Anyone paddle one yet?!! Any in the Pacific Northwest? Very very cool concept…
ah…
Salty-i know of NONE in the US…
i will tell you that there is a boating dealer/rep in your neck of the woods who had the chance to get one for a demo…but he turned it down…drop a line back side of the forum and i will see if i can dig up his name again…i can forward you some more info i have acquired as well…
on another note-mine hit NYC yesterday…should be on the car on the way home by monday…pictures will VERY VERY soon Follow!
r
Thanks
check the conversion rate
from Brit pounds to US dollars.
£599.00 currently = $1,184.16
ooo!
damn!
that was an expensive typo
Cheaper Than My Waveski
The rockhopper is a niche boat. For those into it, it ain’t bad at all. Most brand new ww boats are in the $900 plus range. Brand new plastic Mega or Valley surf kayaks are in the price range of the RockHopper.
Not bad at all.
sing
This is the kind of boat
that would interest the WW crowd, or the young athletes who want some thrill. I’d like to get one. I’ve wanted that type of boat for a long time…ever since I did a sea tour in an old Groovey surf kayak…kept up and had a blast!
that does not take into consideration
shipping etc…
or if you want the shiny stainless steel fins!!! }
For what it’s worth,
I saw one in the UK and it came over to the PNW, but to whom I do not know. The boat went for a ride in either a Valley or a Nigel Dennis container, so shipping should not be that bad.
You may want to post a review request on the UK paddling site:
www.ukseakayakguidebook.co.uk
If I’m not mistaken there may be a review already in their archives. I completely agree with the notion that certain sea paddling and boats serve as a wakeup call to the young lions in our midst that the sea is a mighty place to play, though often unforgiving.
Dogmaticus
my homework:
there are three posts (that i could find after much searching) on the uk guidebook that refer to the RH…and one article on there that Julian wrote about a diver rescue while in an rh340…
Douglass Wilcox-the scottish paddling photographer-has a pair of them…loves them…he wrote up an article for paddle that he sent me…he is one of the people i have spoken to about these boats…
there are no real formal reviews of it that i can possibly find…save Douglass’…
the one that Nick Cuncliffe worte up that is on bluesky’s blog was of a composite prototype…
i had heard a rumour that one was here but the manufacturer disavowed any knowledge of it…
uncertain-no bother either way…
cannot wait…jsut got the call-i can pick it up @7am monday…
r
update
well…my RH is sitting in the basement right now…while of course i am at work…
first impressions:
-webbing carry handles are too tight…i could barely fit my hand in them…might be able to get a biner from a tow system in there-def not that quickly though…
-kajaksport hatch on the stern…
-small EVA foamy backband-looks nice…
-fins are smaller than i thought (probably a good thing-not 6" deep ony about 2-3")
-pretty standard seat that i will have to foam to get comfy…
-nice deep thigh hooks…
-i am planning on adding a deck line of some sort since there is none…
-skeg control on the left hand side-there is a little extra wire or maybe it is just a loose skeg since there forms a small “bubble” of wire below the slider when it moves…
these are mentioned before i have even SAT in it…lunch time had better come soon…
more later on…
rob
paddler size?
When you post the more in depth review please let us know what size paddler will fit in this boat and what boat the cockpit dimension/feel is comparable too.
The last thing I need is another boat but the Rockhopper looks like it would be so much fun.
Fin Boxes – Standard Long Boxes…
– Last Updated: Apr-16-07 12:37 PM EST –
I would hope... 2-3" would just enough bite on smaller waves... for a small guy like me, or you want a loose line on the wave. 3-3.5" would be the usual. Do you use 6" fins? Heck, that's true long board size in a 2+1 config! Must be horrible for a launching/landing.
sing
let ya know
stainless steel…i grew up in a machine shop
r
OK finally something exciting on PNET
You have got to post a review and pics.
Maybe I’ll start an importing business.
Yup…
All the wringing that goes on here about minor variations to a theme. You get something truly different and it’s almost like, “huh…?”
sing
Honestly…
Composite fins do just fine. It may wear but it won’t bend. I’ve been making flex fins with HDPE. Also wears quicker but not a prob with waveski launching in deeper water. Has a slingshot feel on some quick cutbacks. Also can flex and actually lose grip sometimes on really steep faces. Maybe need bigger. Anyway, let me know what the fin boxes are. If it’s standard long box, great. More fin options and ability to adjust fins fore and aft. If propietary, like Lokbox, that would kinda suck, I think.
sing
sing
ahh…
yeah sing…there are no finboxes…
there are places to put in two screws…into brass nuts sunk into the plastic…was looking at fin boxes already…
i know that they used to sell glass fins through MEGA for this boat…but now they are only stainless…
r