wear on blasts

Yukon · Post by **Yukon** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:51 pm

I would love to get a blast but see if u paddle them hard the chines start to wear and the bottom can get soft. Was wondering how the choice of saddles affect the wear characteristics. If you go with bulkheads you have 4 bridge points and I imagine a very stiff hull- does that make chines wear any faster?

If you went with saddles not attatched to thwarts how does that affect wear and performance.

And then last option is saddles with backs attatched to thwarts gving you 2 bridge points.

If I get one Ithink I will prepaint the chines with abs paste before using for a wear layer. Anyone else done that?

I had a Blast in the Blast in Mexico

marclamenace · Post by **marclamenace** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 6:00 pm

Fun boats they are, for sure.

The sharp chine angle is the problem so it seems, not the saddle.

For a real solution get a vertigeX or an old dagger caption if you can find that. I know I know not quite the same though.

I beleive my budy ges was on that same trip with ya... Gotta pile some $$ for next year...

bushpaddler · Post by **bushpaddler** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:43 pm

Hi,

We wore out 2 Blasts (or at least sold them in time). They all had standard outfit and they wore on the chines first.
The one we have at the moment I fitted with double bulkheads and, what should I say, it's a different boat.
-- Wrong side up I can walk on it on top of my roofrack - really stiff that one. That was not really an option with the standard thigh strap outfit.
-- The boat seems to be faster and more responsive, I guess due to the increased stiffness of the bottom (maybe also the wooden gunnels?)
-- It seems we have less wear on the chines because the flat bottom doesn't give way that much and takes some of the beating.
-- Take care in case you fit a double bulkhead in the boat, don't make it too tight between thwarts and bottom or you will get a shallow arch bottom boat

-- And - not about wear - but 4cm of foam in the sides of the boat work miracles.
As there's no comparable boat, we have to get the best out of it and in case of wear and responsibility the double bulkhead seems to have some advantages.

No wonder the Blast in Mexico wears, we already had our blast in it

Florian

rockyboater · Post by **rockyboater** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:46 pm

I've spent a lot of time in a Caption, Capper(i think?) and the Blast. The blast had bulk heads where the other two just had straps. The blast was so much stiffer. It's a boat that demands attention but blows all round long hulls out of the water as far as control. The hard edge is prone to wear but is a small price to pay for the performance it gives you. Not a great boat to learn in though.

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:14 pm

For those that like the caption,
I think Mad River Still makes them.

Yukon · Post by **Yukon** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:40 pm

Ive paddled a Caper (have one) a Vertige X, Nexus and Ihave a clipper Merganser. I want a Blast. I have looked at a Caption but not overly appealing to me. I loved the performance of the blast and wanted to know how to make it last longer.
Sounds like bulkhead would make it stiffer and perform better but will weigh more, but should float higher full of water, be much less adaptable to different paddlers.

So maybe a saddle with straps that is connected to a thwart at the back of the saddle would stiffen things up and help reduce wear.

Anyone pretreated the chines of an Esquif?

Yukon · Post by **Yukon** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:46 pm

double

Yukon · Post by **Yukon** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:49 pm

tripple

Yukon · Post by **Yukon** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 10:48 pm

woops

milkman · Post by **milkman** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:22 pm

I have a Blast and one way to preserve it and the chines is to not paddle it on bony runs. Only use it when flows are moderate to high. It does ride low in the water compared to most tandems I've paddled.

Don Beyer · Post by **Don Beyer** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:39 am

I agree that the wear is a small price to pay for that performance. No, its not really a bony creek boat. (but maybe if it came in PE...) Add a little water and it is awesome. Ours is factory outfitted with pedestals and double straps. It paddles well full of water - we seem to practice that alot. When this one is worn out we are getting another.