I'm eyeing a used Wave Blade OC1. Can't find much of anything written about it on the 'net. Any opinions or first-hand experiences? I'm 6'0", 180 lbs, and I don't race.
Mahalo.
Submitted by Eldo Rado on Fri, 05/31/2013 - 4:08pm
I'm eyeing a used Wave Blade OC1. Can't find much of anything written about it on the 'net. Any opinions or first-hand experiences? I'm 6'0", 180 lbs, and I don't race.
Mahalo.
Submitted by Eldo Rado on Fri, 05/31/2013 - 4:08pm
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The Wave Blade was the second of 3 iterations of a great design. The first canoe was originally designed by the late Tommy Conner, and was a surfing machine. Later Steve Blyth bought the mold from Tommy, and after about a year, in 1998, he narrowed it a bit and made the Wave Blade, which kept its surfing ability, but also added some needed flatwater speed. Kai Bartlett modified the Wave Blade into the highly successful Polaris somewhere around 2000.
The one thing about the Wave Blade is that it is a fixed seat canoe, so if it fits you, great, if not, you're out of luck.
#1 Fri, 05/31/2013 - 4:39pm
Thanks, that's very helpful. I'm going to check it out tomorrow to see if it fits. At $1,000, the price seems right if it's in good shape.
#2 Fri, 05/31/2013 - 8:21pm
Good luck, that seems pretty reasonable depending on the condition of the boat, and if you're anywhere where there are bumps, that old design can still surf!
#3 Sat, 06/01/2013 - 2:54am
Thee canoe was in pristine conditon. But it was too narrow for my pelvis - no foam seat so I'd be sitting on the hard surface and the small gunwales on either side would be digging into my butt. My loss.
Will keep looking...
#4 Sat, 06/01/2013 - 3:18pm
Some people glued foam sheets (i.e. exercise/sleeping mat) into the seat pocket of the Waveblade for comfort. Some places have a seat shaped 1 inch foam padding that has a sticker backing to put in the seat area for a surfski, kayak that can fit in the Waveblade pocket.
Never had any discomfort paddling a Waveblade with the hard seat pocket. It was just the same as paddling in a six man canoe.
Another option is to wear some neoprene shorts (Excel, Body Glove) under your board shorts or board shorts from Excel that have padding in the seat just for canoe paddling.
#5 Sun, 06/02/2013 - 4:17am
Not sure how to post a link to a Vimeo video titled : Vintage paddling footage (flyingcanoefilm) featuring the Wave Blade
#6 Sun, 06/09/2013 - 3:45pm
Mahalo for the tip j.outpaddlin, for found this on Vimeo:
Anyway, regarding "iterations," credit must be given to Dean Hayward who developed the Holua surfski, which Tom made and later tweaked it by pinching in the nose and lengthening it to become his '88 C-Ski, which he sold the mold to Wilder Canoe and Kayak when he came out with his all time famous '91 C-Ski. Prior to the Holua, Dean also developed his MX or Molokai Xpress surfski in the early 80's. Just wanted to point out the role surfskis played in the development of "one-mans" as they were initially called.
#7 Mon, 06/10/2013 - 10:55pm
Surfskis and kayaks definitely had a lot to do with the early one man designs. I think Tommy's fastest canoe was the Cutlass, and that was reported to be based on a K-1 hull. It was light years ahead of the other boats of its day (1997 or so) in the flat, and did fairly well in the surf.
#8 Tue, 06/11/2013 - 2:52am