C-Forum

Greetings,

I am seriously considering pending cashflow buying another white water open boat.

No I am not trading the girlfriend in for a sportier model. She will remain my tripping companion. For those that don't know she is a 14 foot Esquif Virtige X.

I am a big guy. I would like my new mistress to be something that is fairly stable in the 11 to 12 foot range and way lighter than my current boat. I want to work more on my technical paddling skills which would include a proper forward and cross forward stroke.

A Zephyr is out of the question.

So are those plastic beer cooler size boats.

I am 5' 9"" and down to 238 pounds on a good day.

Here's a few to consider...

Mad River Outrage X (the regular Outrage maybe too edgy for you)
Mohawk boats; Viper 12, Probe 12 (Viper will be more edgy)
Esquif boats; Nitro, Blast
Dagger boats; Impulse, Rival (Rival will be the more advanced option). Ofcourse the dagger boats will be harder to find.

I'm sure there are other good options that I have left off the list. Good luck.

I'd suggest checking out a Bell Prodigy X. It's 12"4" and weighs 46 pounds unoutfitted. Several members of our club who are around your weight have bought them and prefer them over the Outrage X, partly because the Prodigy X has superior stability. The one downside is I think the Royalex is a bit thin, particularly on the boat's bottom. So it might not be the longest lasting choice.

Ive heard good things about the prodigy x. Richard has paddled one for a while now I think. ....Richard, your input is needed!.......

Bell Prodigy X: Fast. Stable. Dry. Maneuverable. Easy to roll. Expensive (but worth it).

I recently got down to 170# from 215, but when I ordered a replacement for my well-used Prodigy X, I ordered another X. I might now be in the range of the regular Prodigy, but the X handles so well, and is so darned fast, that I just did not want to give it up.

Colin,
Further to the above-noted suggestions, you're more than welcome to try my Nitro, though you'll probalby find it slower than your gf.
Don't dismiss the "tupperware" boats, they're more stable than you'd imagine, and they take abuse much butter than ABS.
Geoff

Colin

Why don't you try an Ocoee. There are a lot of big guys paddling Ocoee and its a boat you can grow into and continue to learn on.

Why not a Zypher?

Seeing you paddle, I think you are ready to move up as long as your willing to spend a little more time upside down as you go through the learning curve.

The Viper is a good option as well listed above.

Remember to spend a day in each before buying.

Steward

If not a Zephyr, then another vote for the Viper 12. I'm 225# and it floated me fine, one of my favorite boats ever. I saw big guys in Ocoees as well, though it is a little smaller.

Hey Colin,

Go smaller & plastic, Dagger Quake, Savage skeeter.

There are performance differences with all of the above suggested boats, but in all, their caracteristics will be some what the same then your bigger ''fat butt''girl friend... Fast, dry, etc...

With the smaller boats you're into a whole new spectrum of play. You can actually stay on a wave for a surf and from there the sky(or bottom) is the limit
Creeking...they have flat bottoms, initial stability is awsome, rock slides non issue compared to Royalex

Yes they're small for a big guy, but big guys are usually strong and can compensate with strenght. I know 2 guys who weigh on the 240# and have skeeters. They're excellent paddlers running Class IV, V creeks !

I know your learning curve will greatly improve with a small plastic boat.

Any ways, that's what I like, good luck, keep the C and SYOTR !

Gaétan

Thanks alot for all the input and now I will have alot to think about.

I forgot to mention that I normally haul around 10 pounds of camera gear in a size 1400 Pelican case.

Keez check your email ref borrowing your Nitro.

Ref the Zephyr ... I found it way toooooo tippy for me being a top heavy guy and the center of gravity problem.

I guess I would be willing to try the beer coolers but the only problem with spending more time counting the rocks on the bottom of the river is I can't roll a boat up yet. Also not much room for gear from what I have seen of them.

I will definitely be hopping into different boats and trying them out.

I will check with one of the local places that actually has a Prodigy X in their rental fleet.

I have a friends that have a Rival, Prodidgy, and Outrage and will borrow them.

This is me and the current GF spending time together in Phils Hole on the Ottawa River.

[img]http://photos-461.ll.facebook.com/photo ... 75_774.jpg[/img]

I'll retract my Viper vote, then - too similar to the Zephyr probably. I used to tote my SLR in a Pelican box in mine, though.

Keez is lending me his Nitro for a bit in order to try it out.

I will let you know how that goes

6'-260lbs Love my Nitro!

The prodigy X and the Nitro are probably your two best bets.

However, they paddle totally differently.

the prodigy is fast and nimble,

and the nitro surfs it self.

I got to completely agree with Open Gate here, try on some plastic for size. As to the camera, behind the saddle is a nice spot to store some gear in a Quake......not a lot of gear, but some gear.