C-Quirt advice? - Now with Brief Review of the Meltdown

TheKrikkitWars · Post by **TheKrikkitWars** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:15 am

I've just bought a squirt boat, (it's a Meltdown, recently refurbished and cut down by downtime)

I've just been fitting it out for me today, and I wanted to ask a couple of questions:

Is it normal to have a sadle so high that your legs and bum are almost entirely out side the boat?

Is it then normal to be dependant on the back of the spraydeck to keep you from sliding back on the saddle.

Are there any other things I'll be glad to know?

Picture of the boat with its previous owner:

Sir Adam · Post by **Sir Adam** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:49 am

The saddle should be as low as you can handle it. I have mine low enough to be ok for 30 min, if I'm in longer I toss a 1" piece of foam on the seat from an old lifevest chest piece (compacts more than minicell, and forms around the seat nicely).

Depending on the cut, you may or may not appear to be sitting on the back deck of the boat.

I've added minute foam "backrests" to a few of my boats which help keep me forward a bit.

Have fun:)

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:03 am

As with any boat, have the saddle as low as you can & still be comfortable. In the Acrobats I had the top of the saddle was above the cockpit rim. I had a little back-rest to help keep me in place. It looked like a little spoiler. It's a shame more boats aren't designed like my Woodie or the Maven.

Post by **PAC** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:46 am

First off welcome to c-quirting!!!

Nice looking boat too! You're going to have a blast!

As Adam and Mike said - go as low as you can go!

You can use the skirt to hold you in but its better to use the pressure on your legs to hold you in. You might find that moving your bottom around in the boat you'll be able to max the the performance. Moving back to sterm squirt and center up to work the "points".

But that is up to you to find your "charc"... the best suggestion I would have is get a copy of Jim Snyder's book...squirt boating and beyond. Its K specific but applies to c-quirting too.

Think deep thoughts and happy bubbles....

Paul C.

PS. We want to see many pix and details on the meltdown. A lot of us are interested in that design! No pressure of course....

TheKrikkitWars · Post by **TheKrikkitWars** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:24 am

PAC wrote:PS. We want to see many pix and details on the meltdown. A lot of us are interested in that design! No pressure of course....

I'll see what I can do... of course mine has apparently been shortened, and is cut at close to its maximum volume (to suit a 13-14 stone [182-196 lbs] paddler for downtime).

Any specific requests? I'm going to get a tape measure and take some photos of the boat, maybe some action shots from the swimming pool tonight too!

TheKrikkitWars · Post by **TheKrikkitWars** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:06 pm

PAC wrote:You can use the skirt to hold you in but its better to use the pressure on your legs to hold you in. You might find that moving your bottom around in the boat you'll be able to max the the performance. Moving back to sterm squirt and center up to work the "points".

Now I've had a paddle, I can see what you mean.

I need to hold the saddle in place though (I was originally thinking of gluing, but i think a foam shim between the saddle and the rear deck support is better, as it reduces the risk of me cocking up trim whilst i'm still inexperienced), because it slowly slips back until i'm in a perpetual stern stall. The one thing thats got me so far about the meltdown is that I can cartwheel as slow and smooth as my friend's in k1 squirts, or faster and more agressively than anything I've ever paddled. I need a new deck before I can paddle it properly, the ancient C1 slalom deck i've been using just doesn't cut it...

MrTgrips · Post by **MrTgrips** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:34 pm

JEALOUS, very jealous!!!

Mick

Post by **PAC** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:11 pm

Yep - hold off on glueing until you have figured out the puzzle (then you won't need to glue anyway). Worse case ... duct tape - but shims should work.

You'll find that over time with shimming the pedestal and related materials will lock in for you naturally. Plus you're right on about setting the trim and getting an "apron" that fits you! You might want to build out a butt block (if there is room - I don't use one in my cquirt but others swear by them) and add a suicide block (to hold the knees in place and keep you from slipping about). A beach wall works well for testing out the placement of the block in the pool but adds too much buoyancy for DT. Just make sure the block can pop out with you in case your up button isn't greasy enough.

The one thing thats got me so far about the meltdown is that I can cartwheel as slow and smooth as my friend's in k1 squirts, or faster and more agressively than anything I've ever paddled.

Ain't that the coolest!!!!

On the pix and measurments - anything is an improvement over what we have and a number of us are very interested in learning more about this design.

Diddo Mick's comment!!!!

JEALOUS, very jealous!!!

TheKrikkitWars · Post by **TheKrikkitWars** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 6:15 pm

This thread is a bit old, but TGG has given me some comments on the meltdown, and with his permission I'm posting them up (as he can do what I can't and give a comparison with other C-squirtboats).

The Great Gonzo wrote:I love the Meltdown. It is maybe a tad too big for me (180 lbs) as a pure competition boat, but nevertheless I could throw it around reasonably well aster 2 practice sessions. I feel that, If I had a few more days in it , I might be able to throw some higher scoring moves like washouts as well as throwing some simpler moves either clean or superclean.

I could not mystery it on the eddyline and seam, but I had a full head under mystery on one of my rides off the wave.

Compared to the Ceemweaver it is a little harder to throw around, but it surfs better and it is an awesome playful squirt cruiser. If they were available in North America, I would buy one, for sure.