I read the long thread developing below & offer this to those who are interested:
Fusions come with either:
Connect30 (ww style outfitting)
or
RiverTour (rec style outfitting)
You make the decision at time of purchase.
Connect30 costs ~$100 more. For that you get a stiffer, more performance designed seat and backband, and you get a true ww style full foamed bulkhead vs. the RiverTour’s footpegs and small vertical stiffener
Here is a video of a Fusion w. Connect 30:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiFJ71Fx4X4
As seen, there are no footpegs w Connect30. Instead there is a solid foamed bulkhead held by two steel L brackets to put the feet against. It’s a very sturdy, thick bulkhead. It can & will admit water into the bow if the boat is submerged - but the idea is that this additional bulkhead, plus the watertight stern compartment, will prevent the boat from sinking as deeply as a comparably-sized rec boat would.
The RiverTour boat has adjustable footpegs, and a short vertical pillar in the center of the bow. This leaves a lot of open space which would allow many gallons of water in the boat. Float bags recommended.
Here is a video of a Fusion w. RiverTour outfitting:
It’s in Spanish. the visual is good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZrlfjZmNpk&NR=1
In the Connect30 setup, one can move the foam bulkhead back (towards the paddler), slide in floatbags partially inflated, then slide the bulkhead into place & finish inflation. Equally easy to put small drybags w. gear in there. That’s how Fusion paddlers get more pack room for those weekend camping trips.
Another difference: Connect30 has a low, stiffer, adjustable performance backband, more like an IR Reggie. RiverTour has a softer backband that can be adjusted up (so it goes over the coaming) or down (beneath the coaming). It’s less robust than the Connect30, but then, that’s why it’s for flat water touring…a Connect30 package can do Class 3+, and there are expert paddlers who’ve taken them on Class 4.
ALL Fusions have a very watertight stern compartment w. a fully sealed bulkhead and Kajaksport tethered hatch cover.
Finally the Fusions are not made of traditional rotomoulded plastic. The entire boat body is PE plastic (polyethylene) which is a strong, though thinner and lighter than rotomould. This reduces the overall weight, makes for an easier carry, and keeps the boat rockin’ when it takes a knockin’
Since Amy has a RiverTour model, using float bags on either side of the pillar in the bow would be a necessity. Otherwise far too much water will get in during a capsize. Using a netted wall and clipping it to the farthest forward part of the footpegs would make a good barrier to keep the float bags from floating out.
I paddle a Fusion S w. Connect30 outfitting, and for open water I would move the bulkhead and slip some float bags in there. I’d use my Prijon Overnighters since they are a durable dual use float bag/dry bag.
Hope this helps.
rotomolded boats
Nearly all rotomolded boats are made of polyethylene, either cross-linked polyethylene, or linear polyethylene.
High density linear polyethylene is most commonly used these days because it is recyclable.
HDPE Metallocene
that’s what’s on the Pyranha website.
HDPE (1, 2, 3, 4 , 5) is recyclable
Thanks, pblanc, for making me doublecheck that.
I can tell you for sure that the plastic Pyranha is using is much, much smoother, brighter & thinner than the old generation ww boats & rec boats. Different too than the plastic Valley uses, and Corelite used by P&H in their respective seakayaks
There’s plastics then there’s plastics, as they say.
I don’t trust thinner plastic.
I haven’t examined a Fusion, but I would be concerned that they may have left the hull too floppy. It’s a big hull, so slimming the plastic is the way to save weight.
While modern HDPE has probably gained in tear resistance, I doubt that it is much stiffer than what has gone before. Only Prijon and Eskimo with their blow molded poly have an edge in stiffness, and they sometimes thin their boats too much.
I have a Dagger Animas, made originally to be a rental for REI, and it weighs 10 pounds more than a typical retail Animas. And it is so stiff, I could probably remove the front wall.
I would prefer to see Pyranha sell only Connect 30 Fusions, because that bulkhead is extra insurance against the bow collapsing and forcing the front wall against one of the paddler’s legs.
Of course, not getting pinned is one way to avoid that.
Thanks for the clarification
I actually tried figuring out exactly what was in each of these packages again earlier this afternoon based on input in that thread. I gave up, unable to be sure of anything more than the footpegs for one and equivalent in a movable bulkhead in the other outfitting.
I looked at the Pyrahnna site - again. The Fusion is clearly id’d as having two outfitting packages or something, showing up once with Connect 30 designation and under river touring with a River Tour designation.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find any explanation of what each of these designations meant on the web site, other than that the Connect 30 package seems to be more seriously white water-ey.
reoutfitting
If you have a Fusion with the river tour outfitting and want to beef it up to paddle serious whitewater it can be done.
Many whitewater kayaks had and have a central vertical foam pillar and footbraces attached to the hull sides, so there is nothing wrong with that arrangement. I would buy a piece of 3" thick minicell plank and use it to extend the short central pillar back to the cockpit. This would require careful shaping and trial fitting.
Unfortunately, typical contact cements like Weldwood set instantaneously, so they would not work to glue in a pillar since you need a little time to fudge the fit. I haven’t used it but some here have said marine Goop allows enough time to adjust position.
Flotation bags have a grommet which allows them to be secured to the boat. If you have a central foam pillar, push a piece of 1/2" ID PVC pipe through it at the appropriate position and you can thread a piece of parachute cord through it to secure a pair of small bags up in the nose.
Personally, I would probably also put a single larger bag in the stern compartment just in case the hatch cover loosened or came off.
If the plastic footpegs seem a bit wimpy, or the foot pads are small, the hole spacing in the hull may well allow them to be replaced with a pair of Yakima metal adjustable footbraces. These have large footpads and come in several different lengths. Mohawk Canoe has a pretty decent price for them.
I’ve made walls for an empty boat.
Wallbridge in Boatbuilders Manual describes how to put the hull on its seam and use a plumb bob and pencil to mark out a wall profile. Worked quite well, little additional shaping needed. But getting it properly attached inside the hull is trickier. Although little sticks to poly, if it is cleaned and lightly sanded, small pieces of minicell can be glued to the hull to keep the wall in place. One can also cut a hull bracket from aluminum or plastic and attach it to the top inside of the boat with screws, washers, gaskets and nuts. In my case, I was working on an old Kevlar kayak, so attachment could be more secure. But a wall that pushes over on one’s leg could be more of a problem than no wall at all, in some cases.
Not floppy
The Fusion’s hull doesn’t seem floppy at all.
Yes, good idea.
pblanc: "Personally, I would probably also put a single larger bag in the stern compartment just in case the hatch cover loosened or came off".
A bag in the back would be a very good idea for WW.
Good description of the difference
Good description of the difference
nope not floppy at all
it’s a whitewater boat, good for Class III into Class IV (not that I am. The boat is)BUT you need the Connect 30 option for those levels.
to illustrate:
http://cksblog.com/2009/10/nicole-mansfield-reviews-the-pyranha-fusion-river-touring-kayak/
Don’t be confused by the generic article headline “River Touring” This is the Connect30 package, not the River Tour package. How do I know? I emailed the CKS people.
BTW I bought a demo from a rep. Saw it last May when it was new, and again in September after a season’s good strong use & life traveling on a truck w. a rack. Just needed a good washing. It was 98% mint in finish & appointments.
This is a true hybrid that delivers on both flat & active water.Pyranha heritage w. P&H quality design in the skeg, and the stern bulkhead/hatch compartment. Nothing is floppy, skimpy or otherwise cheap about this boat.
Try one & see what you think.