C-Forum

My wife wants to start paddling. She is 5'4" and weight 130.
Somebody offered me a Dagger Encore for cheep. I do not know that boat. Would it be a good boat for a beginner.
I am looking for a fast boat. Right now she practices with my L'Edge and it is hard for her to gain speed.

An "Encore" shouldn't be her first boat. What would she do for an Encore?

Anyway, it might be big for her weight. And I wouldn't call it fast.

Somebody had a Dagger Rival up for sale, but I can't remember where. Kaz could make her a real light glass Rival, and at her weight she wouldn't break it very fast.

What about a Madriver Outrage? There is one for sale in the classified, that should be a good boat! Or a Probe 12, I have a friend that probably weight at the most 125lbs and really like her boat. Of course there is the Zephyr, but I wouldn't consider it a beginner boat, but for her weight it might be!?!?!
Good luck
Cheers
David

A bit big for her, but it may be ok for tandem? An Outrage would be a great boat for her if you can get one

a ledge is stable and slow, a viper 11 maybe a esquif or pyranha prelude possibly a Spanish fly

Spark. Light and fast. Worth the learning effort.

I second that. My girlfriend loves her spark.. learning efforts regarding anything "special" for the spark for her? Zero. She's 1,65m & 50kg.. and I'm 1,88m, 95kg - also in a Spark... and also very happy, had a little more to learn, too. Quite a range that boat offers.. ;D

(she'd be happy with a Millbrook Inferno as well..)

The Probe 12.. Viper 11 even.. my Girl only calls those "Bathtubs".

Cheerio!

Jan

Spark is often preferred by lighter female paddlers, as well as bigger and heavier paddlers.

I like the spark as well, even though it would cost me a bit of effort to adapt to a couple specific things of that design.

The zephir could be an option as well, light, a bit more stable and ok if you're not taking to much vertical impact.

As a viper paddler I can recommend the viper as well, but Royalex canoes of that length tend to become a bit heavy for those really light paddlers.

The Robson Homes is also a beloved design by lighter paddlers. Light, agile, relatively fast. Available in armerlite and PE now!

Prelude paddler: it's worth the effort, I know where I'm talking about . And not particulary hard for lighter paddlers. I've seen a female kayaker stepping into a prelude and hitting a surf wave with it, first time in a canoe!

Spanish fly is sweet as well, but also has a couple of specifications to adapt to. And it's certainly not the fastest design.

I agree, the Encore is too large for her. It is a super beginner boat for larger people (say, >190#).

Spark, Outrage, or several boats built by Kaz would be darn good.

I happen to have a carbon/Kevlar open boat for sale which would be perfect. It has the wetted surface of a Max II C-1. It is considered by most to have appearance issues. 300 bucks.

E-mail, please, if you want some pics and the full details.

Roy


ir_hunter at hotmail

I don't know the boats you all are talking about, but certainly get her something fast enough, so she will not have to struggle to propel it. At least my experience is that female paddlers need fast and responsive boats to allow them do the thing with less force and less momentum. The best way to discourage a woman from boating is to put her in a boat that turns well but stops immediately when she stops paddling (guess how I know). Get her something that will glide effortlessly, but at the same time it has to react even the slightest stroke. That really doesn't mean those short bathtub-style OC1's you all appear to like. On the other hand, some women (but quite few) like to fight the boat to get forward - i know a female kayaker whose wake is taller than my C1. Once she happened to be my bow paddler in an open tandem on grade 2 - I feared the moment when I screw up and make her angry She's very calm and kind person but paddles very agressively. The boat should fit not only her body but also her personality. And, last but not least, a boat for a woman should be comfortable and have a graceful appearance. At least that is what my female paddling friends say about what boats they like.