C-Forum

please excuse my ignorance, I'm new to whitewater. Took a training course with my girlfriend this year, & my she bought a Spark. She was told that it was too light for class 4, unable to punch holes. we haven't progressed that far yet, but hope to. Any insight would be appreciated.

I have not paddled one but I have seen Eli paddle one down Upper Big Creek and the Cheoah, and there are plenty 'O holes to punch on both of those. Of course that is Eli, but I feel pretty sure the Spark will paddle as well as the person in its saddle.

gumpy1114 wrote:She was told that it was too light for class 4, unable to punch holes.

She was told dead wrong.

Everyone has their own prefences, but we're talking about a boat that, at 11+ feet, is as long as nearly any modern solo boat, and according to recent slalom results is pretty much the fastest plastic boat around. That qualifies it to punch holes.

The Spark will take her as far as she cares to go - it's a hot rod for the lighter paddler.

That was some odd advice - what was the speaker paddling, a Blue Hole OCA? The Spark is a great boat. I think it should be particularly appealing to the lighter paddler as it's light enough for them to manage on and off the water. Yet it floats us big boys pretty well, too. Wouldn't mind one at all....

It is at least as well suited as any other current OC-1 to punching holes if not more so (it's fast). Fuggedaboutit.

I've paddled a spark down upper big creek, the upper gauley and the cheoah and it's done just fine. I'm probably going to take it down the green this fall (I don't want to trash it before Nationals).

Dooley, Wayner and Eli paddle 'em and so does the retired judge. All veritable Class IV paddlers and beyond 'cept the judge is startin' to get old.

The Spark punches holes just fine. Not necessarily the driest boat you could find for running bigger water but still full capable. Besides, it's so maneuverable that it makes difficult moves and lines easy(ier) to run as planned.

I've run mine through a lot of class IV without carnage. It's the little 2' ledges that (probably due to hubris) I seem to trip over.

Dave

WAIT! I just reread the thread. You gotta girlfriend, new to whitewater that is paddling Class IV+ in a Spark?

nonono, we've paddled nothing over class 3! it's just that i've got ambitious goals for us and plan on stepping up as soon as we can.

The nice thing about the Spark is that it will do a great job avoiding holes. It is a very responsive and maneuverable boat and it has great hull speed; I enjoy paddling it in Class IV and have not had problems in the holes I have visited.

She's already a little quicker than me and my outrage. Once she gets a good paddle I'm in real trouble...

I agree with everyone's opinions of the Spark... don't own one but have paddled it a fair amount. Off topic just slightly here, I would caution gumpy's goal of running class IV water in your first season. Don't have the mindset that if you are running (and surviving) class IV runs, that you have class IV skills. As I think Kent Ford once said, "the way to improve your skills is to make hard moves on easy water" ...or something like that. I don't want to be a wet blanket on your fun here but you can gain most of the skills you need for class IV, on class III.

Hizzonner took one down the Grand last year. Saw some video of a wave hittin em broadside. Knocked em 20 feet to the left and he didn't miss a beat. He might be gettin old but hades if he can't get a boat down the river still. Spark will keep up wit her. Don't push her so fast! Let her learn to anticipate the boat's reaction to different levels of pushiness and she'll know if it's up to the job or not. Until she can, she prolly shouldn't be on anything with consequences.

The Spark will perform admirably. Although I can't say I've had it on class IV+, I have used it in some IV and have no trouble whatsoever. The only time I've seen people struggle with the boat is when they switch to it from a larger, bulkier boat such as an Outrage, Probe, or Nitro and they are not used to the high performance ability of the Spark. Yes, it is true that the boat is not as stable as some others, but if you get used to it you will be able to handle it fine on bigger water.

Just out of curiousity - what is her weight range? I've started to look at one for my boy (he needs more time in one to validate his interest) since he likes the weight and sizing.
I think Nate (Philly) has one and is a lighter boater as well.
I'm looking to see what others smaller sized boaters think of it. Personally I know its more of an advanced designed but I see potential for lighter boaters to really leverage that. Heck based on what I've seen of it in action and the short duration I was in one I'd like to own one too.
Thoughts (sorry if this is a thread hijack!)?