[quote=“sing, post:17, topic:121655, full:true”]
Yeah, definitely see a lot of “cross over” white water to ocean rockhopper boats in the 12-14’ range. The RM Capella and Tempest were also in there. In some of the NR’s other videos, you’ll see RM boats such as Dagger Stratos and Alchemy (14-14.5’) as well as P&H Delphins 150/155. [/quote]
Sorry, I seem to have missed much of this thread.
Mike Kowalsky, one of the folks who sometimes shows up in the NR videos, in 2019 put together an image showing many of the smaller volume version boats that have a habit of showing up in those videos.
Here is what he said about this:
“As promised, a longer list of newer and older plastic boats used for rock gardening, since some people are curious how they compare. I decided to draw the line at boats in which self rescues are possible, that are under 16 feet long, and that appeared on my screen before the end of my lunch break. Whitewater boats such as the Axiom, Jive and Zen are fun for rock gardening but deserve their own category, or someone with a longer lunch break.”
Oh, my opinion (FWIW) on these different boats and how much they are used in the west coast rock garden scene. Bringing this up because this list of boats Mike put together includes some that aren’t in general use.
Zephry - one guy used (Tom) and liked, but not many others picked it up
Delphin - decent rock gardener, but better long boat surfer (though has this awesome to watch habit on steep waves of pearling and then popping you straight up in the air in reverse). Beastly heavy.
Gemini (should be RM, not SP) - pretty much only used by the smallest paddlers, like 5’ and 100lbs or less. Not as much rocker as others, but one of the few that the smallest paddlers actually fit in
Virgo - many love it, newest of the play boats
Stratos 14.5 - many love it. Runs large, so even mid- to large-sized paddlers likely would prefer the S size
Alchemy - out of production, but many love it (though even the smaller paddlers often used the large size). Replaced by Stratos.
Hammer - awfully heavy for a short boat. Rarely seen nowadays.
Stratos 12.5 - hasn’t seemed to picked up in popularity as I thought it would. I only know of one person who uses one (not Tom this time), and I think she likes it because it fits smaller paddlers
Stinger - only one was used, also by Tom
Pyranha 12R - don’t know enough about it
Kharma RG - many love it
Fusion - many love it
Good whitewater boats in the surf zone (I had a Jive and Jive 8.10 for a bit before going into dedicated surf kayak designs). Kinda suck to rescue with the relatively low volume. I would think two rescuers needed. Wish he had a longer “lunch break”.
Noted that the list is of RM boats. No composites (assuming the Gemini RM). The Tsunami Rangers developed the own composite SOT, the Tsunami X15, for their play. Never seen anything about the resiliency in rock play. Only two Tsunami Xs in New England I am aware of is owned by the same guy, Tony, a long time member of RICKA and its surf/rockplay contingent.
Definitely all plastic boats. Most of the folks also have composite boats (even a pair of Sterlings Reflections among the group) in their fleets, but they know better than to use in rocks.
My (now gone) Dephin 150, 15’, weighed in near 55 lbs (including my float bags and build up foam bulkhead). The Dagger Stratos, at 14.5’, weighs in tad bit over 50 lbs, with the floatbags. This may get heavier if I install an electric bilge pump (for extra safety margin when I am out playing alone in conditions).
