Vanquish vs. Vintage

I was wondering if there are other guys out there that are sharing my passion striving to go as fast as their possible best and that have tried the Nelo Vanquish vs. the Vintage.



I heard good paddlers differ only 2-3 sec per 1000 meters using those boats. How much would the difference be for a 12 mile marathon?



When I bought my first surfski, I was fairly unstable in the boat but simply thought all I have to do is to paddle it. After having done so for over 1000 miles since June I don’t think about stability anymore.



I recently test paddled a Vanquish and it felt tippy but a lot saver compared to the surfski (Epic V10) when I tried it the first time. Now I wonder, if the same attitude is appropriate and if I could learn to paddle a Vanquish by simply jumping on it and keep training? Or is there simply a break point that I might face where only extra talented people can paddle the boat fast and I’m one of the others that simply cannot benefit from the runder hull because of insuficient stability?



Any help is highly appreciated!

vanquish vs vintage
If you can even keep a vanquish upright for most of the time - well, you are quite a paddler.



I’d get an honest assessment of where I was at as far as stroke development. Maybe a video session would be a good idea. If your stroke is fully developed, then the vanquish, if not, then probably the vintage.



My grapevine sources on the 2 boats say that the vintage is significantly more stable, with the vanquish a bit faster. This has the obvious benefit in “rougher” water (by k1 standards). It is near impossible to get a comparison over 12 miles - no 2 courses and paddlers are the same. Even at the national leve (US) USCA competition, there may not be much difference - especially if there is a rougher water course and or class II like there is sometimes. Now, at the World level, there would probably be a noticeable difference.


Vanquish
I’ve never paddled or even seen a Vintage. The Vanquish however is a great K1 - no doubt about it.

When borrowing my training mate’s Vanquish, I’m always left with an impression that the build quality is better than my own Vajda Supersonic.



Still even sub elite paddlers with many years of training and racing behind them find a Vanquish tricky. Not tricky to the point where they’re anywhere near to a capsize however as my trainer put it: “Here in the winter with only three weekly sessions on the water, I lack rhythm in the boat”.



Unless you’re joining some a dedicated flatwater training program, you should properly go for something slightly more stable.

hi levels of testosterone

– Last Updated: Dec-21-07 10:01 PM EST –

I moved up from a Tbolt to a Plastex Destroyer last year(same class as vanquish). What an awakening. I swam many many times, but put in many many hours, and eventually got tip proof and moderately stable in it. Two things become clear in such a boat: you must put major seat time in to advance, or even just maintain a level of comfort. And secondly, these are truly flatwater boats. I also have a Sino (stablity 2) and a Javelin (stability 3-4). I won't take the Destroyer on rivers anymore because it is so twitchy with any swirlies in the water. It is very frustrating, and you end up loosing speed. Tbolts and the new skis (V10, Mako 6, Six etc) are a world more stable. I have never paddled a Vintage, but it seams like the ultimate machine for the speed crazy paddler that does not live at training camp. Out of my three boats, I am slowest in the Plastex most of the time. And yes, I would probably trade all three of mine for one Vintage. If anyone has one anywhere near Philadelphia, I would love to try it. Cliff