C-Forum

how is it? I can get one for cheap, but I am not sure.

Lennart wrote:how is it? I can get one for cheap, but I am not sure.

I've been down the Ottawa in one... but I wouldn't buy one for general use... it's more of a playboat. Look for a SpanishFly instead.

I don't know about a CU Fly specifically but I know that even a kayak only 7 feet long and with flat ends like that will have trouble as a real river runner... not enough speed, hard to bring the bow very far up to ride over waves, gets heavily submerged when you punch a hole. In an OC-1 compared to a similar kayak I'd want more speed/length... it seems like the CU Fly would be way too "playboaty" for general use. Well, people can and have paddled pretty much anything in anything, but I definitely don't think it'd be the best option

If it's cheap, it might be worth having in the quiver.
My first experience with the CUFly was in Italy with Frankie and a glass prototype. I scared myself creeking when I missed an eddy and cruised 1/4 mile blind.
My trouble was that the boat is very short and I didn't gain enough speed to break across the eddy line. That being said, once the gradient calmed down, it was fun surfing (which is what it was made to do).
I would say that if you know the river well you can learn to make it an adequate river-runner.
I still prefer it as a destination playboat.
Eli

there will be no quiver (yet) of oc's. No room and monney. all right I think I will wait untill get to a spanish fly.

I simply love mine Living in one of the world's top play boating area (Ottawa - Gatineau ) It's truly a fantastic boat.

But for river running... It's got one speed, slow. If you accelerate real hard you'll get in 1st gear and as soon as you stop paddling it will immediately come to a stop...it's super wide, has super drag, feels as if you added a scrapper in front your boat, making it impossible to punch anything, no volume in the ends makes tubulent water very ''interesting'' to paddle if you like surprise ender (I've often let myself go left in ''hair rapid on the Ottawa, just for practicing the rolls and dealing with surprise enders...).

Super fun boat for destination paddling but I would never creek with this bath tub.

Don't get a Cu-Fly as a river runner unless you weigh only about 150 lbs. I weighed 205 lbs when I paddled mine and I couldn't even use it as a park and play boat because it is so short and slow and the ends would go under water when I tried to paddle forward.

Having said that... it is an awesome playboat if you are light weight enough. So get it if you are light weight and want to play and surf.

If you want a river running boat then get a spanish fly. The spanish fly still plays well and it is an amazing river runner.

Eli wrote:That being said, once the gradient calmed down, it was fun surfing (which is what it was made to do).
Eli

yup!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmCryHPb2po

http://www.chasingrain.com/video/OC-1finals.mov
http://www.chasingrain.com/video/Worlds-OC-1.mov


If it's cheap enough... it's worth having to toy with.

They're great fun on class 3 or less; anything more and a CU-fly is pretty much predicably going to go into an ender and not level out till the rapid is over, sometimes funny, sometimes nasty.

I love mine, but without a pump (finally installed one) it's hellish. Because if it's slow when its empty, it's all but immobile when swamped.