Big Dog Force OC-1

[Pierre LaPaddelle]

Now that the Force has hit the open market, I'd love to read some reviews. In particular, how does it compare/contrast with, say, the Spanish Fly (on the water, that is -- I can read the specs!)

(I missed the opportunity to demo a Force at WESTFEST -- too busy hanging out at the playpark, demo'ing its little bro Kaos!)

Comments like: speed, acceleration, stability, rollability, playability, river-runability, dryness, and overall handling characteristics.

How's the Force better? How's the Fly better?

Thanks!

Rick

[the great gonzo]

Got my Force a few weeks ago (THX to Bob and Josh from Dig Dog to make it happen!). Haven't had it out as much as I wish, (too busy guiding, instructing and such), but I had her on the Ottawa a few times, where I ran as many creek lines as I could find.
It behaves exactly the way I expect it from a creeker. The boat boofs great, got good speed for it'e length, rolls just as easily as the old Dagger Quake. After a roll there are an estimated 6" of water in the boat, which could be reduced by adding more foam to the cockpit It's got excellent primary and secondary stability. The only drawbacks are its weight , as with all PE boats, and is a bit wet in big water, but I feel that with adapting my paddling style I can definitely keep it much dryer, as soon as I started to waveblock more or to sort of boof waves that definitely improved.
Big Dog, please please please use the same hull to make a C1, you will have at least one buyer !

TGG!

[Smurfwarrior]

TGG- you can drop 12 pounds really quick by switching out the side tanks with minicell foam. You can get about three pounds off by cutting the decks off and replacing the plastic/metal thwarts with wood.

[watermonkey]

Here are some pics of the Force broken down;

This is the main pedestal/bulkead pulled out;

These are the tanks that smurfwarrior indicated could be replaced with foam for weight savings.

[watermonkey]

This is the additional layer of bulkhead foam that I added along with hip blocks. It didn't feel as if there was enough knee contact with the stock setup to keep me in the boat. The blue and green foam are yoga blocks. Cheap, easy to work and machine and bonds really well with Weldwood. For both the stock bulkhead foam and the added blocks, I shaped the knee cup contours with a 40 grit grinding wheel on an angle grinder. This works really, really well. Better than hacking away with a knife, but requires the entire pedestal to be removed and a light touch.

The whole pedestal assembly is a little heavy, but it is really easy to work with. It also adds a huge amount of structural support to the shell, the bottom of which is pretty flexy without the pedestal in. I'd be curious to see how this behaves if one were to go all foam and lose the prefab setup. It's nice to have something solid to attach batteries and pumps to. The switch is located front and center, wiring is run internally so there's nothing to hang up on. You can't see it in the pictures, but i drilled 3/4" holes every three inches along the bottom to equalize water from side to side as recommended by the smurf. Even without the holes, this would not be a dry compartment and drainage holes would have been necessary. Version 2.0 could easily be rotomolded to be a dry compartment - something for big dog to think about on their next version.

I couldn't bring myself to drill a hole in the hull yet, so for now it's pumping out the top.

Getting it wet for the first time tomorrow.

[kilroywashere!]

saw one of these at gauley fest and was pretty stoked, hoping to fine one to demo soon. one thing i was wondering about that the guy at the big dog couldnt answer(think his name was frankie, nice guy, nothing against him) but he didnt know the msrp on these. anyone wanna enlighten me?

[Smurfwarrior]

MSRP is $1450
There are deals to be had. If you're in the SE, check with Gavin Rains for your Bigdog fix. Out west I can hook you up.

[kilroywashere!]

awesome, how do i get a hold of gavin, im in WV/VA area and would love to try one of these out/find a deal.

[sbroam]

How does this boat float the larger paddler? i.e. 220# and up? Anybody of that size able to compare the ride to a Spanish Fly? My Fly would probably be a lot drier and just about perfect if I lost 30# but, well, that ain't likely. [Note, I'm NOT knocking the SF.]

[Todhunter]

awesome, how do i get a hold of gavin, im in WV/VA area and would love to try one of these out/find a deal.

Gavin Rains
256.582.5o25 (Office)
2o5.9Io.o4o7 (Cell)
gavinrains-at-yahoo-dot-com
http://www.whenitrainsinc.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bdb]

Where do I get a big dog force in Ontario?

[Frankie]

Hey Guys,

I spoke to some of you at the Gauley Fest this year and a couple of you recommended this forum. I'm glad I came along!

I'm from England, but I'm living in Greenville SC.

Over the next few months I will be running demo days and visiting outfitters in the SE. In the near future Big Dog kayaks and canoes will be more readily available on the east coast.

Until the boats start arriving in shops, I'm the best person to speak to with regards getting Big Dog boats on this side of the USA.

As kilroywashere! mentioned I don't have the MSRP yet. The Big Dog boys in the UK are finalising a 2012 price list, but I'd imagine the suggested $1450 wont be far off. I'll have this information in the next week or two and will let you all know.

Getting boats to WV is not a problem - email me: chris@bigdogkayaks.com.

Getting boats to Ontario - I'll let you know asap, but I'm sure we can work something out.

Cheers,

Frankie

ps. I'm in Boston over the weekend so expect replies to emails and questions early next week.

[PAC]

Welcome to USA and Cboats Frankie...

Let us know when you will be in the Ohiopyle, PA area (a centralized location for Mid-Atlantic boaters).. there are a few of us that would be very interested in checking out a Big Dog.

Paul C.

[Frankie]

A few Big Dog boaters will be at the Upper Yough this friday, including Bob McKee with a Force OC1. May be a good chance to see it in action /have a good look...

Frankie

[Creeker]

hmmm....no demo's seemed to be on the table?