Dale@half-shaft is 100% correct here! Get one of each…
Martin let me demo the PAGAN (…and Gwyn I like the name choice …I felt like one in it!
) on the Lower Yough today for a low water Loop run. I really enjoyed the paddling the boat. But comparing a WB, to a Sith and / or a PAGEN would be like comparing the well built brunette with “the voice”, to the personable blonde with the cute smile, to red head with killer eyes. It just isn’t fair! But I will try….
Each boat has their place and is perfectly wonderful in their own way (note the comparison above was left generic for the ladies as well as the “dudes”).
First off I love the Wheel Boy – it surfs, spins and generally plays very nice and is made indestructible via heavy plastic. Not a fast boat (hey it’s just a tad over 6 foot) but fast enough! Because of it I’m now down to paddling only two boats on a regular basis – it and the Acrobat.
The Sith (I paddled both Bill Reaps and Martin’s – two different cuts with different “attitudes”) and I found the Sith to be fast, lose and most important…fun (I like a loose boat). I was in for only a few minutes and found my self pushing it into places I wouldn’t normally push a boat not set up for me. Again it was fast, deceptively so, and was a hoot to surf and spin in .. and loose.. very loose! Did mention loose!
I also would not have an issue taking into really big water (duh.. look were the designers paddle)! Nor would I have a problem taking it on some light creeking runs (except both versions I paddled were someone else’s boat) both were fast enough and stable enough for playful Upper Yough runs. Enough said!
Now the Pagan – a tad over 6 foot and some lines like the Wheel Boy but… with a number of differences – first the version I was in was glass…so comparing to glass to a plastic boat is not fair – “everything happens faster in glass”! And it was happening!
The PAGAN (Saint C1) is definitely (IMHO) a BIG water play boat. I can see were it would be the bomb on really big exploding waves and in the hands of a master it’s got to be a big air machine. It carves like a knife on even the small features we had today! I was able to get in hard to hold holes with ease – waves / holes the WB would have trouble getting to or at least staying in / on. This included flatten out waves and steep short holes. The tri crease design near the planning plate gets it to “rail” speed when needed, even though it’s feels like a “corky” boat at first. I was able to use the rails to get up to speed quickly to get were I wanted to go at whim. And it is retentive as “h, e – double - L” and I mean that in a good stable way. It flat spins, cart wheels, back surfs, front surfs and generally gave me an ear to ear grin. I’d love to get in it in really big water (Martin you are coming down for a spring Cheat run right!
…. so eh, er, guys will it still be out for demoing…. Hint, hint!
). It is sized to fit bigger guys too with nice clean outfitting (I like the glassed in thigh blocks and wide seat)! Overall… Definitely a T-grip up based on my LY Loop lower water run.
Thanks Shaggy for the loaner.... and the fun! PAC (Paul C.)
PS: Adam - Martin was in the refab’ed Maven Proto and I have video!
I’ll get vid to you when I can! I even think he had fun in it!
...)!!!