According to the specs shown at the Bell web site (http://www.bellcanoe.com/products/canoes/index.html) the composite FlashFire and WildFire solo canoes no longer have differential rocker - both bow and stern rocker are listed as 2.5”. Meanwhile their “new” ABS Yellowstone Solo (which seems to match the specs of the old ABS WildFire) retains differential rocker.
It’s been rumored here at PN for some time that Bell was going to separate the ABS WildFire from the composite versions by renaming the ABS version. It’s also been rumored that Bell was planning to reintroduce the older 13’ composite FlashFire, but I hadn’t heard that they planned to drop the differential rocker hull design on the Fire boats.
My questions:
Does anybody know what’s up with this?
Have the “classic” Fire boats been redesigned?
Did the composite versions ever really have differential rocker?
morning Arkay.
I have an older bell Catalog and it shows only the royalex wildfire with bow 2.5 stern 1.5
makes no mention of a difference between the composite and the royalex.
Funny though every other "composite" model listed and shown in that catalog lists a differential
rocker eg morningstar.2.5-1.5 ,northstar 2.5-1.5
northwind 2.5-1.5 , mystic 2.25-1.0
northwoods 2.5-1.5.
Just wondering if at that time the wildfire might have been the only one w/equal rocker in a composite and they just decided not to mention it. PK Is one of our resident bell'ologists
and may shed some light for you.
No difference
It is my understanding that both the Flash (which I own) and the composite Wildfire (which I used to own) have always been essentially the same back and front and never had differential rocker. The royalex Wildfire has always been different from the composite version. I sincerely doubt the boats have been redisigned. But, you can ask Bell directly.
Thanks Ed, Ne
I thought I’d remembered that the Bell catalogs stated that the WildFire had differential rocker. Good idea about asking Bell – I may do that. My question is “academic” since I’m not in the market for yet another solo canoe at this time - just mildly curious. Thanks, RK
Nope
Neither the composite Wildfire nor the Flashfire have diferential rocker. That was added to the Royalex version so that it would paddle with the same efficiency as the composite Wildfire… atleast in the forward direction.
So there has been no change to either the Royalex Wildfire…(Now the Yellowstone Solo) or to the composite Wildfire.
Bell has confused this issue in several ways. First the Royalex boat should never have been called a Wildfire. It’s a totally different boat. Second… Once it was named the wildfire, it should never have been changed. Third, in the Bell catalogs once the royalex boat was ensconced as the big seller that it is… they placed the royalex boats stats in essentially called it the same boat. Bell builds breat boats… but confused the hell out of the consumer will all this bullshit… changing names, and calling different boats the same name is just silly but it sure seems to be the manufacturers goal.
PK
PK
Thanks Paul…
…for the straight scoop on the WildFire. Bell certainly confused me with the misleading specs (and many others I assume) they previously listed for these two distinctly different boats. I have to agree they never should have called the Royalex version and the composite version by the same name… and only (previously) listing the rocker specs for the Royalex version just made matters worse. Oh well, I guess they’ve sorted it out with the new name for the ABS hull and now listing true (I assume) specs for the Fire boats. FWIW, I think the name “Yellowstone” is pretty lame, but maybe that’s just me…
Thanks again, Randall