C-Forum

Something new from esquif, here is a visual clue.

is that a pile of moose dung?

The moose had a diet rich in beets!

A Spark Jr.

The new red camo Spark is gorgous. I saw the pic on FB

Isn't "red camo" an oxymoron? "Orange camo" would be even better.

Whew, sweet ride indeed. Red is definitely faster! Well, it looks faster... and based on one run, using low tech timing, it shaved as much as 3 seconds over the duration of a 1 min. course. oh and it is approx. 3lbs lighter than the brown camo one I weighed.
paul

Let's just hope it's not too light to race in the REC class, if you care about that sort of thing. Smerda will have his scale calibrated!
At 11'8", or whatever, it would have to weigh slightly less than 42lbs to be legal to race.

How is it lighter??

so do I win one since I guessed correctly?

well, using unreliable bathroom scales, it measured a couple pounds lighter than the spark i was comparing it to. to be honest, I would think there could be a slight variation from boat to boat, Craig smerda could offer a more valid opinion on that.
as for speed. if you think your boat is fast, you'll go faster.

That is a *much* better color - I approve. Red is definitely faster.

The laws of physics state a red boat is faster if it is moving away from the observer...a blue boat is faster if it is moving towards the observer. The ideal race boat will be blue in the front, red in the back.

So... for REC canoes the rules read as follows.


Article IV: SPECIFICATIONS OF CANOES


A whitewater open canoe is a traditional open Canadian or Indian canoe which is a boat with ends pointed and higher than the middle, symmetrical side-to-side, and propelled with single bladed paddles. There will be two categories of canoes. They shall be known as Recreational (REC) and Racing (RAC). Canoes of the Racing classifications are built and used with racing as the primary intent, whereas Recreational canoes are built and used primarily for recreation. The Recreational classes are included so that a large number of whitewater paddlers can race without investment in special equipment. It must be emphasized that National Championship race classes exist for both. The REC Classes are intended to include canoes sold for general recreational use. A recreational canoe must be or have been a commercially available, general production model to qualify for REC Classes. Recreational and Racing canoes can be made of any hull material. Recreational canoes shall be defined by their weight: they shall weigh at least 3 pounds per foot of length plus 6 pounds. There is no minimum weight requirement for racing canoes. A Recreational canoe may be used as a Racing canoe. Cutting down the hull of a Recreational canoe is allowed provided the ends remain higher than the center.


Just put some water in the airbags to make it the legal weight.