Canoe suggestions for 6'7" tall 245 lb novice paddler

never paddled or actually even seen one...but what about the kai wa'a arcturus??

#2 Tue, 01/30/2007 - 8:11pm

recommendations? Train hard.

#4 Wed, 01/31/2007 - 7:32am

The fuze, fusion, polaris, vantage, stingray, viper, hurricane, makia, waveblade, pahoa, kaimana, naia, naia iki, pegasus, mantra, (did I forget any?) are all good choices.

#6 Wed, 01/31/2007 - 2:09pm

I am getting sick of POOPOOPADDLER and others slagging every legitimate question novice paddlers have before they drop 3 grand on a canoe....... give it a rest....

#8 Wed, 01/31/2007 - 8:44pm

We have a 6' 8'' 250 Lb oc1 paddler in our club and he finds a pegusus ideal and he is top 5 in the results most races. Watching him surf on the pegusus, he does not pearl the nose of the canoe and is able to place the canoe where he wants it on a wave. With his huge strength and leverage he only needs one or two strokes to pull into a trough.

When i paddle next to him i take two strokes to his one. ( I'm 5'9'' and 155Lb) In a flat water time trial (1 hr) he beats me by 2:30. My goal is to find a way of improving the 5% i need to match him. Difficult task as he is a lean 28 year old and me a lean 53 yo.

Sorry to go off topic but a pegusus works for him, ideal volume and good leg room. See attached photo of him on the pegusus

Cheers Rambo

#10 Wed, 01/31/2007 - 10:21pm

slag (slāg) Pronunciation Key
The vitreous mass left as a residue by the smelting of metallic ore. It consists mostly of the siliceous and aluminous impurities from the iron ore.

slag1 /slæg/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[slag] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, slagged, slag·ging.
–noun
1. Also called cinder. the more or less completely fused and vitrified matter separated during the reduction of a metal from its ore.
2. the scoria from a volcano.
3. waste left over after the re-sorting of coal.
–verb (used with object)
4. to convert into slag.
5. Metallurgy. to remove slag from (a steel bath).
–verb (used without object)
6. to form slag; become a slaglike mass.

slag2 /slæg/
–noun
British Slang. an abusive woman.

slag'gy adj.
slagged, slag·ging, slags
To change into or form slag.

just goes to prove, you say any word enough, and it gets kinda funny. sorry to get off subject, but the slag caught my eye.

that guy is a freakin monster in those pictures. sweet.

#12 Wed, 01/31/2007 - 10:48pm

You know what I'M getting sick of? Those stupid bulls&*t pieces of Chinese manufactured plastic garbage that Mr. Kellogg and his ilk continually try to pass off as the "toy suprise inside!" of my Cocoa Puffs. Take me back to the old days when we used to have quality products, like secret decoder rings and baking soda-powered submarines.

But seriously, if you go out and spend three G's (or more!) on something that someone on the World-Wide Waste of time told you is cool, then you're a bigger retard than I thought. Try out what's available in your area, and make your decision based on that. (For the millionth time!) As the photographic and results-based evidence proves, if you're comfortable in it, and you train hard, you can win (or fit) on anything.

...and yes, you lucky bast&*ds, this advice was free. (But I AM accepting donations.)

GOTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS - I will try to find a pic - there's a 6'10" guy in my club who can paddle just about anything (and crank!) Pacific NW paddlers, you know who I'm talking about!

PPS - Go, MPI paddling!

#14 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 9:35am

Interesting gaggle of opinions from presumably dimunitive paddlers of questionable pedigree. Lots of chatter obscuring a well-intentioned question from an earnest novice seeking constructive advice. Let me tell you, the average sized paddlers that excel on any canoe don't face the same challenges those 6'7 and up are forced to confront. The boat manufacturers don't account for our unusual length, and the center of gravity is often compromised when configured to fit us. There is not a single 1-man racer in Hawaii over 6'6 and 240 lbs that is in the top-20 ever...
Willpower, fitness levels, etc., can't overcome the design of certain boats intended for smaller paddlers (fuze, hurricane, naia iki, etc.) if you are 6'7 245. Al Lipp and Mike Giblin are the fastest big men on Hurricanes, but they are several inches and 50 lbs. short of our inquiring novice friend from the big island.
As a long time fan of the website, and first time forum contributor, it would be nice to see more constructive and informative input, and less ignorant sass directed towards new paddlers looking for some advice from those who might have some knowledge to contribute.
Soapbox dismount commencing, happy paddling to all!

#16 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 4:18pm

Bigjed, although its a downward spiral of ignorance at times, it's QUALITY "sass." It's entertaining and as an American, I demand to be entertained, specifically with sarcastic wit at someone else's expense.

#18 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 5:43pm

Hey, you know what I think is funny? (just my opinion...) When people who like to "stay on topic" get all futless 'cause others are being too "sassy" for them.

If anyone reading this thread is feeling a little futless right now, let me know - I got plenty of futs I can share.

fut, GOTO

#20 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 6:34pm

and so the insults begin

"presumably dimunitive paddlers of questionable pedigree" do i hear a challenge? did someone just throw the old gauntlet? no one else here felt the need to insult or degrade someone's paddling ability.

"Are you still in highschool?" as a high schooler, i take it personally that you imply high schoolers are of poor character. There are some pretty fast high schoolers now aday. They would probably spank most everyone in a one man. Myself included.

i still say the guy in the picture is huge. perhaps someone tall needs to design a boat for tall people, then sell it. kind of a niche market, but you never know...

Yes e02060, as an american, i too demand to be entertained.

#22 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 7:29pm

oops

#24 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 10:51pm

wow...that went downhill pretty fast...all those poor people out there who actually want to know about a good boat for tall people have to sort through all this crap...bummer...but on the other hand...all the short people out there are now entertained....oh... and the best boat period...jc-9 sorry to bring up the best boat topic again...but the kaimana wins hands down...now we can get some real controversy going...

