Jackson Rockstar / Jackson C1 Outfitting
Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 2:33 pm
I've just had it a few weeks, but wanted to share my experiences with my new Rockstar Large C1 play boat.
For reference I'm 6'6" tall and weight about 185 lbs and my old play boat is a 2008 Jackson Superstar (which is the same model as my new boat just 2 generations older). For about 3 years I've really liked the Superstar for park and play and running rivers like the Ocoee and the Fractions and Brown's on the Arkansas.
Now for the good stuff. The Rockstar is by far the best C1 play boat I have ever paddled. Even though it is 6 inches shorter than my old boat (6' vs 6'6") it is much faster. It is faster on flat water, on a wave and everywhere. This makes it easier to catch and surf smaller waves. Also since it is shorter, it is easier to cut back while carving back and forth on steeper waves. I find I don't need to lean back nearly as much while surfing. Flat spins are better and the extra volume in the stern seems to help keep me in the hole when cart wheeling. I usually just get 2 ends when cart wheeling, but am up to 6 with the Rockstar. Even with the extra volume, I can still flat water bow stall and with just a tiny eddie line stern squirt. I'm also really excited about extra pop for loops. I've only tried one and even though I hit a bottom with the bow, it still popped high enough to get around and land it in the hole. When we get a little more water here, I'll take some play boating videos.
The thing that kept me from getting this boat sooner is that some of my kayaking friend told me that it is harder to get this boat down the river. Well, I have found this not to be true. I like it even better than my old boat. A novel feature of the Rockstar as a kayak is that to increase leverage for play boating tricks, the seat is raised 1.5". To help with a decrease in stability of the higher seat, they make the boat a little wider. Given that I use a 6" saddle in both the Rockstar and my old boat, the extra width of the Rockstar makes it feel more stable to me. Taking it down Brown's canyon I never felt off balance.
As for the outfitting, it is rock solid and as good of outfitting as I've had in any boat. I did buy 2011 elite model Rockstar kayak (to save a little money over a 2012) and a c1 outfitting kit. Since the c1 outfitting kit is not meant to work with elite models I had to modify the c1 outfitting kit a little. The elite kayaks come with a fiberglass pipe (similar to a paddle shaft) instead of a plastic rail as a backbone. I simply used a 1" hole saw to drill a few holes in the c1 rail and inserted the fiberglass pipe through the holes. The pipe is very stiff and makes a great anchor for the thigh straps. Then I used a pipe clamp on the pipe the keep the saddle from moving forward and a block of foam to keep it from moving backwards.
Other adjustments to the factory outfitting were to add a foam block to hold my knees down (a bulkhead of sorts) and glue all the foam down with contact cement instead of the velcro that came in the c1 kit. All the foam is glued to the c1 saddle only and not the boat, so I can slide the saddle forward and backwards to adjust trim. Also, I am really liking the backband. I was not sure if I would use it at first, but I like that it is very solid and gives good support for the hip pads. I don't adjusted it every time I get in the boat. I have just set it where I want it and can get in and out of the boat without messing with it. And I did have to build up the height of the knee spreader about 2 inches using foam.
Finally, it weights 33 lbs which is about 6 lbs lighter that my old boat.
Below are some pictures of the outfitting and me taking the Rockstar down Zoom Flume in Brown's Canyon. Please let me know if anyone has any questions.
Matt
For reference I'm 6'6" tall and weight about 185 lbs and my old play boat is a 2008 Jackson Superstar (which is the same model as my new boat just 2 generations older). For about 3 years I've really liked the Superstar for park and play and running rivers like the Ocoee and the Fractions and Brown's on the Arkansas.
Now for the good stuff. The Rockstar is by far the best C1 play boat I have ever paddled. Even though it is 6 inches shorter than my old boat (6' vs 6'6") it is much faster. It is faster on flat water, on a wave and everywhere. This makes it easier to catch and surf smaller waves. Also since it is shorter, it is easier to cut back while carving back and forth on steeper waves. I find I don't need to lean back nearly as much while surfing. Flat spins are better and the extra volume in the stern seems to help keep me in the hole when cart wheeling. I usually just get 2 ends when cart wheeling, but am up to 6 with the Rockstar. Even with the extra volume, I can still flat water bow stall and with just a tiny eddie line stern squirt. I'm also really excited about extra pop for loops. I've only tried one and even though I hit a bottom with the bow, it still popped high enough to get around and land it in the hole. When we get a little more water here, I'll take some play boating videos.
The thing that kept me from getting this boat sooner is that some of my kayaking friend told me that it is harder to get this boat down the river. Well, I have found this not to be true. I like it even better than my old boat. A novel feature of the Rockstar as a kayak is that to increase leverage for play boating tricks, the seat is raised 1.5". To help with a decrease in stability of the higher seat, they make the boat a little wider. Given that I use a 6" saddle in both the Rockstar and my old boat, the extra width of the Rockstar makes it feel more stable to me. Taking it down Brown's canyon I never felt off balance.
As for the outfitting, it is rock solid and as good of outfitting as I've had in any boat. I did buy 2011 elite model Rockstar kayak (to save a little money over a 2012) and a c1 outfitting kit. Since the c1 outfitting kit is not meant to work with elite models I had to modify the c1 outfitting kit a little. The elite kayaks come with a fiberglass pipe (similar to a paddle shaft) instead of a plastic rail as a backbone. I simply used a 1" hole saw to drill a few holes in the c1 rail and inserted the fiberglass pipe through the holes. The pipe is very stiff and makes a great anchor for the thigh straps. Then I used a pipe clamp on the pipe the keep the saddle from moving forward and a block of foam to keep it from moving backwards.
Other adjustments to the factory outfitting were to add a foam block to hold my knees down (a bulkhead of sorts) and glue all the foam down with contact cement instead of the velcro that came in the c1 kit. All the foam is glued to the c1 saddle only and not the boat, so I can slide the saddle forward and backwards to adjust trim. Also, I am really liking the backband. I was not sure if I would use it at first, but I like that it is very solid and gives good support for the hip pads. I don't adjusted it every time I get in the boat. I have just set it where I want it and can get in and out of the boat without messing with it. And I did have to build up the height of the knee spreader about 2 inches using foam.
Finally, it weights 33 lbs which is about 6 lbs lighter that my old boat.
Below are some pictures of the outfitting and me taking the Rockstar down Zoom Flume in Brown's Canyon. Please let me know if anyone has any questions.
