Favorite Boats

[Oci-One Kanubi]

I'm 5'11", 175#.

Peaked at Bottom Moose (NE), Upper Yough, Upper Gauley (Mid-Atlantic), Watauga & Section IV (SE), Shoshone Gorge & Foxton (Rockies), but will do most of those now only at ELF; so nowdays I'm calling myself a Class III paddler. Prefer anything with low volume and high(ish) gradient. Class III(or +) creeks like Big Laurel or Wills, the Middle Fork (of Tygart), Upper Cranberry, or Upper Meadow just totally rock me.

Favorite boats? Ocoee, Rival, and Prodigy X.

If I could own only one? Prodigy X.

Other boat I currently own? Savage Skeeter.

[Open Gate]

5'-10'' & 178 lbs.

As long as I'm paddling that's all that matters. If I have a paddle in hand I have a on my face.
From flat water to Class V creeks, waterfalls and big volume rivers.

For playing = CU Fly
For creeking = Dagger Quake
River running = Esquif Detonator
Tandem tripping = Esquif Canyon
Tandem party = Esquif Blast
Solo tripping = Probe 12II
(I have 9 boats BTW...and counting)

This thread is a good idea

[John Coraor]

5'8"

Some things about my paddling have changed and some have stayed the same over the years...

Formerly: 145 lbs.
Favorite boats/rivers: Torrent XL slalom C-2 (with my wife) - Class III-IV (Lower Yough, Cheat Canyon, New, Lower Gauley) + lots of slalom races; Batmax slalom C-1 - Class IV-V (at least it was at the time) (Upper Yough, Upper Gauley) + slalom races

20 years later:
Now: 205 lbs.
Boats/rivers: Dagger Zealot slalom C-1 (still got the Batmax, just too big for it now) - Class II-III rivers (Fife, Esopus, Lehigh, Lower Yough) and NESS & Penn Cup slalom races with my 4 kids; the same Torrent XL slalom C-2 with one of the kids on the same rivers & races.

If I could only have one boat: Issac, I'm envious of your Loco; I tried it only once, but it would be my #1 choice - just don't have the $ to get one.

[PAC]

Height - 5'9"
Weight - 185 +/-
Water paddled - I pretty much mix it up but spend a lot of time on the LY these days. Favorate rivers - Slippery Rock Creek and Big Sandy.
Favorite boats (the ones I paddle fairly frequently):
WheelBoy - play, play, play Can run the "stuff" too.
Acrobat (Full cut) - Sort of squirt / racer for me. I need a true squirt C but that will come.
Finkenmeister - Takes it all in stride - drops, surfs, big water, creeks.
xxx - Twitchy as heck at my weight but just a hoot on low volume / flow days.
Gemini 2 (c2) - Its a pig but I get to take my kids out in it and that makes it a favorate. Long and very stable - can let them sit in a hole surfing in up, in up to III, while I'm in the slack water keeping things stable making it happy time.
Shredder - Okay not a C boat but you use a C stick. Stable and makes everything one to two classes lower. Another great family paddling platform.
Zoom - Don't own one but find it a fun boat when Big Al lets me borrow his! Zypher fits here too. If I had the cash it would be a tough call on which one.
Sith - Don't own one but really need to - great overall boat, fast and loose.
Now if I could only own one boat...what would it be... can't do it! Even thinging like that is a sin! You can never have too many! NOR can you just have one!
Paul C.

[philinasheville]

Zephyr: This is my main boat. I love this boat and paddle it 95% of the time. Everything from class 2-4.

Cascade: Everything from class 2-4 especially when it's cold. Although I'm re-thinking this now that I have a new IR Double D dry suit! Plus my Zephyr surfs much better

Caper: For tandem runs and to let buddy's w/ little WW experience borrow.

[philinasheville]

Forgot to mention this.

Height; 5'9
Weight; 180+

[sdbrassfield]

6'1", #225 (before breakfast)

All my boats are favorites....
Paddle flatwater to mainly Class II-III with a little IV mixed in.
Ocoee, Noli, Yough, Nanty, Pigeon, Haw

PlayBoat/HoleSurfer - Dagger Quake
Wave Surfing - Dagger Ovation
Low vol/creeker - Dagger Quake
Hi vol/River Runner - Dagger Prophet / Ovation
WW tripping - Dagger Impulse
flatwater daytripper - Dagger Interlude
flatwater camper - MR Explorer (Rx)

BTW, I am glad to see that you can still type bathtuboy (holy crap) !!!!