#26 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 8:40pm

interesting theory about the increasing volume of a "v" hull. although it would seem that the rounded hull would have the same effect. esp. since the more you sink it, the farther in the round portion of the hull would go. i always asumed that the vee type hull got it's speed from the fact that it could have a longer narrower waterline. that, and i figured a narrow nose would expose less area to friction on the bow, or "push" less water. keizo, the resident engineer, must have some thoughts on this...

#28 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 9:01pm

That's true JC9_0, for bow and stern wave drag, but the round hull offers less surface area friction over a Vee hull.

Cheers Rambo

#30 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 9:51pm

Let me point something out. I've been accused of giving sass, bored with my little life, stupid, being of dimunitive pedigree (that was an interesting one) and wasting everyone's time. But EVERY SINGLE "serious" suggestion of a boat for vytas524 was given in my second post, with the excpetion of the Thunder. So who's wasting time now?

Poops

#32 Thu, 02/01/2007 - 10:26pm

Guess what "bigjed",
There's been plenty of tall paddlers from Hawai'i. Rich Lambert of Lanikai came in 3rd in the Solo on a Naia in 96. Not to mention Bo Eastabrooks, who could beat just about anyone on his Thunder back then. Both of these guys are over 6'7''. Ask your boy Al Lipp, who, by the way, can paddle just about anything pretty well. So Goto is right on with his somewhat smart assed remarks. What's your Pedigree anyway? Are you a horse or something?
Love, Jim.
P.S. Everyone knows all the great paddlers come from Punahou and Kalaheo...only Mid-packers care about ILH paddling anyhoo!

#34 Fri, 02/02/2007 - 5:29am

jc9, I meant no one cares about High School paddling in general, except for mid-packers, since it's the only thing they can dominate. The Lanikai Elementary All-Stars would smoke the best guys in MPI history.

#36 Fri, 02/02/2007 - 8:52am

The Lanikai Elementry Allstar team would, without a doubt, smoke any other elementry allstar team imaginable...good point Jamigus!

#38 Fri, 02/02/2007 - 11:04am

are you talking in their prime, and in what venue? some of the best guys from MPI in their prime paddled for the US national and world teams. that said, i was never in that league, i'm just talking about guys who are WAY better than me, so i'll just shut up now.

even goto kicked my ass, but i still blame that on the pink boat i was paddling.

in a molokai race though the lanikai guys would be tough to beat any year.

#40 Fri, 02/02/2007 - 11:42am

no one mentioned the Ono either.

#42 Fri, 02/02/2007 - 4:27pm

6'5, 210 lbs, Nov A

my thoughts: try every boat you can; that is somewhat limited in my experience as you want to have a boat right now, so time is short; but you'll get to paddle two or three different boats easily.

Think about buying a cheaper boat; you may want to upgrade within a year or once you realize what you feel comfortable with.

6'7 and 245 lbs is not close to the general standard for oc1 - probably up to 6'0 and 200 lbs max for the larger boats.

The trim of the boat will be an issue as you will likely sit behind the sweet spot.
The weight may break a boat that is too small - a builder mentioned this, I have not heard of it actually happening.
Leg space is an issue; you will sit with knees pointing up in the air - that will reduce stability. It also puts quite some pressure on your sit bones, your thighs don't rest on anything, long distance that may be a real problem >2:30 hours or so.

One of the major differences in the boats is the width of the beam. Usually they are either 14'' - 'small' boats, or 15'' - larger boats. The resistance has the width in the second power times length of waterline.
14 x 14 = 196 versus 15 x 15 = 225, that is a difference of ~ 12.5 %.

I guess that is the single most important factor. Of course when it comes to surfing ability of the boat other issues matter.

My first year I paddled a larger boat - 15'' beam width, now I am paddling a 14'' beam width 'small' boat. Much less resistance per stroke, I like it quite a bit. No problem except for more challenges with stability.
Thus I think that even a 6'7 person can paddle one of the smaller boats; as per the weight - ther are some smaller paddlers a little overweight, they still do quite well.

Legspace: I am just building a model for an alternative footwell as I want to move forward on my boat. I hope to improve the trim of the boat that way - the rear of my boat is very close to the water surface. I actually like the Naia iki deck/footwell design and hopefully I can mimick that. It's a single footwell. Will that improve the performance of the boat ? Maybe , maybe not, it just seems reasonable to try.

For 6'7 I would ask for a custom made solution; as you all know, some builders have different deck models for different size people. But I would spend 6 months paddling on a boat that is available, brand doesn't matter, and find out how much you like it, which conditions you paddle in most of the time etc, etc - the usual time on the water thing. You will hear enough about all types of boats to make up your mind as time goes by.

Aloha

#44 Sat, 02/03/2007 - 8:50pm

Trim:

From the internet:
Mark your boat with short, thick, horizontal lines with a marker .5' apart - one below the other, around the expected water line - at the bow, after one quater, in the middle, after three quaters and towards the end.

Then you go into flat water and paddle at race speed.

On every pass, move your seating position a bit. Have someone take pictures.

After that you compare the pictures and where you have to sit to come close to the intended waterline/ best trim.
You also look at the wave patterns that you generate in each position.

Once you decided where your sweet spot is, you just try how the boat behaves in different conditions.

It is quite dificult/impossible to have a good leg drive while your knees are bent too much. I haven't heard about leg drive that much among OC paddlers, while it is considered extremely important in kayaking or rowing.
The reason maybe that here surfing/down wind runs are considered the 'true art' of OC 1 paddling and you probably need leg drive a little less for that.

#46 Sun, 02/04/2007 - 10:17am