C-Forum

Hi everyone,

I have been dreaming for several years of owning a glass Millbrook Ignitor and taking it off all my favorite boofs on the Upper Yough every weekend. I LOVE that boat, but it feels so flexible that I am afraid I would destroy it very quickly.

So does anyone have any experience running rivers and taking the usual dings in a glass Millbrook OC-1 (any OC-1, not just the Ignitor)?

Alden

Boy, this thread already has six views (one minute later)!

We ain't playing here on the Cboats forum!

Kaz could do a heavier lay-up for you!
Hey, it may wear quite a bit paddling like you do, but would be fairly easy to repair. I think the stern might take a beating...maybe some super duty reinforcement there
I think you should be the guinea pig so to speak and see how long it lasts
Maybe Kaz will give you a discount to be the composite tester

I think one might be able to get away with it as long as you know the run very well... you have decent water levels and aren't running the boat over a lot of sharp ledges.

I know that with the shale/slate runs we have up here it isn't breaks you'd need to concern yourself with as much as rips and tears... I for one am not about to waste time repairing a boat on the side of the river if I don't have to. Same goes for Royalex... some of the stuff we have around here just tears the skin off of them.

If it's something you wouldn't feel uncomfortable running in your race C1 Alden... I don't see why you couldn't in an OC

Alden,

I used to run a lot of glass down the UY. They however were not OC-1, they were in fact C-1 prototypes or one offs that I had built. They were edgey designs and took abuse during low water boofs and such obviously. The edges stuck out more and wore down in about 15 to 20 runs.

I take it your Millbrook boat is edgeless or at least not pronounced. Stay away from levels like 1.9 or 2.0. At 2.1 and 2.2 you start being more comfortable with glass on the UY.

Enjoy sir. I always loved paddling my own glass boats and paddles down the UY.

Jim

Alden
I used to paddle a mad river twister years ago and I took it on a few creeks like meadow run and indian. It didn't last very long at all and I'm pretty sure it was a heavier layup than what kaz does. Maybe a shorter run down a creek to see how it holds up first would be wise. I'm sure it'll hold up on the UY but if you don't like the wear you see on it after a couple of miles there you're still going to have to abuse it the rest of the way to the take out. Although a national boof in that thing would sure be cool, you probably go so far it'll look like you have wings. There's a red bull ad in there somewhere.

Alden, use a Spark and you won't have any worries. Mine has stood up to quite a bit of abuse. It's more or less the same design minus 3/2 feet.

Ignitor - 1.5' = greater boofability = more fun

Nate

I wonder if a layer of Dynel or Xynol over the high wear spots would help out. I put a coarse weave Xynol layup over the stem and stern wear of my ol Mohawk with fumed silica and graphite mixed into the epoxy. Granted there's royalex under there, but those wear plates are clearly the toughest part of the boat; they've been bashed into nasty rip-rap with barely a scratch to show for it. The rest of the hull looks like a whipping boy...

Phreon

I paddled a Millbrook Hooter for 15 yrs on NE runs like the Swift, EB Pemi, Warner, Took, Dryway,....It was an ELF run in TN that finally had me retire it to more gentle uses. I would be careful of sharp, ledgey low water runs. And if you do crack it up, patch it soon as another hit in the same area can do much more damage than the 1st crack. Even though the boats are light, Kaz puts extra layers in high wear, high impact areas and his boats are very durable!

have you stopped to think what a swim (and yes they happen to all of us even on our backyard run) would mean for your boat?

John

just dont keep bashin rocks on yer boofs like we seen a Friday or so ago on the UY.

Longy,

They are boofs, you don't always know what is below. Haha

Jim

Wasnt a rock in the bottom uv a drop, was mor like runnin near staight inta the rock that forms the boof at Natty.

Hey, Ald, wouldnt blow many ferry moves either.

Longy,

That pillow pulses. If you do not catchin right, you instead piton into the hole. I liked coming from the river right eddy and doing the double boof, I think it is also called the race line.

Jim

There were some guys in the SE creeking in glass OC-1s, I think in heavier lay up boats. Victor of Class V composites could speak to that. [He was making the composite Atoms, can't find any current info, though.] Can't remember what boats they were, probably Edges!