[Deb R]

I'm 5'2", about 135, and I paddle class III/III+ in New England.

My favorite boat is my beautiful, snappy, purple and wood Dagger Ocoee. My other boat is an equally beautiful Outrage, but it's been alone and ignored since I got the Ocoee.

Deb

[sbroam]

6'1", #225 (before breakfast)
...
flatwater daytripper - Dagger Interlude
...
BTW, I am glad to see that you can still type bathtuboy (holy crap) !!!!

I forgot about the Interlude! That's my Edisto boat - I love that boat solo or tandem, but especially solo. Never have seen one other than mine though...

I'm convinced Bathtubboy couldn't have walked (swam?) away from that without at least some bruises.

[jscottl67]

6'1", #225 (before breakfast)

before breakfast on your 12th birthday maybe

I still can't wait to see you go down the river tandem with Bobbi

[jscottl67]

6'3" 215# (unfortunately)

I paddle mainly class II/III and consider myself still somewhat of a rookie at it. I just don't spend enough days on the water to get really good.

I think I've paddled all of Scott's (sdbrassfield) boats at least once, but still love my Dagger Ocoee with wood gunnels more than any of them. I still swim from it at times, but I feel comfortable in it. Btw, a great boat Jack...thanks!!

I also owned a Cascade briefly, but that being a first ww boat was not a good idea

[yarnellboat]

5'9", 215lbs

Paddle II to III+, mostly low-volume technical.

Favourite boats are probably a Zephyr or a Viper12, neither of which I've paddled much.

My boat is an Outrage, but it was what was available cheap, not necessarily my fave. Score as a C-1. Paddle a Vertige X tandem. No chance of kneeling into a slalom boat, can't even get into the Score. Tareau has potential, but I'd probably stick to a Zephyr or Viper12.

PY.

[Alden]

OK, let me try to answer these.

I'm 6' and 155 lbs.

I spend most of my time training and racing slalom on artificial courses.

I would say my favorite boat at the moment is an envisioned one -- my Vajda Lizard that is sitting over at Dulles Airport right now waiting to be cleared in customs on Monday. I can't wait!

Alden

[philcanoe]

Height 5'10-3/4" and weight 179 lbs.

Paddle mostly Class III, IV, and V, not as much V as in years past, mostly due to a three-year drought around here

Prefer Creeks both above and below recommended daily allowance, as that's what the SEasternUSA has the most of. On road trips higher volume is always fun. Of course high volume on a creek is big water, if not better....Watauga when the bridge is under water, Little River in Park above 2400, Tellico 3000 plus, LRC 14" on top, .... Just a sampling ...Occoe, Little River Canyon, Gauley, New, Grand Canyon, Kootenai, Selway, Lochsa, Upper Yough, Ottawa, Green, Bear, Linville, Jones....the standards

Boat of choice: Spanish Fly, nothing beats having your play boat everywhere you go. My kayaking buds always wish they had brought theirs along.

For playing = Spanish Fly
For creeking = Spanish Fly
River running = Spanish Fly

Must be stuck in a rut....

....and excluding oc1-2 slalom boats and "Miss Daisy" my last design

[knu2xs]

In 29 short years, have paddled and broken quite a few boats. Started out in a Perception HD-1 and didn't want anything else until the Viper came out, then the Ocoee. Had a lot of fun with the Savage Super-Fly until I broke it creekin' in Colorado. Needing a boat fast, I converted a Perception Amp and discovered true playboating. It was a good time. Close on it's heels was a Wavesport Y for the steeps. I still miss that boat. A few years later the Amp was replaced with a Liquidlogic Skip, which I still have. Now I am pretty much a full time slalom racer, so my current boat is a Galasport Makao, which I really like.

My specs:
Age: 29
Height: 6'-0"
Weight: 167

My favorites right now would be:
Creeking: Wavesport Y
Slalom: Galasport Makao
Don't playboat enough anymore to comment.

If only one, would have to be my slalom boat.