New C1 Racing Boat

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:59 am

tom, you know alot about the new designs. i wish i knew more. yeah the european jr champ is like 190, so that was the biggest person that i have heard of in a vajda lizard 365. but then that is the same weight as robin in the loco. its so hard to judge, because there are rarely pictures where you see the paddler in flat water, and can see how they float in the boat. like if the guy in europe at 190 is maxing out the boat, then the obvious choice is the gala. for me. but who knows?
cheers
-isaac

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:23 pm

so the new LOCO is out for the whole world to see, and purchase, there is a little more on the boat on the website, but its basically cut and pasted from Robin's elaboration on the design.
cheers
-isaac

Bruce Farrenkopf · Post by **Bruce Farrenkopf** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:25 am

I have a decision to make, Lizard, Loco or other. One of my biggest criteria will be knee positioning - can I get my knees nice and wide in the boat? This is critical for my boat control.
SYOTR (in my new racer)

Bruce

TomAnon · Post by **TomAnon** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:01 am

That depends on how big you are. I believe the manufacturer will build it the way you want it to include material modifications. Talk to them. For that kind of money, it would be well worth the cost of a cheap international phone card.

Also, don't forget the most important part.....color and graphics!

Have fun.

Tom

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:14 am

bruce, i was thining very hard about all this, and i checkd how much you weigh from the saddle to rear cockpit rim discussion, and at 155 you pretty much have the whole gammet to choose from. im curious as to why you choose the loco over the makao?

ever since this dam thread popped up, i am completely unsure of which way to go, before the mention of the loco, and my discussion with Vlada, i was set on a vajda. now i am back to square one.

dam.

cheers
-isaac

TomAnon · Post by **TomAnon** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 5:28 pm

Hey Isaac,

You may want to look at what distributor is nearest you. Sometimes it is the little things like ordering assistance, shipping and after sales support that can make the difference.

Tom

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:22 pm

yeah, there is a galasport dist. in vancouver ca. and then there are a gala and vajda distributor over in maryland. i think either way the shipping is quite expensive. right now im leaning toward the vajda, for partially the little bit less volume in the bow, to have a little less of a boat to handle, i think that the way the gala is designed, there is alot more there, so you have to paddle around the bow, where as the vajda is paddled more neutrally. if that made any sense.
at least both if the reps iv'e talked to have been very helpful.
cheers
-isaac

Bruce Farrenkopf · Post by **Bruce Farrenkopf** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:47 am

Isaac,
I got some advice today from a very experienced racer. He advised a sometime racer like me....to:
1) Get a stable boat. That way you are not bracing and flipping your way down the course or correcting the boat frequently

. This means a somewhat larger volume and a boat that enables you to get your knees low and wide.
2) Go with a manufacturer like Vajda or Galasport that provide good service and guidance.
3) Get a solid layup with full seams inside and out, so that the boat holds up reasonably well. Avoid the Elite layup.
Sounds good to me

.
SYOTR,
Bruce

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:57 am

sound advice, i guess the more that i think about it, which is just shy of all of the time. the gala sounds like a better choice, especially for a guy like me whose a bit bigger than vajda has had in their boats.

i am not the most experienced racer either, I'm devoting most of my paddling toward it now, and intend to become a full time racer in the near future when i move to the west coast for school. albeit, it would be a better decision to move out east for the purpose of racing, but i need to finsih my edumakation furst.
cheers
-isaac

TomAnon · Post by **TomAnon** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:13 pm

So Isaac, Bruce, did you guys stretch your old alligator arms out far enough to reach your wallet and place an order?

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:05 pm

yes, as a matter of fact, i am ordering a gala loco, and trying to get back to the reps i have been talking to about shipping.
cheers
-isaac
i'm going to go paddle now.

Bruce Farrenkopf · Post by **Bruce Farrenkopf** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 4:16 am

I haven't ordered yet. I am leaning torward the Vajda Lizard. It will probably be a month or two or three before I commit.
SYOTR,
Bruce

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:03 am

so tom, it looks like eventually, you and i are going to be boat buddies after all.
i am going to go through David Kurtz, partially for he is the american rep, even though the canadian rep is closer to where i am, and secondly because he is taking a trip over to seattly mid-summer, so he can drop the boat off in missoula. making my shipping charges approximately zero.
cheers
-isaac

Bruce Farrenkopf · Post by **Bruce Farrenkopf** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 8:27 am

What is the best thing to do about getting a skirt for the racing boat

? Do the racing boat builders provide skirts for sale or is there a custom manufacturer in the US or abroad that someone would recommend?
Thanks,
Bruce

bearboater · Post by **bearboater** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:40 pm

i don't know about vajda, but gala makes skirts, for sale, unfortunately they dont come with the boat, but what i highly recommend is a cagdeck from peakuk. @ www.peakuk.com, a friend of mine is the north american/canadian(mainly canadian distributor) and he can get you one, he actually has a few at his shop/closet now. really light, really comfy, and there is no bother with velcro at the waist, and the neoprene is very stretchy, i mean really stretchy, yet very dry. I have the racer long, and was debating about getting the racer short. but anyway, i ordered a skirt from gala, and have a cagdeck that will fit the new boat as well.
cheers
-isaac