He DOES have red hair!
Not kidding. No goatee though. You guys are probably twins separated at birth. LOL
Funny thing too is he was just asking me about the Dagger GT’s and I told him I wasn’t too familiar with them. I’ll add that to the list of possibles.
thanks Dr. Disco
We have researched what lessons are available locally and pretty much know what classes we will be taking in the spring. Meanwhile he is shopping for gear so all the expenses won’t hit at once. We have a few months to shop for boats and he is in no hurry to commit so that’s good. I have already taken some classes but there are a couple I’d like to do again. We have both been paddling flatwater and slow rivers for awhile, me for 4 years now and him for 3 years in his SOT. But ww is a whole different ball game as you know. Should be fun, or at the very least a learning experience.
sing
I like the LL boats, too. Hubby doesn’t like the look of them. (He will soon find out what most of us have experienced - some of the ones that don’t look good to us initially turn out to be awesome boats, and vice versa!) There is an outfitter locally that lets you try boats so he will probably end up trying one at some point. Thanks for your input.
I too…
am a Big Guy. Last Summer I paddled a semi-Old School Dagger Animas and was constantly getting my butt kicked with the thin stern. (This was mostly due to size and lack of ability 
While I was on the Nantahala River I took a day and rented a Pyrana H3-255. It made a big difference. However, in September i went to Rockport in Arkansas and demo’d the Wavesport Diesel 75, the Jackson Super Hero (actually was helped in the boat by Eric Jackson himself, pretty cool!) and the Dagger Mamba 8.5 I settled on the Mamba 8.5 I am actually a few lbs over the rating but it still seems to react very well. Very stable boat with lots of stern volume.
Good luck.
Jay Boyd
Those are along the lines
of what he’s looking at, so I guess we are on the right track.
Just curious, anybody know anything about the Corsica? Somebody said is was kind of like the Pirouette only larger. Not sure who makes it… Perception?
I liked my Pirouette (while I had it, now I have a Prijon Performance). If he could get something like the Pirouette (or Corsica?) cheap, I think it would be a good start.
The Diesel
H3, Jacksons, Mamba, etc. are so expensive, even the used ones are $700 or so. Looks like we will be going with something older (and cheaper). Anybody know about the Wave Sport Godzilla? Saw one for $150 and I’m told it is for big people, but is it a creeker, river runner, or playboat?
animas
I loved my old dagger animas. Great for a 225# guy like me. I really think a 10 ft boat like the animas is better all round because you can paddle the 2 miles between the rapids much faster. The 8ft boats are good for onr thing, not for all round touring, picnics,etc. An old animas might sell for $200.
The Godzilla is a transition boat
It is definitely for bigger people. It has a semi-planing hull, which means it is sort of half way between an older displacement hull (e.g., Animas) and a newer river running playboat with a full planing hull. It is a decent boat and not a bad choice for you. It is important to keep in mind that any boat, especially an older boat will have its quirks and present different challenges to someone starting out. Learning good paddling technique is very important. For example, posture in the boat makes a huge difference. If you keep an aggressive forward posture in the Godzilla it will handle nicely. But get lazy and start to lean back you can easily catch an edge. This is true of many river running boats.
update
We are now looking seriously at a Chopper (only problem is 6 hours each way drive time) and possibly a Pyranha H3 255. Rocker has been ruled out for now, and we also found a Dagger Freefall (anybody know about that one?) that seems like it might work.
Found a Prijon Cross that might work, but again, a long drive. Looked at the numbers on the Dagger Animas (as someone suggeested) but haven’t found a photo of it yet.
By the way, he says he is about 220 now, lost some weight when he became a vegetarian and will probably lose some more.
Donna
Don’t mention the Animas around
Dr. Disco. He had one when he was not fully competent, and so he hated it.
That’s good info
My husband is certainly what you would call “not fully competent” in terms of ww paddling, so the Animas is probably not for him. My first ww kayak was a Dagger Redline, and that d#%@ thing nearly turned me off ww paddling forever. IMO, the right boat makes all the difference, especially when starting out.
