C-Forum

I am looking for something with lots of stability"Primary and Secondary", i have a Pyranha Prelude and sometimes sucks when running some flat water, i have gotten used to the beach ball effect but tiered of watching out for what the canoe is about to do and rather just paddle and not worry about flipping at a random time. i seen in a review that the Blackfly Octane 91 was so stable that during his run he was sitting on the back thwarts and wasn't concerned about tipping over. i want something stable so when i run something big i wont doubt my canoe when going down.

The Octane 91 is definitely your huckleberry, brother! So stable, it's a confidence booster. Everyone who gets in mine is blown away and wants one. -M-

Going from a Prelude to an Octane 91 is a huge leap. You might wish to try an Octane 85, which is also quite forgiving, stable, and dry. If you are the right size and weight for a Prelude, you might find the Octane 91 is too much boat for you.

If you are under 160-180 I would get an 85. The new mold has nice changes

alright, thanks for the info !

I haven't paddled the 85, but even a Taureau was stable compared to a Prelude. Try a L'Edge or an Option as well if you can.

The 91 really is a big boat - a big, stable, heavy, boat. I haven't tried an 85. I did try an Option and even at 225 I found it stable and predictable - a lot more accomodating of me and my girth than the Prelude. I have a Spanish Fly and people (well, kayakers) are constantly amazed at how stable it is even with the seat height I have (9"+/-).

Most people consider the prelude to be pretty fast. Especially compared to other pe boats. If you want faster than you re probably looking at royalex or composite. I hear the octane 91 is fast but good god, it's ugly.

Is the Octane 91 dry? How dry is it? Dryer than a Viper 12? Does it boof? I am thinking this might be the boat for me, as I am a rather large guy.

I am pushing 200 lbs and I find that my Octane 85 is remarkably dry for its size. I have only paddled the Octane 91 a bit, but it would have to be at least a bit drier still.

I have paddled Viper 11s and 12s a bunch and while I like both, I have never found either to be very dry. The Vipers have less rise in the shear at the ends than a lot of other whitewater boats of similar size.

I certainly haven't paddled an Octane 91 and Viper 12 back to back, but I would think that the Octane would be significantly drier than the Viper.

yeah i am thinking about the Esquif L'edge now, the looks from the octanes don't strike me so much, they say that the L'edge crack easily but they made the new L'edge light. does the new L'edge have the same traits as the first one, i heard the L'edge was more stable then the prelude. Does taking weight off the OC down grade its stability traits ?

Maybe you'll hear from Colin Moneypenny when he gets off the road? He went from a Viper 12 to an Octane 91, and paddled them both a lot.

The Octane is definitely stable. In my very brief experiences, coming from an Outrage and an Ocoee, it was kinda too weird and unsatisfying how stable it was - I like to get some lean from boats to help me zip around, but I could barely budge the 91 when I tried to lean it. So, maybe depends and your style and your rivers - do you tend to like slalom-style in-and-out of lots of eddies, ferrying around etc.; or are you more of a boof-over-everything creeker? Not that you need to be one or the other, but that was my reaction to the 91 - I don't think I'd love a tank like that that I couldn't tilt.

As confidence-boosting as the stablitiy would be, you loose a little something too. It's just not what I'm used to.

I had the same reaction to a Quake. I was surprised how crazy-stable it was for a small boat, but stability isn't everything, it was just too heavy & slow for what I like.

Pat.