C-Forum

I'm trying to decide between a Spark, Ignitor, and Shacho, for OC slalom primarily, and some river running.

I've got the Penrith Whitewater Stadium down the road (a tight, pushy artificial course, used in the 2000 Sydney Olympics--http://youtu.be/pfJi8PLrgdo) which is where I would use the canoe most.

Which one of these three would be the best for running gates?

What are the characteristics of these in terms of
- speed in a straight line
- ease of turning
- primary and secondary stability
- ease of rolling
- attainment

Any info on the similarities and differences between these three, I'd appreciate!

The Spark is (more or less) Esquif's royalite version of the Ignitor. Being a "glass" boat the Ignitor is lighter and therefor potentially faster than the Spark. Otherwise, they probably behave about the same.

The Spark is:
- Very fast in a straight line. Excellent hull speed. Kaz paddles one faster than I can run. I mean run as in using legs on a paved path that follows the course. (But I'm old, with bad knees and carry a fine fat spare tire.)
- Very quick and responsive to turn. Easily maintains momentum while turning. Accelerates well.
- Has good primary and excellent secondary stability. Carves very nicely and ferries like a champ. (Well, it is a champ.) Primary will likely feel unstable at first, especially when your not moving. This disappears immediately once you start moving. With a little time in it not really as twitchy as it initially feels.
- Is very easy to roll. I hit better than 95% of combat rolls.
- Is a joy for attainment.

I was not able to take the Shacho for a test drive during the recent North American Championships in Wausau. But I did watch them closely. It looks like a very sweet boat and I want one. It seems to have a tiny bit less hull speed than the Ignitor which would make sense since it is a shorter boat. It turns very quickly and looks stable and dry.

If your primary goal is to race then the Ignitor is probably the way to go. If you are going to run rock filled rivers and streams then the royalite hull of a Spark might be the more durable choice.

Good summary Dave.
The question is, Peapod, do you want a 13' boat or an 11' boat? Plastic or Composite? Actually, Kevlar is an Aramid fiber, which is plastic, so technically speaking, a glass/kevlar boat is partially plastic, but you really couldn't call a composite boat plastic, only chemically. At least that's what I think.
As far as speed, they are all approx the same, trust me.

Because of the flashy tendency of our rivers (the river might be up when you leave home, and buoyed by the online gauge, you set off, only to find that's its dropped to bonier-than-hoped-for levels when you put-in), your responses steer me to plastic, and thus the Spark.

As an aside, how difficult are composite boats to repair (in both one-off incidents, and long-term wear-and-tear)? What type of injuries do they typically sustain in rocky rivers?

IMHO, Composite boats are much easier to repair than tupperware or royalex boats. A little bit of sandpaper some masking tape, fiberglass or kevlar cloth, and some epoxy and you have everything you need. No plastic welders needed...


A composite boat would probably not be the choice for boofing a rock garden at bony levels, but the reduced weight makes them a great choice for technical runs...

clt_capt wrote:IMHO, Composite boats are much easier to repair than tupperware or royalex boats. A little bit of sandpaper some masking tape, fiberglass or kevlar cloth, and some epoxy and you have everything you need. No plastic welders needed...


A composite boat would probably not be the choice for boofing a rock garden at bony levels, but the reduced weight makes them a great choice for technical runs...

I'll second that opinion!

I still paddle the composite slalom C-2 that I built in the winter of 83-84 and several of our other composite boats of that vintage are still in good condition as well. I will confess that I don't run bony creeks and my paddling style is old school (i.e. I typically paddle around rocks rather than over them), but my boats have taken some solid hits and held together. When they do crack, they are very easy to repair and the repair is typically just as strong as the original.

John