Favorite Boats

[bathtuboy]

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

The only bruises were to my ego, there were rather a lot of people watching, all kayakers and it did not prove a great advert. I did manage not to swim though.

Jon

[creek1r]

First boat OT Tripper, Started WW in 1988 in BlueHole Starburst 16' solo. Then XL13, Mohawk Edge, Mohawk Viper 12, MR Outrage(still have), Savage Skeeter - all OC-1s. C-1s - Dagger Cascade, Dagger Atom, Prijon LUV, Prijon Delerious, New Wave 1/2 Viper, Riot BigGun.
Best OC-1 - Outrage and Skeeter(wet)
Best C-1 - BigGun conv. have paddled over 5 years. Liked Prijon LUV a lot (dont have now) better than current Delerious.

[the great gonzo]

My overall favorite boat is the same as Sir Adam's , the Shaggy Sith ! If I could have only one, that would be it! Id does, apart from maybe steep creeking, everything! It's a great riverrunner, very predictable for such a slicy boat in big water, surfs extremely well, good playboat, too.
The Prelude is my favorite open boat, runs steep stuff really well, stable, predictable, extermely maneuvrable, accelerates well, dry for such a short boat and it can handle the abuse I put it through.
As far as C1 creekers are concerned, the Finkenmmeister is still the one in my opinion.
As pure playboat, although it is also a surprisingly good riverrunner, the Shaggy Pagan is very hard to beat, IMHO.

I am 6'1" and ~190 - 195 lbs

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

[KNeal]

Height
Weight
What type of water you paddle (and class)
Favorite boats
If you could only own one boat...what would it be...

Height- 5'11"
Weight- 180+
Type of whitewater: past- Upper Yough, Upper/Lower Gauley, New River Gorge at any level, Cheat Canyon up to 5', the James River at any level (and more...); present- Lower Yough, Cheat Canyon New River Gorge, the James River, whatever I can get to on a "30-hour pass".
Favorite boats: the Atom and the Maverick slalom boat
My "wishlist" is split between the Finkenmeister (it's only a matter of time 'til I learn to nail the roll ) and the Loco slalom boat

KNeal

[jnorto01]

Height 5'11''
Weight 170

ZoomZoomZoomZoom!!

I mainly do class III stuff and am starting to do class IV.

If I could only have 1 boat this would be it. My Zoom is getting close to wearing out and I WILL buy a new one to replace it.

Other than the Zoom the fleet consist of a Shaman, Wavesport X, Concept Rage glass slalom boat (British manufacture 1990s ?? if any one has info on Concept let me know),and a newly aquired not yet outfitted large Solo.

[Dooleyoc-1]

My favorite boats are all now made by Esquif:

Prelude (for Class V steep creeking ie Green, West Prong, etc...)

Spanish Fly (for river running with lots of playing ie the gauley)

The Spark (bad butt big canoe for huge enders, big water, attainments; I like to take this boat down the Cheoah, Ocoee, and creeks at high water)

Salsa (the best boat for rodeo and freestyle paddling; better for park and play than river running)

[c1swim]

6'1" @ ~ 175lbs.
type of water: solo- class II, III, starting to do some IVs
tandem- class I, II, & IIIs
raft- class II, III, IV, & Vs (last raft trip;
upper Animas in 2000.)
Favorite Boats: OC1s- I've like everything that I've tried
by Frankie Hubbard. currently a Mohawk Viper 12
C1s- a) Dagger Cascade: " Awesome boat, fast, long, and paddles itself. You could sit back and read a book while flying down some huge rapid and not even get your hips wet. Well, maybe not that good, but it's awesome, everyone should have one." quote by Cosmikdebris. I couldn't say it better.
b) Robson Finkenmiester: destined to replace the Cascade in my heart.
c) Wavesport Z: I've only park-n-played it twice and got worked. But, it looks like a surfing machine.
OC2s- Wenonah Rogue (royalex) I like this boat, symetrical, 3" of rocker, uber stable, handles class III like the cascade, great river camper. The best tandem that I've ever
owned and they weren't all colemans and grummans. My last tandem was a Sawyer Expedition (fiberglass). It was a nice camper,
but couldn't handle anything above class II.

If I could only have one boat..... that would suck.
but, I'd have to go with the Rogue because; I love camping, I have an 8 year old son, and it handles real well paddled solo (like
a giant outrage).

AND, boats I want to try: Prelude and Viper c1

[watrwzrd]

5`10``
170#`s
I,II,III,IV open boat , Rft the upper G
Detonator is the fav. right now but only because I havn`t paddled the Taureau enough but just this past weekend got my roll down pat so the Taureau will be coming on strong I think
Nitro for the big stuff and flood stage
Glass Pheniox Slipper c1 I`m working on
The little glass Massive boats Departure and Air plan on takin them to the Charlotte ww park soon as it cools the water down some
The Detonator seems to work good everywhere catch every eddie surf every wave gotta love that hehe the Taureau was pretty wet till I learned to just lean way on back heheh
NRG ,Maury,Kibler Valley,Russell Fork,Chatooga,Nantahala,Tellico,Nolichucky and some others Charlottewwpark all in open boats

[RodS]

First dated a Caper, had a brief fling with an Encore, now committed for life to an Ocoee (although I seriously lust after a Prowler...)

