Esquif Blast

[clarion]

I'm looking for a tandem for my wife and I and was wondering if anyone has experience in the Blast. Is this an "experts only" kind of boat or can a reasonably strong intermediate at 190 and a beginner at 110 in the bow make it work without it being too scary?

Of course there is also the Vertige X that I know we can handle. I just don't want to drop coin on something that is going to seriously devalue as soon as it hits the water only to find out that we should have gotten something a little hotter to grow into.

We will be doing nothing but class II and II+ Slippery Rock Creek for a couple or three years before moving into the Lower Yough, which would be pretty much our ultimate destination difficulty wise.

[bambam]

We paddle a Blast tandem with a combined weight around thirty pounds more than yours.

Kind of an oxymoron, I view it as a tandem creekboat. We've paddled tandem Capers, Captions, some sort of Vertige as a demo on the Nanty, a few minutes in an XL13(?), and of course once per year in my trusty old Grumman. All fun boats.

The Blast is by far the most responsive of the lot. That also makes it the most difficult to handle. Like a creeker, it dives into eddies which is a hoot but it's not so great for going straight. I spend a ton of energy in the stern keeping it pointed straight.

It will handle big water but it's a handful there too. We've had great fun days on the New Gorge and Cheat Canyon but worked for the privilege. Lower Yough is easier to manage.

If you like eddy hopping technical lines then you'll love the Blast. If you are more hey-diddle-diddle, straight-down-the-middle then I'd look at something which likes to go straight better.

Ken Dubel

[ohioboater]

I demoed a Blast at NOC a few years ago with two different bow partners on the Nanty. Both were tall/fit women, one a cautious high beginner/low intermediate kayaker, the other a "go for it" experienced kayaker/playboater and long time raft guide. They both knew their canoe strokes but didn't have much WW OC experience. I weigh 170, and my partners probably were 150 and 170 (or possibly more - she was a couple inches taller than me).

With the lighter, less aggressive partner, we zipped all over the place, caught lots of small eddies, and surfed up a storm. The boat felt stable and wonderfully precise. With the heavier, more aggressive partner, we did the same sorts of moves, but I spent a lot of time cranking really hard on correction strokes to keep us on line. Part of that might have been an effect of being bow heavy, and part of it might have been her overpowering me with her raft guide strokes.

With your weight combination, I would think the Blast would behave pretty well. It definitely loves to surf and catch small eddies, if that's what you want to do. I thought it felt pretty stable, but my perspective is probably skewed by how many years I've spent in an OC.

[milkman]

It might seem obvious, but it's easier in the saying than the doing. The Blast requires both the bow and stern paddler to really be in synch, both in the timing and power of their strokes. The boat is very responsive. It's a perfect boat for a couple who want to improve their tandem skills. And like another poster here said, it's a great boat if you want to work river features.

Oddly enough though, the Blast is my favorite boat to take novices out in. Probably because from the stern it's really easy to overpower them when they do something wrong. Plus, people new to paddling find it more exciting than the bigger tandems.

[Yukon]

i paddled the Blast in Mexico with 2 different partners. I am am 210lb and they were I am guessing 120-150lbs. I loved the Blast and want one, I should have ordered one right away. I do have a Vertige X which fun but it is not the Blast. It let me do things that would have been difficult in other boats. I found it dry and responsive. If you want to progress into play I would say get a boat u will grow into NOT one you will grow out of -if that suits your personality ie you want to grow your skills

[Shep]

There is even a guy here (not a super big guy, either, probably <200 lb) that has set up a Blast solo. From talking to him, it sounds like it paddles like a cross between an old-school big boat like a Whitesell Pyranha and a Nitro.

Shep

[kanur]

Mrs Kanur and I finally replaced our old ME with a Blast last year and it is really a blast to paddle. I'm 175 and the misses is 130. The misses is an expert kayaker but does a pretty good job in an OC

I find the boat super stable, forgiving, and responsive. We can put it in the smallest of eddies. Doing endless 360's in a play hole is....well... a blast. It has me wanting to try some tandem creeking.

The Blast has also worked good for me to give my niece and granddaughter and other none paddlers a taste of whitewater. There is no way I would consider it an expert only boat but it will sure make you feel like one.

[bushpaddler]

Everything said so far. We couldn't imagine any other boat at the moment fur technical stuff.
If you're willing to take the challenge the Blast might make you step back one or at least a half class, but as soon as you get familiar with the boat ist allows you to run rivers or feathures in a way you wouldn't in any other boat. It's ability to boof very well helps a lot...



Flo

[clarion]

Thanks for all the good input on the Blast. It sounds like a fun boat. But with Bruce's help I was able to snag a local Caption. But maybe someday I'll get to try a Blast.

Thanks again.

Brian

[ohioboater]

Caption is a great boat. You'll have fun with it, but it won't be too twitchy.