C1 Creek boats

[Kanu]

I'd like some advice in a decision about a good kayak conversion for a C1 creek boat. We paddle mostly low to medium volume creeks and the boat needs to track and boof well for my liking. I dont care about the surfing. Im looking at the Nomad or H3. I'm 5'8" and 160 if that helps. Let me know what anyone might be using or thinking. Thanks for the help.

[Sir Adam]

Are you thinking new or used? If you're thinking new I'd look at the Finkenmeister as it was designed as a C1, or the Fatboy when it comes out. If you're thinking used others far more knowledgeable than I will no doubt be posting their thoughts, or try the "search" function as this has been discussed before on the board (if I recall correctly folks like the H3 as well as Big Gun (going back further in time...and most likely cheaper in price)).

[Racer X]

I know a fellow who creeks in the (biggest size) Nomad and I think he likes it. People really like the H3 also as a creek boat. I would recommend the Necky Blunt, that's the boat I paddle. it's a GREAT creek boat, although I'm personally waiting to see what Marko and the boys come up with for the new Drakkar Fatboy . . .
Alden

[Jan_dettmer]

Hey,

man I just cracked my Blunt again today. I hadd to empty after each drop and bomb down the whole river. I know now that 20 cm long cracks leak like crazy...

The Blunt is a very nice, extremely stable creeker. Very responsive. Other boats boof easier and accelarte faster. Some Kayakers toled me that the new Crux
has a lot of features I did not like about the Blunt:
more arched backdeck to back-ender less. Easier to accelerate with couple strokes for quick boofs out of micro eddies. Same speed. Same stability.
Less volume in the bow to punch holes better (compared to, e.g, the Embudo, the Blunt sucks at punching).

Don't get me wrong, the Blunt is an excellent boat.
It is a really good C1 creeker. All the above stuff
are fine nuances that I only found out after being in it on a lot of runs.

Some people say they don't break. Well....

The Nomad seems to be very fast and good tracking. The H3 more quick turning and better carving. Harder chines though and harder landing off of big drops. Does not resurface as nice. Larry wrote a great deal about the H3 somewhere below.

Cheers, Jan

[racer x]

hey Jan,
I cracked my Blunt too (rest assured, I think Jan and I go creeking way too much, this is not a brittle boat or something!) I patched it via the "duct tape" method and it has been bomber for about 4 months of creeking. hard to believe that melting duct tape is so strong!
Alden

[Jan_dettmer]

Hey Alden,

yeah, I Duct Tape welded my Blunt a month ago.
This crack though is fu(&$("/§ big. 8 inch or something. I am pretty concerned. I guess I got 100+
days creeking out of it so I should not complain. Still sucks to be broke and in the marked for a new boat at the same time

I will try and weld it and maybe be able to paddle it until I get something else.

Yes, I am not easy on gear. Funny, right now almost everyone I paddle with paddles a cracked boat.

Cheers, Jan

[willer]

i've heard a lot of good things about the big nomad. I think that would be the first place I'd look. I paddled an H3 once and liked it, but it was kind of edgy, and felt big and slow to me. It might fit you a little better at your weight though. The Blunt kicks butt, but they quit making them, and used ones are generally pretty well used. I'd throw a look at the Gus too, a lot of people paddle those and seem to like them a lot.
will

[Jan_dettmer]

what do you guys think about the Diesel 75?
Looks really good to me.
I am looking at:
Gus
Nomad 8.5
Diesel 75
Crux
right now. All are hard to find used I guess.
I think the Nomad will be stable but not as quick to accel? I only saw the GUS as kayak but it seems to
skip over holes really well. Seems fast as well.

Kayak reviews of the Diesel were all positive.

Any input is appreciated.

Cheers, Jan
(sorry for pirating the thread)

[Larry Horne]

I paddle a h3255. got 1/2 a season in it. class 4 to easy 5 rivers and creeks. I love it, it tracks and boofs very well, re-surfaces nicely, and is far from edgy. It has a VERY stable and predictable feel. It's really not a full on creeker- but i think it's a good compromise for the c-boater. Sorry i can't compare to other creek c-1's.
If it would ever start RAINING i could get out and do some real product testing for you
good luck

[Bernie]

I paddle the Diesel 75 and find it to be very forgiving on creeks and big water. The planing surface is narrow and makes it feel similar to a displacement hull but it slides over holes without effort and drops waterfalls without the pain of a wide planing surface. The chines are stairstepped to make it extremely forgiving with very high secondary stability. The volume is evenly distributed so you don't get any surprises.
I also paddle the Pyranha M3 233/243. These boats make for really good creekers too! They are very forgiving and fun to paddle.
The Nomad 8.5 is one that I plan on trying out soon because it has really great lines and gets great reviews from my kayaking counterparts.
Liquid Logic will be releasing the El Jefe Grande soon and it looks like a great c-1 creeker conversion boat.
The best advice is to paddle several models before you decide. My fleet of boats are available if you want to paddle in West Virginia.

[Jan_dettmer]

Hi Bernie,

How easy is the Diesel to accelerate?
How does it boof?
Is it stong enough (the plastic) to take low volume creeks?

I guess the M3 handles very different from the
micro then.

Too bad I'm on the other side of the continent!

Cheers, Jan

[marshwater]

i have tried a few and IMHO the savage skreem makes the best conversion. the hull of the boat was designed by frankie hubbard. the widest point of the boat is at the ankels ( sitting c-1 ) giving the boat great primary stability for a conversion and a great pivot point. the hardest part will be finding one.

good luck

ronnie
marshwater@hotmail.com

[Bernie]

It takes a couple of strokes to get it going but accelerates quickly after that.
It is very controllable for steep low water creekin' and is easy to style a boof.
The plastic in my boat seems to be holding up really well but I have seen the nose inverted on one and one cracked hull. I get to see a lot of paddlers in different boat designs and one thing that I know is that if you paddle steep, low volume creeks, you will break boats. Most manufacturers will replace the hull if broken in the first year.
The only issue that I find to be compromising is that when you go deep, for whatever reason, the bow rises slow because the deck is not quite as round as most creekers, but it resurfaces on line.

Yes the m3 is very different from the micro because it will carve into eddies as opposed to sliding into them.

[topodude]

get a topolino

[mullet]

so far no one has mentioned the LL Huck, i'm out in Australia with one and for small volume creeks it goes great. To get the manouverability you need, the whole set up needs to be a few cm futher back than for a play boat. This doesn't affect the speed of it - just raced in the Lea Extreme Race and was faster than most kayaks out there. I have also done multi-day trips in it and as long as the bow is kept light (store gear in the back) it paddles well. Any way it's worth a thought
cheers