes that it will help me somewhat in keeping up.


John

I have debated what to do with my Zealot. I think that if I were to cut it down, I would take a ton of volume out. I think that the cut would almost go to the cockpit on both sides so that I could make the ends slicier. but that is still at the completely hypothetical stage. I would love to see photos of your new cut down Zealot. I am in the process of ordering the new Gen 2 hip pads from trevor. I have foam ones in now, and they are just too small height wise, and also too flexy to do a whole ton of good. My saddle is also a few inches I think 2.75 to 3 to be exact from the rear of the cockpit. and its 5 inches tall. and at that saddle height, my legs are almost touching the front of the cockpit rim, and I was only able to addd 1/8 inch of foam. I think that I will likely order another Loco in a stiffer lay up because of where I paddle. the boat is definetely pretty bombproof, but our stuff is shallow. I am still at the stage of having so much fun doing stern draw pivot turns, and getting to that almost vertical point. however, I have had alot of trouble in bow pivots, and can't flat spin it yet. I have done only a couple of side surfs, and was able to spin them to back and then turn forward again, but I haven't been able to complete it, or stay in a back surf. the tail just drops, and I get spun in a very unstable position. just a note of interest. Robin Bell the designer paddles his with his saddle as far back as he can get it. also, the new ITOMCO ORCA which is Jamie's boat has a very similar looking volume distribution to the LOCO.
Prost
-Isaac

Thank you everyone for the information. I'll let you know what I decide.

Matt

Issac:

I should clarify what I mean by "cut-down." Essentially, I've only shortened the boat by chopping about 10 cm in length off the bow and another 25 cm off the stern. A full chop-job like you describe (i.e. cutting volume out of the ends at the seam line and then re-seaming the boat) was more than I wanted to tackle. I think that I would buy another used 4-meter boat of more recent design (e.g. a Shubak) before tackling that. The boat does seem to pivot a tad more easily, but I think that the main effect is just that it's shorter (e.g. easier to get tight entry on gates, less likely to wack my stern on rocks when pivoting in shallows, etc.).

John

John, I understood what you meant. I was thinking that it I cut mine down, I would do that maybe, maybe not. because the stern would be so blunt. even if you gave it a very shallow angle, there would be a ton of volume near the end of the boat. but the boat is just so much fun as a cruiser. then again, so is my loco.
Matt, the Loco was designed by Robin Bell who is almost as tall as you are. and weighs about 87 kilos. I was going to get the Vajda Lizard, but decided against itt due to the lack of volume in the bow. it works great for dudes less than 80-85 kilos, but has too much a tendancy to dive. I found, also, there is more volume in the stern of the lizard which made it a harder pivot turn. or not necessarily harder, just a stronger initiation was needed, when the stern was down, it stayed there very well.
slalom boats are fun. they go fast, however, nowadays not too many have a speed wing.
Prost
-Isaac

Again, thanks to everyone for the insight. Today I ordered a Loco with the Flexi layout with an extra layer on the hull. It should be hear by the end of December. I can't wait.

Matt

Matt Fritz wrote:Again, thanks to everyone for the insight. Today I ordered a Loco with the Flexi layout with an extra layer on the hull. It should be hear by the end of December. I can't wait.

Matt

Matt, what you gonna do with the Drakkar? We got water up here!

Matt, That's great news!!

Let us know how the extra layer works out. How much more was the cost?

Tom

Roger,

I'm keeping the Drakkar Bigboy. You'll have to get your own if that's what you were thinking. Seems like alot of water in Arkansas right now. I think our best bet from Dallas is LMF and Glover in Oklahoma tomorrow morning. Hope you get to get out too.

Tom,

The extra layer is $100. I know it'll be heavier than the Profi, but ease of repair is more important to me.

Matt

If you have any outfitting questions just post, or pm. I have photos as well. I just ordered the Generation 2 Hip Blocks from trevor, and those should be a big help to the ones that I have in at the moment.
congrats. and good luck with the boat.
Prost
-Isaac