better all around boat

oc ender · Post by **oc ender** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:36 pm

OF the two "creeker" boats that Esquif will now be making,Spanish-fly or Tareau,what's the better all around boat.I live in the west and we don't have any "BIG WATER" here,mostly med. flow technical and abrasive rivers.I heared the Tareau is a little more difficult to roll?

c1swim · Post by **c1swim** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:23 am

Prelude ?

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:52 am

depends on who u ask...

some can't even read (between the two)

kx250guy · Post by **kx250guy** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:44 pm

If you go with the Spanish fly, I reccommend getting a used one in good condition that was produced by Pyranha. If Esquif intends on produceing rotomolded products themselves rather than contract them out form Pyranhas' production facility, its a hard process to get right. Just ask Jackson kayaks. Early Tareaus' had seam splitting problems, early Zephers' had pinhole/ leaking problems etc. and it was a pain for some of they paddlers in my area, even though Esquif warrantied them ,having to put time and money into redoing all their personal outfitting . Releaseing boats to dealears a little too soon has been a problem in the past I believe. They are great boats tho.

Dooleyoc-1 · Post by **Dooleyoc-1** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:09 pm

The fly is a much better freestyle boat because it has lower volume ends.

The Tareau is drier because it has a deck.

They both paddle great.

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:43 pm

just to spice things up....

It seemed to me that the Taureau actually rolled easier, like maybe the easiest canoe I've rolled. With that arched deck it seems to make it easy, which consequently makes me wonder about upside down hole-bait?

and while adding spice...

If a Taureau is not run drier, getting water out is a pain. Of course with a pump it wouldn't matter. But IMHO (Watch out, here it comes)!!! that sorta takes the challenge out of paddling one, I'd rather go get a kayak. And of course there's that new cockpit rim, that would make things considerable different. Or a after market drain plug would help. I know with the older Taureau's water will leak out of the seams, not sure about the newer ones.

and to add a little more flavor...

In some holes the Taureau will spin better than a Fly. Seen it, done it!

It's all about personal taste and style. However you mentioned paddling abrasive rivers. As far as I know, there's nothing as durable as a roto-molded HDPE boat, except maybe a blow molded one.

Try'em both, you'll love one.

Mikey B · Post by **Mikey B** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:31 pm

I have a Taureau and absolutely love it. I got to finally try a SpanishFly a few weeks back and really really liked it too.
The Fly ran surprisingly dry, I expected it to be wetter. I can see where it might be funner playing, but the Taureau is pretty darn fun too for a creeker. I think the shape of the rails on the SpanishFly and it's width make it a bit easier to jump out of quickly. The Taureau's plastic is pretty slippery but the new cockpit rims would alleviate that.
I'm 6' 190 lbs and find the Taureau to paddle quite easy full of water and if I roll I actually it will have less water than when filling it up while playing. I too agree with Phil and would be interested in others thinking, but think the Taureau seems to be somewhat attracted to holes...good or bad

I'm not sure about the water draining thing. I find it pretty easy to dump the water out and if I stand it on end the little bit of water left in it drains out the grab loop holes?
I wouldn't mind finding myself a SpanishFly though

You can't go wrong with either one!
Mike

h2sk1 · Post by **h2sk1** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:23 pm

philcanoe wrote:just to spice things up....

....snip.....

If a Taureau is not run drier, getting water out is a pain. Of course with a pump it wouldn't matter. But IMHO (Watch out, here it comes)!!! that sorta takes the challenge out of paddling one, I'd rather go get a kayak. And of course there's that new cockpit rim, that would make things considerable different. Or a after market drain plug would help. I know with the older Taureau's water will leak out of the seams, not sure about the newer ones.

.........snip.....

Try'em both, you'll love one.

I have a Taureau and love it. It is one of the older ones which had problems with the seams. I've bolted it together after some advice from the pros, and it is working well!

I have a drain plug, and do not find it useful. If I'm already going to the trouble of flipping the boat, it is much faster to rock the boat to empty it, then to use the drain plug. I haven't used the drain plug in more than 1 year.

c1swim · Post by **c1swim** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:44 pm

i kin two red.

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:53 am

c1swim wrote:i kin two red.

sorry looked like a hi-jack in progress

c1swim · Post by **c1swim** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:06 am

No, just wondering if he had considered the third plastic creeker
that Esquif will produce.

oc ender · Post by **oc ender** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:53 am

c1 swim,thanks for that however,i tried to paddle the Prelude but i can't.Far to unstable.It's been a couple of years sinse i tried but i couldn't find the edge.Perhaps i should try again.I found the outfitting to be loose and only borrowing it i didn't try to eliviate the problem.Whats your solution for that issue?

Wendy · Post by **Wendy** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:19 pm

I put the Esquif bulkhead into my Spanish Fly. I also had 2 prototype Preludes. The Esquif bulkhead saddle holds me in really well. You just trim it to fit. The difference I found between it and the stock Pyranah outfitting is that your knees are farther out giving greater control. Also I have large thighs and the stock outfitting just didn't work well. I lowered the saddle initially, then raised it again. The Esquif saddle has larger transfer areas than the Beluga Appaloosa. (My 2 unsolicited cents).

Steward · Post by **Steward** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:39 pm

I also have a Taureau and have paddled it hard for the last year. Its the new model, and it is holding up well. I beleive the splitting problem is corrected. And it not showing any real signs of significant ware after about 60-70 days of use.

I believe you will be happy with either boat, but you should consider what your paddling will be. The Taureau is a great creeker, but it doesn't surf as well as the Fly. And the fly is not as dry as the Tarueau for creeking.

I'm not saying you can't creeek in a Fly or surf in a Taureau, but each has benifits over the other.

While I like the Fly, I love the Taureau, so much it has become my boat of choice for all rivers, Steep Creeks to high volume runs like the Ottawa and Gatineau.

I'll also agree with Mike, I don't find it hard to roll or empty.

Cheers

Steward

keez · Post by **keez** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:45 pm

Having paddled with Steward, I would definitely agree that the Taureau is superior to the Spanish Fly for creeking.

I'm like a submarine in my Fly compared to his Taureau. On the other hand, I think it takes a "Phil's" sized hole to get in any vertical moves.

As everyone says, depends on what paddling you do most of.

Saving up to get a Taureau, that way I'll have a spring creeker and summer playboat. Now to convince the wife!

Geoff

C-Forum

better all around boat

better all around boat

Taureau/SpanishFly

to c1 swim

Not OC1 but

best small boat