Boat of the Week - Dagger Atom

[Sir Adam]

Link to the museum page here at CBoats.net:
http://www.cboats.net/c_db/list.php?typ ... &name=Atom" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll start off with my personal reflections. As noted in the thread discussing the Boat of the Week project please post your experiences and info you have on this boat!

Dagger Atom - this was my 3rd C1, coming after a Perception Slasher and Dagger Cascade. I sold both to purchase this boat, which was one of the first batch sold I believe. I didn't come with the HipGrabber which later boats did, and I had one of my more epic swims out of the Atom on a cold spring day on the Kennebec, flipping (and swimming when I tried to roll by pulling myself out of the boat) at the top of the Alleyway and then swimming in to Cathedral Eddy.

At the time I found the boat great - almost as stable as the Cascade, but more maneuverable like the Slasher. At 160 lbs I wasn't generally heavy enough to stern squirt it but had fun trying. Front surfed OK, side surfing could be a bit dynamic with the flat top deck.

When I purchased an Acrobat then a Fanatic II I found I didn't paddle the Atom much. Too heavy, too slow, and the volume in the tail for my weight tended to get caught by the odd wave. Not low enough to easily stern squirt, not high enough not to be bothered by it. I know several folks that crushed the stern a bit more, and along with their heavier weight had lots of fun in the Atom.

I still think of it more as an "intermediate" boat, but there are many better boats out there, especially for certain types of paddling (creeking and play boating especially). I don't paddle mine much, but it is fun to take out for old times sake occasionally.

[Larry Horne]

One good about the atom was it got me out of open boats and into c1. It came out right when i was soooooo tired of dumping my open boat fifty times a day, so I bought one sight unseen. Once i experienced the joy of the skirt i never went back.
I never liked that boat much, but it sure opened the door for me.

[ezwater]

Only tried an Atom once, and coming right out of my Zealot, I wasn't snowed out of my mind. But I saw some glass Atoms on the Nanty once, and thought their lighter weight might make a difference.

[Smurfwarrior]

I wish I could find one out this way for a reasonable price. To me, $500 isn't reasonable but what do you guys think?

[canotrouge]

It is funny that you wrote that up Adam, yesterday it was our first sunday of the month pool session, and since all my boats are buried under the white stuff, I borrowed Trevor's Atom. Never did spend to much time in it but yesterday I spend two hours to just paddle and role. I have to say it is the easiest boat I've rolled so far( not that I've try a ton of boat but a few...!! I really liked it. It fit me well, I didn't even need the straps to role it!!

Cheers

[gumpy]

smurf: i've got a real nice one you can have for 300, if we could ever get it out there...

as for the atom, i got my first pirouhette in mine one cold winter day (with some coaching from markzak), and it blew my mind!

[KNeal]

At over 40 lbs, the Atom is heavy and for the 190+ lb. paddler, the edges of the boat will make its handling squirrelly. And that's about it for the negative comments I can give the Atom. I got one of the first production models in '98 and am still using it today. I installed hip pad mounts using the thigh strap bolts and added one bolt (each side) to fasten it in place, then added some foam padding above the thighs and am quite secure in it. Eventually, I did squash the stern and like the results. The stern deck is flatter and the tail curled up to compensate for the change in volume distribution. Cboaters paddling unmodified Atoms would not notice any real difference in this mod but stern squirts definitely can be snappier when the stern edges engage.

It is my go-to boat for paddling just about anything. It is a lot of fun in the New River gorge and Upper/Lower Gauley, but really challenging to get down the Upper Yough (or is that an operator issue? ). Stern squirts took some learning, but it is very doable in that boat and it is very controllable and predictable when popping off bow enders. I've also had my Atom splatted quite a lot against boulders and bridge pillars (on purpose, SRSLY!) but had to install the nose end cap because I about wore a hole through the plastic. One summer, I had that boat pirouetting and throwing cartwheels (if 3 ends qualifies). The flattish stern edges allow the boat to handle slalom-like when running rivers but is a bit sluggish for real slalom work and attainments.

At a favorite play spot back in my pre-Team Old Guy days

[cadster]

Improved my paddling after being in a Cascade. Still fun to paddle which I cannot think of being the case for other mass produced boats of similar age.

[Jim Michaud]

The Atom is a great boat if you want a class IV river to feel like a class V. I much prefer to paddle a boat that makes a class V feel like a class IV.

[Kelly-Rand]

I like enders in the Atom, they have a predictability or kind of natural feeling that you can control. I bought the last Atom in the retailers stock in 2001. It is my go to boat for most river running. I do avoid rivers that have a nasty hole though, it does have a tendency to get stopped in the following foam pile. The rivers that I think are the most enjoyable to paddle in this boat are the Dead in Maine at 2500 cfs or better, the Dry Fork of the Cheat at 1600 cfs, the loop on the LY, too bad Swimmers isn't on the loop, and the Contoocook at any level. What you need to make this boat fun is enough current to engage the edges and propel you in river wide jet ferries, the same thing that makes paddling a slalom boat fun.

[hammerhead]

Well said Jim, that pretty much covers it. Peace...


"Brevity is the soul of wit" W.S.

[Bruce Farrenkopf]

I had an Atom for 8 years and it was my main boat for about 4 years - great for class 3 and 4 rivers, unpredictable in steep drops. It was a huge improvement over my prior boat , the composite Extrabat, as far as durability - I could really slam the Atom into a tight eddy, rocks be damned . The boat was lots of fun to paddle. I sold it and now am sorry. It did handle alot like the Extrabat, and come to think of it, it was designed by Davey Hearn with his racing concepts in mind. One gets the impression it was not designed for Class 5 water. When the Dagger Cascade came out I learned what a class 5-ish boat looks like.
Ahhhhh....for the days when plastic C1's were being designed!
SYOTR,
Bruce Farrenkopf

[sbroam]

Looked great on paper - whenever I'd sketch designs, they'd end up looking like the atom, but... Never could feel the love. I suspect I'm too heavy. And yet i had an extended love affair with Slashers - arguably twitchier...

[Kelly-Rand]

So what's the next most popular purpose built C1? I know what is mine and I actually paddle it more often than the Atom but just not on as many river trips. It is faster, can do more dynamic moves, is lighter but is a bit harder to roll when you tire.

[skangadang]

Weight max for a c1 paddler?