C-Forum

This is related to the Vertige-X I just listed for sale. Of the open boats that tend to roll around for sale used, what would be the most user-friendly for teenagers in the 125-140 lb. range?

The Vertige-X is a really forgiving boat for average-sized adults, but the kids are just too small for it, and I don't want them to get discouraged.

Does anybody have recommendations for a single or tandem open boat that would help get them a bit more fired up for the single blade?

Thanks very much for any help.

Chris

If you found a Vertige with a triple saddle, that might be worth it. Otherwise, A Caption or Blast might be a good pick for a tandem boat that is easy to move around. Course, you could try to put together a grant for a shiny new Octane 92.

Shep

Actually, I'm selling the Vertige because I can't get the kids to paddle it. It's too unwieldy for them. We do have a Blast, and they like that well enough; it's even reasonably manageable for an older kid to solo.

They jump at the opportunity to paddle duckies, which is fine, but I really think most of the kids would have way more fun and develop better skills in a canoe, but it has to be something they can control.

I would LOVE to get them an Octane 92! Definitely on my wish list.

The summer camp I worked at puts 10-15 year old kids in Mohawk Probe 14's. We start them on the lake and depending on how quickly they learn we have a shot at getting them out on French Broad 9 by the end of the 3-week session. I would ask around and see what others think. =\

I stand corrected about the China thing.

mohawk makes some great boats. they are, however, not made in china- they are, in fact, made in chattanooga, tennessee. yes, the ENC program is great, (and so are the probes- i own an 11) but if they are going to seriously get into it, a probe is probably not the boat for them. i must return to my usual suggestion- ION! easy to maneuver, very stable and forgiving, and lots of fun.

I'm one of those esquif "paid liars" though, as an OC1 I could recommend the prelude..I'm 124 lbs, don't have the strength to haul around the big OCs, and like it a lot, one of the most agile and fastest hulls I've been in so far. The Spark is great too - the only reason I don't have it is that I'm rather on steep or narrow, rocky creeks than deep, royalex-friendly water

the zoom is said to be great for smaller folks, but havent paddled this one yet

or maybe a Robson Holmes (might be expensive in your area, though), fast and agile

Esquif Taureau. Stable, light and small.

I, too, am a smaller adult (125 to 130 lbs). I'm new to OC1 paddling (started in April, been out every weekend since), so this is just my anecdotal experiences from this season. I tend towards a lightweight boat, I want to surf a lot, catch small eddies, want speed but will sacrifice some speed for maneuverability if necessary, ease of roll. I learned on a Zephyr, then an Ocoee. I loved the Spark when I tried it but was unable to find a used one. I got into a Zoom on a whim one day and loved it, ended up buying a beaten up one for cheap. It's twitchy but I find it responsive and agile, pretty dry, very easy to roll. I haven't spent any quality time in anything like a Taureau, Spanish Fly or Blackfly. I'd like to but no one around me who owns one is remotely close to my body size so I fit too loosely in their bulkheads. A friend of mine who has a very reliable roll in his Spark finds the Taureau difficult to roll. The Zoom rolls really easily for me, even in the trashy stuff. The Spark's pretty friendly to roll as well.

If the kids generally choose to paddle duckies, I wouldn't be recommending short boats like a Taureau. I'm not entirely against short boats for motivated beginners, but if it is a random collection of students, the majority of them probably just want to go out and be excited on whitewater, not perfect an offside stroke so they can go in straight line.

My suggestion for a vertige is for the regular size one, since the X was too big. The regular Vertige is a pretty capable, friendly, 12' 10" boat.

Shep

Im a fairly small paddler at 5'8'' 140# I run a Prelude now in year 2 of paddling, I started in a Nitro which was too big for me but very stable, Paddled a Mad river outrage a few times and found that to be a very soft user friendly boat, or a detonator wich seemed to me like a faster skinnier version of the nitro those are my votes....

Bruce McC will be posting a HOOTER for sale soon. Made by Millbrook Boats, it's 13'2" long, with not a lot of volume. It would be a good boat for 2 lightweight kids. Depending upon how "crafty" you are, it could be chopped and shortened a bit.

For kids/adults in your stated weigh range a vertige would work for tandem.

For solo, also look at the lighter glass boats, such as the Clipper Probe (12-6)

The Mohawk 14 worked well for 2 teenager boys when they were 14 and now at 17 they can pretty much rip in the thing. They raced in it at Nationals a few years back and did really well. The lighter the C2 boat the better for the carries (aka Hooter). The boys humped the XL 14 out of a steep gorge and some love was lost there. They startd out a scouts and found the love on flatwater and now paddle when they want to.
They also jumped into the L’edge at ASCI and with no rolls became pretty fearless in a very short time https://vimeo.com/14076563" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Other boy tried out the Black Fly / Black Fly and found it a blast https://vimeo.com/14049881" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . My boy loved that too ...
Daughter (now 14) who is a lot lighter, more timid and not nearly as strong liked the spark and the ion and option single, but like the C2 more.

The biggest thing is to take it slow and get them comfortable. Getting my girl in a C2 with me was a win because she now knows we can get down, surf, etc. just about anything and have fun. She also loves a shredder and her and the dog are always ready to roll with that's an option. The boys on the other hand just liked to bombed it and enjoyed the carnage!

Get them out with you and make it fun is the best advice. See if you can meet up with others that have different boats and let them try it.

Best of luck!

well, since i'm in that zone with teen now...
started her off in a splash, -difficult to paddle, but she learned the whole carving thing.
moved to a zephyr- perfect because it is light, fast and tracks well. and she can portage it by herself.
she started with a spark late this yr. and likes it for slalom.

taureau (or other planing hull boats) is an ok choice now, but it does not carve well enough for her to run much.
blast we use for tandem.
cheers
paul

here are a couple video links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQuR-3Iv ... ature=plcp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm3W0Owi ... ature=plcp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know I'm late to commenting, and that not too many Ions are available used at this point. But I have to echo Wiggins in recommending giving the Ion a try for small teenagers - it is such a stable boat for small paddlers, yet so stinking nimble and fun to paddle.

I put my 15 year-old, 5'8" 125 lb. son in one this summer for his first time ever in a canoe (he had paddled a kayak a couple of time 5 years early - he's just not into paddling ). The boy was catching eddies, comfortably ran Class II rapids that I've seen many people flip in, and in general felt comfortable, in control, and had fun. When we got to the take out he said we needed to step it up on the next run. He had never paddle a canoe before and this is the same boat that people are running Class V in. Awesome boat!

I've seen the same transformation in a 10 year old who was really struggling in a Taureau and then got in an Ion mid river. By the time we got to the take-out the kid was having a blast and trying to figure out how to talk Jeremy into pricing one so that he could afford it based on his allowance.