Bliss-stick Tuna?
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 10:39 pm
Has anyone converted a Tuna yet? I looked at one this spring and the guy who owned it (a kayaker) said that it had a whole lot of volume, but also tracked well and made edgy eddy turns almost like a slalom boat. His main complaint was that it was hard to turn around off an eddyline because of the edges and huge size.
For a while I paddled an Atom and loved it. I plan to replace it with something with serious edges as well. The reason I don't have that boat anymore was that the extremely flat decks, low volume, and low rocker were getting troublesome as I progressed to harder water.
But within reason, sharp edges and good tracking are still what I'm looking for in a new creek boat. I think I can handle big volume and a straight-tracking boat better than a kayaker due to the nature of C1ing... but also because I've spent most of my time in a C-boat maneuvering a 10 foot no-rocker Atom down everything.
I'm currently converting an M3 because it's what I had available, but I don't think its well-used plastic is going to last too many seasons (or whether it'll be big enough for me to get my knees wide for stability) so I'm thinking ahead.
Let me know if anyone has experience with the boat. I searched the forums and found some mentions of it being in the same class as the Stomper/Shiva, but I never got the impression those boats had particularly sharp edges and the guy I talked to who paddled one emphasized the edges were a big part of how the Tuna handled.
For a while I paddled an Atom and loved it. I plan to replace it with something with serious edges as well. The reason I don't have that boat anymore was that the extremely flat decks, low volume, and low rocker were getting troublesome as I progressed to harder water.
But within reason, sharp edges and good tracking are still what I'm looking for in a new creek boat. I think I can handle big volume and a straight-tracking boat better than a kayaker due to the nature of C1ing... but also because I've spent most of my time in a C-boat maneuvering a 10 foot no-rocker Atom down everything.
I'm currently converting an M3 because it's what I had available, but I don't think its well-used plastic is going to last too many seasons (or whether it'll be big enough for me to get my knees wide for stability) so I'm thinking ahead.
Let me know if anyone has experience with the boat. I searched the forums and found some mentions of it being in the same class as the Stomper/Shiva, but I never got the impression those boats had particularly sharp edges and the guy I talked to who paddled one emphasized the edges were a big part of how the Tuna handled.