Actually
I thought the Animas was fine when I was starting out and didn’t know any better. The more I learned the less I liked it. After I had a chance to paddle better boats I immediately sold it to some poor unsuspecting soul. He still has it even though he has been trying to dump it for over a year. Are you interested?
I have an Animas. Certainly not as good
as a Prijon Athlete, but much more room for my size 15 feet. The Pirouette is a better boat on a slalom course, but less comfortable once I get all the way in.
Except for the Athlete, design evolution on long, fast plastic boats pretty much stopped, as you say, with the Godzilla.
Saw Godzilla in Spanish on Telemundo. Made more sense in Spanish.
LOL Let me guess
who you sold it to! G2D perhaps?
I think the Athlete is a cool looking boat but I never understood from reading the literature whether it was only intended for extremely advanced paddlers, or if it’s kind of a Pirouette-like kayak only a tad edgier.
It would have sharp handling and
good speed. Probably not as forgiving as a Pirouette, but much more Porsche like in its handling. I really wanted one, but even after extracting most of the cockpit outfitting and the bulkhead, I was too tightly shoehorned into the cockpit for long term comfort. Also, the best weight for the Athlete is about 175, with a top practical weight of about 200, so it really can’t handle my current weight (220). Even my Animas is a bit overloaded at that weight.
Wave sport Godzilla
I am inexperienced in ww kayaking, though I’ve been paddling rec and sea kayaks for about five years. I bought a Wavesport Godzilla from a neighbor because the price was right. I bought it late in the fall, and only had a few chances to take it out yet. But I would say that it would fit a person your husband’s size pretty well. The guy I bought it from was bigger than that. Disco’s comments about an aggressive lean forward being required seem like very good advice for this rookie. I have found that if I’m not careful, it will do an unintended 180 on me. It did not come with a backband, and I got one for Christmas. Just installed it, and it appears this will keep me leaning further forward.
In any case, on the issue of fit, the Wavesport Godzilla should fit well. If you find one cheap, it may be the way to go.
Pay no attention to G2d…
He’s a friend of mine and, therefore, completely unreliable.
Wait.
You’re a friend of mine also.
Geeze I get so confused.
What’s the latest on the Chopper?
latest on Chopper
Hi Rick,
If I could help Doug with the 6.5 hour drive (each way) it would be easier, but with Sherlock needing meds every 6 hours, Doug would have to do go alone and I don’t much like that.
We told the Chopper guy we want it, but need to work out the details of getting it here. Rich (DCC) might be going to Bryson City next weekend and if so, Chopper guys says he’s “always up for a trip to the Nanty” so if those two can hook up, it makes it a heck of a lot easier on us. I told Rich I’d be happy to compensate him - with plenty of Ron’s beer. LOL
The Chopper (with no center pillar) should allow enough leg room for him, and it’s a fairly long boat… I’m optimistic that we can get it here and that it will be a good fit for him.
Thoughts?
Donna
Sounds good…
…maybe I could breakaway and go along with him.
Let’s see what happens and maybe I can work it out.
Fitting advice
I looked at the same options, on paper, and tested a few in the showroom. For comparison, I’m 6’3", 230ish (lost some, gained some, trying to lose more, thus the “ish”), 40 waist, long legs.
I found all the Prijon models you mentioned to be a real tight fit for my wide backside and the deck cut into my thighs badly on the Chopper. The Embudo was the closest to fitting. I couldn’t get my hands on a Dagger Mambo 8.5, so no comment on it. I didn’t try the Jacksons because I was specifically interested in a creek or all-around boat and the Jackson’s I looked at were mostly play boats.
I selected and purchased a Diesel 75. I fit in pretty easily and found that after sitting in it for a while actually became MORE comfortable rather than less. I haven’t had much opportunity to paddle it, but have enjoyed the few times I’ve been out.
I wouldn’t worry much about him not liking the boating if you purchase a used boat because you’ll likely be able to sell a boat for close to what you paid for it and not be out too much in the long run.
Remember to set aside a bit for a decent paddle and PFD and helmet.
- Big D