Does anyone have experience with new west side boats?
T-rex
Dave
Jay Duger paddles one aad thought is was stable in the rough. You two weigh about the same. he only paddled it once and could not compare to his Tbolt-X as far as speed goes. he did like it
How about giving me a call sometime
I am looking and going to test a Ruahaine F-1 At Northern outfitters in Whitesboro. Not sure whrn unless we get some warm days again.
Cheers Dan
new Thunderbolt
Doug sent me a picture, said the cockpit hangs over the shear line & it catches when leaned on its side, before rolling too far.
Just wondering … do you guys know
which new one he did first ?
shear line
As a self taught paddler, maybe the guy teaching me was not real knowledgeable. What is a shear line? Does this mean you are less apt to need a skirt? And what is the deal with him adding bulkheads that I love so much? Advertised to sell my old t-bolt and deep down hope it willnever sell because we have been thru so much together. Both 90 mile races and the gen clinton 70 miler were pretty much life and death struggles to see if we could survive without a pit crew and there is something wrong about selling the t-bolt but indy sadly had to part with the 4cyl offy that had done for such a long time and the new boat should be faster but which new t-bolt to buy? Thigh braces in the old t-bolt from dagger animas meant stability was not an issue so could reall y raise the seat. Still though my big race goal for this year is to learn to skull sideways and be aggresive at start. Too often would let others start first and would be behind a c1 going sideways at the start and could not draft fast boats.
Or
how about a C-2 taking the scenic route around a buoy turn? 
Dave, where did you post your Bolt? Looked for it on the sites, but no can find. Curious too, about your mod with the Dagger thigh braces. Dan, will you post precursory impressions of the F1? Very curious; curious about that Ocean X also. Anyone paddle this one? What is the anticipated Doug Bushnell retirement time frame? Inquiring minds (well, one) want to know.
F-1
After looking at the f-1 the hull is more aysmetrical like other racing shells .the widest point behind the seat. The area in front of the cockpit is narrow. Which will allow for a more vertical catch. So probably more effeicent.
It is great other boats are making there way to the USA from other countries. It will be nice to test out these other boats and compare performance. The thunderbolts are great boats way ahead of there time. Very fast,well made and stable. Greyson’s Bournes new Vampire is really high on my list. Knowing how outstanding paddler he is ,his knowledge should make a Very competitive boat. Anyone seen the valley “Rapier” maybe Patrick from Ohno paddles will try his hand in here. the more choices more peopel will try them out. Instead of just one. manufacturer. Been doing alot of comparisons of skis and kayaks. Except for the Inferno. most ski’s seats are well behind center. which is great for big water surfing. I have paddled skis a lot and they are just not as fast in sloppy water. A great lot of fun in HOT weather.
Anyone else got any feedback. cheers Dan
Variety is the Spice of Life
Have been thinking about moving on from from my QCC lately (No stoning please, fellow cult members…) into something still somewhat sea kayak oriented, but on the quicker side. The Q-Ship is reasonably fast, very stable and well-behaved, but has always felt like it has too much volume for me, and I’m having problems with the frog-legged sea kayak position. I’ll keep my ski for the reasons Dan named, along with the fact that I just love the minimalism of the design. Haven’t yet put in the time it takes to truly become proficient on my Mark 1 yet beyond saying I rarely go for a swim these days, and living in the NE makes a SINK pretty attractive this time of year, drysuit or no drysuit. The Westside boats hold a great deal of interest, and I’ve been awaiting Gray’s new Vampire as well to give it a go. As posted in an earlier thread, spent several hours in the 21’ Rapier (albeit with a bum rudder), and several weeks in the Rapier 18’. Both are quite fast, and cater to true sea kayaks with thigh braces, bulkheads, VCP rubber hatches, decklines, etc. They were fast but heavy in their proto/demo form. I’d be surprised if they came down significantly in weight from there. Enter boats like the Ruahines, which pique the interest level a bit more. Let us know what you think.
Variety to the point of schizophrenia
Nothing wrong with having other boats than a 700! I have 3 others - soon to be 4.
Like too many things. Speed, working on rolling…
Like you, I can’t let the simplicity of the ski go - but have not put the time in - less than you. I was OK with my Mark 1 on flat water pretty quickly (not saying much), but have not been paddling much past several months and not on the ski at all. It will be back to square one.
The new crop of racing kayaks are interesting - but I don’t race very often -and don’t really have the fitness level to drive them properly right now.
I too find myself feeling there is a lot more volume than I need most of the time in the 700, but not a complaint - it is what it is, and what it is is good.
The long racers are all pretty big too. I was in and EFT briefly and it felt pretty big - T-Bolt would have to be tighter. Maybe I’ll get to try one at B&B this year. Grey’s Vampire looks pretty big too. High decks. Maybe a Rapier would be worth a go. I’d definitely like something that rolls decently, has bulkheads & hatches. All need those pesky rudder things though.
For now, I’ll keep working on my SOF. 6m x 48cm. Being hard chined and soft skinned it will not be as fast as those dimensions would be on a round hulled composite racer - but I’m hoping it’s at least a reasonable fast touring boat, maybe fast enough to hold it’s own on sloppier days. At least it will be lower volume than my 700 with 2" less beam and 2 1/2" off the aft deck (and LWL a few inches longer).
Heh Heh … maybe i will …
Currently collecting data.
Off to paddle V10, Red 7’s 60 /70, Mako, XT, Mark 1, Icon today.
fast boats
I just love fast boats. I just ordered a Simon River Sports Sirius (a K1) after racing a Custom Kayaks Icon (a very tippy surfski) all last summer. Previous to this I paddled a Mirage 22S. My recommendation for those of you who are wondering about tippy boats is this: First decide if you want to race right away. If you do pick a boat you can handle right now. If you want to improve your balance and have it make you faster EVENTUALLY get a boat that you can’t quite handle today and carefully practice with it, race it with no expectation of being as fast as you were in a more stable boat but one of learning the best technique you can. My friend Ben Lawry gave me some great advice about learning to paddle a boat that I couldn’t quite handle: He said “Paddle it for 30 to 45 minutes and stop before you get tired and your balance goes away and you get frustrated, finish with a success not a failure. Then if you still want to do something go for a run.” The way I look at it is every time you paddle a tippy boat you are sending a message to your nervous system. You are asking your body to adapt. I guess Ben’s point is to ask nicely.
(hello to Dan Murn!! We missed you at the Valcour Race this year)
Valcour island
Hi Jon
My padlling year was very limited. Got hurt in December. My triceps really got inflammed. Really struggled all winter skiing with no poles Then had a sciatica problem. Did not get on the water until june. After PT all summer got back into shape slowly. Still have to be very careful with my triceps. it is going to a chronic problem. We really missed coming up to valcour island. It was real hoot the year before. How was it this year? Good turnout, conditions? Reasults? I am going to plan on it for sure next summer. Great to hear your doing well.
I sometimed take it a bit slower with people. have them just paddle easily for a few minutes and rest then work on form and repeat just to get good rythm down. Then if thye have an more satble baot go out in for thier work out. Then they can gradually get better and improve their condtioning at the same time.
Hope to hear from you. If you get a schedule of openwater races send them along. We may doing one hear as well.
Cheers Dan
Shear line
Dave,
The shear line is where the deck & hull are joined together. To improve your starts, you will have to decide to go very hard for a couple of minutes inorder to avoid extra wash & boats. Good luck.
Dwan