RodS
6'1"
185
III/III+
Prefer tight rocky New England runs

[Jim P]

Ok I'll just make a single post to both polls.

5'11" currently 210 +/-
Age 48

Mostly paddle II/III some III/IV. Prefer low volume techincal runs. Favorite local run - Gooney Creek.
Favorite ever - Upper Cranberry.

All time favorite boat - Ocoee.
May be unseated by Zephyr.

Started long ago in tandem Grumans on lakes and flat water. In the late 90's (back at 175 lbs!) picked up an Old Town Appalacian for camping etc. A few riffles later and started to get hooked on WW. My SO was more than happy to paddle 10 times/year so I took the old 16 footer out solo a few times. Quickly decided a smaller boat was in order and picked up a used Scamp. After a few months lugging that around decided, that was too big - Shaman time. Wow - I thought what a hot rod! Paddled the Shaman for several years unlearning most of the bad habits picked up over the years. Every red blooded American male knows how to paddle a canoe, isn't it a birthright?
Picked up a used Ocoee and quickly fell in love - the poor Shaman got lonely fast. Tried other boats Detonator, Zoom etc but always went back to the Ocoee for various reasons. Recently picked up a Zephyr as my Ocoee is pretty much shot - working on a ABS/glass rebuild. We wll see.

[Berkshire Jack]

I'm 5' 10 1/2". Approx 193 lbs.

Currently paddle mostly Class 2 & 3 with some 4 minus thrown in. Mostly tight New England rivers.

For River Running: My converted Dagger Redline. It handles well and is moderately stable. It front surfs and carves like a dream. It stern squirts, so you can have some play while bopping down the river.

For Play Boating: Drakkar Wheelboy. Its balance is superb and although I am slightly too heavy for it, throwing ends is a hades of alotta fun.

For Creeking and Big Water: Esquif Taureau. It doesn't roll as easily as most C1's, but then again with its stability, rolling is usually not called for.

Tandem: Hydra Duet C2. It was a blast and very stable. My sweetie (wife) moved on to a kayak, and I sold the boat. She never appreciated how I could bury her in the front end in a hole for minutes on end, and still get us out just fine. Probably the reason she moved on to a kayak.

If I could have only one boat: The Dagger Redline conversion. It does a lot of the things I like to do on the river, well.

[CDawg]

I have 4 plastic c-1s, but three are mostly gathering dust. I paddle a converted WS Forplay almost exclusively. I have a WS X for bigger watter, but I find the Forplay to be the fun boat. I don't know how a glass boat would hold up in the rocky western water that I paddle. I'd like to try a glass or composite c-1 but I've never even seen one.

[Mike W.]

5'7"
195-200lbs.

Class IV paddler w/ class III skills.

The current fleet:
Viper - full cut - This is my favorite all around boat. It has great speed, punches big holes easily & I can stern squirt it on flatwater. It allows me to run the lower Gauley at my skill level. It's also great for attaining workouts when the water is so high that it washes out all of the rapids.

Acrobat - master cut - Really fun on flatwater & eddylines. I won't paddle it on anything harder than class II

Sith - Great play/river runner. Spins better than anything I've ever tried Real fun on big waves. It does have an edge to be wary of. Mine weighs 20lbs I've smacked a couple of rocks while spinning & it still looks great. This has to be the most comfortable boat in the world!

Big EZ - This is my park & play boat when the wave is too steep for the Sith. Carves like a dream. Slow as molassas in January. Due to the lack of speed, I won't take it on anything harder than the Ocoee.

Old Town Scout - Big, HEAVY tandem for running the river.

Wenonah Marathon - Fast as lightning on flatwater I paddle bow & can see the water-line through the Kevlar

If I could only have one boat I'd get another job! One boat, that's like telling a woman she can only have one pair of shoes.

My next boat? That's a much more appropriate question. My next boat will be a 14% oc-1 for down-river racing. Anybody know of one for sale?

[sbroam]

If I could have only one boat: The Dagger Redline conversion. It does a lot of the things I like to do on the river, well.

Always wanted to try one of those - it looked like my Whiplash, but with the right width!

[hammerhead]

MY HEIGHT IS 6FT
MY WEIGHT IS 210LBS
CLASS 3 - 4 MOSTLY N.EAST US

FAVORITE BOATS; DAGGER ATOM, DRAGO ROSSI CRITICAL MASS, MAD RIVER ME, MAD RIVER EXPLORER, MAD RIVER OUTRAGE & DAGGER LEGEND.

STILL WORKING ON PLAYBOAT(any suggestions w/b welcome)

DREAMBOAT; HAVE TO GO W/ THE SITH, ALTHOUGH I'LL PROBABLY NEVER STOP SEARCHING