C1 Squirt boat history breakthrough!

[Sir Adam]

I have NOT updated the site yet, as I won't be back home until Monday or so, but I had a nice chat with Peter Zurflieh today, who is in fact the designer of the Edge, Aerobat, and Acrobat! Paul Schreiner and John Schreiner (PS Composites / New Wave) led me to him...

So, what's new, other than that Davey and Jon didn't design them as stated on this site (taken from the New Wave catalog...).

Well...get ready for this...the boats were designed in a similar fashion to the Maven-Peter took the hot slalom boat of the day (a Max II) and cut it in half in both directions to narrow it, then messed around with plastic body filler to reshape. The result...The Edge! (around 1981-1982)

The resulting boat looked a lot volume-wise like the next hot slalom boat...the Batmax....so he started with one of those and tweaked it in the same fastion...

the result...The Aerobat! (1982-1983 ish..he recalls working on it right after Davey and Jon had finished the Batmax, as he had seen Jon on the river, gone over to check out their new boat, and obtained permission to pull a boat and modify it. My records show the Batmax as a '82 design.).

He wasn't completely happy with the results, so kept slowly working on it, and finally figured out how to cut down a boat from the Aerobat mold to make a pretty sweet squirt boat...the Acrobat (circa 1987 or 88).

He then decided to work on a new boat, more for creeking and cruising, and hence was born what he feels is the best of his work-the Descender.


Understanding how the boats were designed, I can now "see" it, and find it fascinating how his designs were ahead of their time.

The one confusing point seems to be that some of the "Edges" have wings, and look different than he recalls (the Max II was pre-wing). I'm left wondering if perhaps the "Edge" a few of us own is NOT just a cut down Extrabat as I've surmised. Peter is going to try and find someone to scan in several of his old photo's....we should be able to tell from those.

I'm also trying to convince him to join us for the June Armada...he doesn't CBoat anymore due to a knee injury, but I think it would be great to have him along!

(and, yes, in case some of you are wondering, I DID just finish doing the outside seams on the Maven... )

[cheajack]

So Adam, What was the final decision for the dates for the Armada? Is this a rare case of democracy in action in modern America, ie, the majority rules? First weekend in June as per the poll?

[Alden]

very cool lineage. I'll try to keep notes on all this stuff, that way when you and the Maven go down into some mystery move on the Sacandaga and never return, your biography can hit the shelves not long after. Instead of traditional book binding, I'm going to use seam tape. The cover will have a sparkly metal flake design. Perhaps the title could be "The Un-C-een Life of Sir Adam."

Just some thoughts.
Alden

[sqbtr]

I hate to show my age, but here goes. I acquired my first squirt boat somewhere arround 1984 it was a full cut edge. about six months into it I had the extreme pleasure of meeting up with jim snyder and paddling with him from time to time. Jimmy helped me transition some of the squirt kayak moves into C1. It did'nt take long for me to realize that the edge had a little too much volume for true squirting, A trip up to see John Schriner fixed that he cut it down, almost small enough, when I got the boat back John related that the boat was basically an aerobat now. I paddled that boat for the next year. It was during that time I met Peter Zurfleigh, he was paddling what looked like a surf board with a hole in it. I had to have one, Another call to John, about four months $600 and I had myself a custom cut Acrobat and access to the third dimension. It took quite a while to master the new boat, but paddling with incredible people like Jimmy Snyder, Pete Zurfleigh, Norwood Scott, Bob Walsh, Whitney Shields, and many more made the learning curve enjoyable. I may sound like I am rambling but I just want to add insight into the evolution of the squirt C1, and the huge influence the kayaking crowd had upon it. Also in the early 80,s Jimmy Snyder designed and built a OC1, If I remember correctly he called it the Groove. I believe Jimmy would be a wealth of information on some of the first squirt boat designs as he was designing most of the kayak squirt boats at that time

Keep it one sided

[Sir Adam]

Sqbtr-Any chance you'll make it to this year's Armada on the North Branch of the Potomac (June 3,4) , and perhaps a day early so a bunch of us folks with squirt boats can get together and try to figure some things out? I'm sure all of us could benefit from someone with your knowledge! I can bring a few boats down if need be, too .

[sqbtr]

If I can get a pass from my better half I will be there. Where do you all meet

[Sir Adam]

Mike and I are trying to get a few folks together on Friday to play around in squirt boats somewhere, but we don't know where, so that will be up in the air for a bit.

Saturday we meet at the brick building down the road across from the takeout of the North Branch of the Potomac.

I'll be posting more info, directions, and times as we get closer, or rather hopefully someone will step in as usual to organize it that's "local".

June 3,4 are aways off, but we'll be there:) (and hopefully June 2nd as well).

I look forward to meeting you!