River Elf Storm Chaser

[River Elf C1s]

Thanks for all of the input, advice and discussion guys. Our intention would be to develop a boat that would have some flexibility in cockpit arrangement (for and aft) to accommodate a wide range of combined paddler weights and allocation. Of course no single boat can fit all scenarios, but as a surface boat (vs an edgy/pivotable slalom design) a few of the variables should drop out. Again, things are just at the drawing board stage right now so I don't want to get too far down the path of what a theoretical design might look like just yet. For those interested, we'll certainly keep you in the loop and take all of your suggestions to heart as we get closer to starting on an actual design.
Chris

[John Coraor]

Mary:

Glad to hear about your extensive experience with a variety of boats and that you and your husband are also a "bow heavy" team. Although our weight difference isn't as extreme as that of you and your husband, I too paddled bow when my wife and I paddled together. Similarly, the first C-2 that my wife and I paddled was also a Gemini (a Gemini III)!

From your response I gather that I may have given the mistaken impression I believe a Storm Chaser C-2 would be a bad idea. If so, my apologies to both you and to Chris, as that wasn't my intention at all. I was merely responding to your very specific suggestion about wanting to see the bow more like the "S" version than the "L" version. In making the comparison with the design transition from the Batmax to the Torrent/Torrent XL I was trying to make the point that retention of that sharper "S" bow may not be feasible when scaling up the design to float 2 paddlers. Sometimes the need for floating twice as much weight in a boat that isn't twice the size of the singles version demands the retention of more volume closer to the ends as is the case with the larger sizes of Storm Chasers.

Again, I'm sorry if my previous post was poorly worded and gave the wrong impression. I think a Storm Chaser C-2 would be a marvelous addition to the sport! I'm sure that Chris and his colleagues will do their best to give us all a C-2 in keeping with the spirit of the solo Storm Chasers.

John

[River Elf C1s]

Hey John - no worries whatsoever, I didn't take your original post as negative in any way at all. I sincerely appreciate you sharing your experiences when designing the Torrent C-2's and the complexities of C-2 design in general. My brother (and business partner) Trevor and I raced slalom C-2 from 93-99 and then off and on from 2001-2007 (into the short boat era) so I understand, agree with and appreciate all of your comments on the complexities of the task - so no worries here. You guy's discussion came across as all positive to me.

I also appreciate your enthusiasm for what we are trying to do. We will do our very best to develop a great boat with as much flexibility as possible in a single design. Thank you for the posts!

Chris Soileau

[Kelly-Rand]

Well I've been putting off a review of my new Storm Chaser M that I've had for 2 months now. Partly this is because I really haven't been out very much on a river since the demo run. I don't have anything to add regarding the standard of care already acknowledged in prior posts. I can say that the demo boat I did not buy had very smooth seems so that hurdle has been overcome.

So, I like Adam have been paddling C1's for a while and the ones I paddle are much edgier than the Storm Chaser by far. Rick who provided the first review in this topic is probably the one that best describes the transition from an open boat experience and I think he is right on. I have been bit more tentative in my excursions in the Storm Chaser. I have raised the saddle to 7.5" which has caused difficulty in getting the outfitting right, which isn't there yet. I will cover that in the other topic specific to me. What I can say is that my conditioning has improved since earlier this year and this afternoon I was able to hit 10 pond rolls in a row, but after each one I had to wiggle back into position before the next attempt. So once I get the strap anchor points set right I will have no problem rolling the boat.

Paddling the boat with a 7.5" saddle height is no problem stability wise. It still performs as described in the prior posts here. I had it in a hole and it was very stable compared to my Viper or Atom which tend to bounce a bit and require a very precise angle be maintained. The boat has not surprised me in a negative way in any of the trips on the river, even the demo run on the NB of the Potomac.

Durability wise I have been impressed. I have collided with rocks head on missing my line angle into eddies, and other than scratches there is no evidence of damage.

Well for now I think this is the best I can do for a review. As I spend more time int the Storm Chaser I may be compelled to augment my review.

till next