C-Forum

Check this out. http://www.vajdagroup.com/products/styrolight

Down at the bottom of the page they state the Martikan is available in this type of thermoform plastic.

490 Euros is about $700 plus whatever shipping and taxes, sounds like a reasonable price.

Anyone know about this type of plastic? Sounds kind of like the Esquif TwinTex or Amerlite, but I'm no plastic expert.

A high performance C1 design in plastic at that price point might be pretty attractive.

Courtesy of Chris Hipgrave, former USACK High Performance Director, a bit more information, at least about the material. I agree, this could be a pretty cost effective way to get a modern shape- this coming from a guy whose "race" boats are a Andy Bridge/Valley Mill built wildwater boat and an (ab)used slalom boat dating from 1999 or so....edg

"The Styrolight boats are ABS and made of the same materials as Hurricane here in the USA. They may have upped the styrene content to get slightly better impact resistance, but otherwise its the same material. In fact, Styrene is the S in ABS (Acrylo- nitrile Butidyne Styrene) ... just in case you ever wanted to know. ABS is very good at rubbing/scraping type wear but NOT good with impacts, particularly on sharp objects with/and small impact areas where the force is focused. Bonding Kevlar to ABS is possible to reinforce it. It's also repairable quickly with something as quick as 10 minute epoxy. The boats Vajda are offering in ABS as very youth focused which is fantastic. We've got an ABS No-Limits K1 and a Sprint K1 coming to NC on the next Vajda container so we'll get a chance to see how they work in the real world."

Having seen one at the european slalom champs (unsuprisingly, Mr. Martikan won the C1 class): In short, stronger that a full composite boat at a simmilar weight, would still die if you threw it down something really hardcore... might as well have a fink and a diolen slalom boat.

Thanks for the info guys.

Have you seen any interest in a plastic C1 slalom boat? Given the lack of activity on this thread it would appear there is little to know interest.

I think the issue is there are too many used "cheap" slalom boats around here... that, and everyones memories of the Slasher (which you can also find cheap)

hm, a boat like this might be interesting to clubs and youth groups getting their kids into slalom, or those slalom boat riders not wanting a composite boat


but it seems difficult, since in whitewater a riverrunner or creeker shows off better and for racing, you can't use a plastic boat, I guess (at least, I wouldn't do)

I believe that these boats meet all the ICF dimensional and weight regulations for slalom. Most racers will probably opt for lighter-weight composite boats, but other than paddling a slightly heavier boat, there is no reason why you can't race in one.

I've seen the same kind of development at intermediate races in the Northeast U.S. this season. Drago Rossi has come out with a plastic slalom kayak, which Scott Barnes (the Drago Rossi rep in CT) shipped over and sold to a number of paddlers. It is race legal, and can be paddled as a K-1 or K-1W race boat, but because it is a mass-produced plastic boat also qualifies as a "recreational" WW kayak for competition in K-1 REC or K-1W REC classes.

John

gala also has a plastic toro that is really fun. it's a k1. but still fun.

I've seen that Caiman, Galasport, Draggorossi, and Vajda offer a plastic slalom K1 with Vajda being the only builder with a C1, though I've never seen one in person.

I'm hoping some plastic Martikans will show up in the US.

TheKrikkitWars, so you have actually seen a plastic Martikan in person? How did it look in regards to quality of finish and was it factory outfitted?

I think being able to race in multiple classes (race and rec) is a good thing. Makes those ten hour drives a little more worth it.

Sir Adam, funny you mentioned the Slasher because I recently bought one in nice shape for a mere $125. Despite some of the complaints I think it's a decent boat. Maybe I'll search for old comments or start another thread about the old Slasher opinions. Is there alot of used slalom boats in your area? Unfortunately there are very few slalom boats where I live so an inexpensive yet new high performance boat in plastic looks pretty appealling. However, I still lust after a new Galasport Profi layup Yin.

unless you are Benus, Martikan, or Slavkovsky, vajda's "outfitting" is a joke, they have carbon bulkheads shaped from their legs...
I will be at the vajda factory later in early august, and I can send you a message about the boats finish and whatnot...
unfortunately, my legs are much, much bigger than theirs.
semdoug, you should really get a 64, the yin, wasn't a great job of doing what tony wanted to do. the 64 is a much better version of the yin, basically pumped up bow, more width at the knees, a better makao, which was better than the yin.
cheers

Thanks bearboater.

That would be nice to see a report from the Vajda factory and with further information on the plastic Martikan.

Thanks for the insight on the 64.

sorry, after reading that post, it sounds like i kind of threw down your hopes, and trampled them... didn't mean to be preachy, but that's kind of the general idea about that boat in the community, except for jamie cartwright, and a few others...
cheers
send me a pm with your email, and i'll remember to shoot you a note when I'm there.

Thanks, pm sent.

semdoug wrote:TheKrikkitWars, so you have actually seen a plastic Martikan in person? How did it look in regards to quality of finish and was it factory outfitted?

The finish looked good, from what I could see. However it was still in its wrapping, so I'm not sure how it would hold up, outfitting looked typically basic, tiny saddle, dubiously releaseable thigh straps, weedy bulkhead.

Sounds good, great price also! BUT: is the Martikan a boat that a non supernatural human being can paddle at all ?
Requires great balance and Michals paddling technique. We strongly suggest to test paddle this boat before buy.