C-Forum

I have only paddled an Atom and Cascade but tried out a Mr. Clean conversion at the pool this week. It was a very play full boat, easy to start bow stalls and with practice I thought I could get it to do bow stalls and even cartwheels. So I am now seeking advice on kayaks to convert that are more play full. I weight about 200 lbs, 6’ and have big legs. Hoping there are some recommended older designs like a Medieval, Big EZ, Super EZ Or Honcho so I can pick one up at an attractive price.

More knowledgable folks than I will hopefully chime in on conversions, but you may want to check out the following:
-Score
-Big EZ and Super EZ, as you mentioned
-ForPlay (if you're up for a "lower volume" boat for your weight).

Searching on any of those boats should turn up a lot of info and opinions on them.

For conversion... Large Fluid Flirt. http://fluidkayaks.co.za/Whitewater_L_Flirt.htm

These days I'm ~195 & counting Wavesport uses big cockpit opennings which are great for getting out of the boat. The Super EZ has a huge opening. I've got both a Big EZ & a Forplay.

I love my Big EZ for play. It's great on a steep wave. This boat loves to carve. It has enough bow rocker to keep it from pearling on those steep waves too. Stern squirts are effortless. A couple of quick forward strokes & a weight throw will stand it up on the bow in flatwater. The drawback is that it's slow. At my skill level I wouldn't paddle it on anything harder than the Ocoee.

I've got some photos here:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/wh20crazy/a ... 2349974946

I've changed the outfitting since the photos were taken. It now reflects my Forplay outfitting:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/wh20crazy/a ... 2349975259

Lame video here:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/photo ... /14023.mov

The Forplay will surf waves that are not steep enough to hold the Big EZ. I'm guessing this is due to the ~foot of extra length & not having as much rocker. It does not carve as well as the Big EZ, but it spins better. It's the best back-surfing boat I've tried. You have to keep it moving on a steep wave so that it won't pearl out. If it does pearl out, go with it. It shoots WAY up in the air & I can usually spin it around & land vertically on the stern The ends are slicey but not wingy. You can squirt it but it's kind of forced, not finessed. I have to be careful of my tilt on ferries since the bow kind of wants to dive.

Of the two, I'd recomend the Big EZ.

The Score is the bigger version of the Foreplay - faster, more buoyant, but still quite squirtable with your weight and height. Search on that in this forum for more lengthy commentary. I love mine, it's as short a boat as I want.

good suggestions,

Big EZ, Super EZ, and Large Fluid Flirt.


i'm not a fan of the ForPlay or Score.

After reading the replies I was focusing on a Big or Super EZ but I have found a Session+ for a good price. My concern is the 24.4" width over the 26" to 27" width of the EZs. At 200 lbs will the Session+ be a lot more unstable than the EZs?

I've tried a Session, but not the +. I found it a little tippier than the Big EZ. The bow looks weird when you're surfing. Don't open your mouth when surfing. If it pearls, the water hits the knee area & shoots straight up into your mouth. It surfs real nicely & despite the shorter length, it's no slower than the Big EZ.