C-Forum

Can anyone fill me in with the rundown of changes to the Blackfly Option over the years? I know there's a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation (and rumors of a nearing 4th) and that the ends have been modified over time but some specifics would be great.

I have been seeing people claim "1st gen" and "2nd gen" etc, on sales posts. This is a bit confusing. My understanding is that the mold has been rebuilt a few times. I have a blue option, which most people would call 2nd-gen because it came out after the mold was rebuilt the first time. During the first rebuild, Jeremy cleaned up the mold a little bit, and increased the open-length a little bit (I think). I would argue the changes had no effect on how the boat paddled.

The 2nd mold rebuild included a higher bow line, slightly improving the dryness of the boat. At some point earlier this year, Jeremy also changed his bulkheads a little bit based on feedback. The new bulkheads have smaller knee openings and possibly a few other diferences I can't remember.

I think I've got this all correct, but Jeremy or Alex can speak with more authority.

Hope this helps,
Shep

There have been 4 molds at this point, with various changes above the waterline. The hull has remained essentially unchanged, other than the lines getting smoothed out and more symmetrical over time:

Gen 1: long deck plates, lower ends. These had 5 'strings' on tag airbag lacing on each end. All the gen 1 boats we're red.

Gen 2: shorter deck plates, still had the low ends. 8 string airbag lacing.

Gen 3: short deckplates, 7 sting airbag lacing. The ends of the gunwales are 2" higher than the first two versions.

Gen 4. The only real difference between 3 and 4 is that the inside of the gunwale has a quarter-round radius on it, vs a straight cutoff on the gen 3. The idea was to help stiffen the gunwales and make it easier in the knuckles.

There were more gen 3 boats than the others, gen 2 is the second most common, followed by gen 1 and 4. I'd have to go back and see which I made more of.

Jeremy, would it be possible to link a stamped serial number from the hull to a particular generation of Option; just out of curiosity?

I THINK they track according to model year, with some overlap between 3 and 4, since I'm still shipping some gen 3 boats

Gen 1 should end in '11'
Gen 2 should end in '12'
Gen 3 should end in '13' or '14'
Gen 4 should end in '14'

hmm dentist or octane dentist octane dentist octane dent...

Harry...Octane!

I hear the second Gen Octane is gonna come with built in coolers, a wet bar with Options for MP3 player and Onstar. the Delux model will be in alabaster with a dragon claw stand, 6 foot vertical pump Jose extension, shower curtain and massage-head short nosel.

This info should be added to archive, just sayin