Zet Raptor C1 conversion

[NZ C1er]

I have just paddled my new Raptor which arived as a C1. I am very happy with the boat and the factory outfiting, will attempt to add pictures but may not manage.
The Raptor is a creeker made in the Czech republic and like all there boats Zet will outfit as a C1, after having seen how well the boat was set up as a kayak I did not fancy trying to do a conversion myself, that and the fact I am over doing conversions.
I chose the Raptor 'cos the kayakers in Europe I met liked the boat, the plastic sounded good with factory quality controle, it is a light boat, had the reputation of being a fast boat and most of all I liked the lines and shape of the boat.

OK. The factory outfiting, GREAT!!! The spine is welded to the hull and the saddle attatched with glue (I think they have some prety good glues) , I just cut down the saddle and attatched the foam to the back piece to move the position forward. The hip pad retainers were welded in place in place so extended them forward and glued on more padding to tighten up the fit. I moved the Thigh strap ends forward so I can wriggle out if raquired, installed knee straps of my own and installed the knee spreaders, knee pads and ancle pads that were supplied.
Took an afternoon to get the boat the way I wanted it instead of days from scratch.

On the water the most pleasing thing besides the acceleration ( faster than my previous boats Magnum 72, Magnum80, Burn M, Mystic) was that it did not feel like a big boat, at 80 gal or 303 ltr it is.
The primary stability was good but the secondry was incredible, I could realy lay it over and the transition between the edges is very smoth (something the Burn lacked)
It has a large cockpit so the ease of getting in and out was a plus over the Riot boats

Roaling was the easies of the boats i'v paddled, I thought the Magnum 72 was easy but this was better and considering its a big wider boat was pleasing to say the least and heeps better than the Burn which is not a great boat to roal in difficult conditions.

I found it held the line well and especialy well in the ofside strokes, but could really snap into eddies with the bow rails which are brought into play on a forward lean, they could be a problem if not used properly or neglected in pushie water.

It was nice to have a bit of edge in the front half of the boat (though not as much as the Burn) for a change after the Riot boats.

This is a boat that the Zet people say should be paddled activly and is not for learners, it has a slalom boater for a designer. I thought the boat suited my style and came off the river thinking "hasn't boat design come a long way".

[NZ C1er]

Trying to post the pics' here goes???

[NZ C1er]

may have to send the pics' one at the time, first one is as the boat arrived

[NZ C1er]

The boat ready to go, sorry about the hastle in posting (I'm better on the river than on the computer)

[NZ C1er]

the spine

[Bob P]

I'd worry a little about how locally rigid the spine makes the hull. If you scrape over rocks a lot, there's going to be heavy wear under the spine.

[Larry Horne]

Awsome!
I think that welding the spine in is brilliant.. If it's not too rigid it should stay put and not cause any damage to the hull. Of course changing it back to a kayak for resale (pretty handy if the design doesn't mesh with your style) isn't an option.. but that's not the end of the world..

very cool indeed. Keep us posted!

[Paddle Power]

Very nice looking!

Thanks for sharing.

[NZ C1er]

I did not expect to get a welded in spine (Zet have changed there spines and method of attatchment), I did wonder about aditional wear but am happy enough with what I'v got to order another identical boat for my Europe boat.
Zet do guarintee the plastic for four years and I think there build quality is good.

[Yukon]

Hi NZ
I just got a Director C1 going to try in the pool today. I see you have added knee straps to yours, did you bolt the other end through the hull? and use the foward hole in the spine for the other end? I could not tell from your pics
thanks

[NZ C1er]

I drilled a horizontal hole through through the spine to bolt the forward ends of the knee straps. The rear ends are secured by bolting through the hull as you thought. I'm very relaxed about drilling and bolting through hulls, I just put a patch over the job with very good tape.

[noeldo]

Do you happen to know the offset for your skirt? I have a Director on its way and am trying to order a skirt!

[YTcanoe]

I'm using a Level Six Ace kayak deck on all ZET C1 models (the DirectorC1 is my primary boat), and each boat has about an extra inch added to it's saddleback. The tunnel offset isn't out enough to concern me.
It's challenging to get on, but it's dry and stays put.
I went with the level six because it seemed to have a little taller tunnel than other models I'd seen.

Mike
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