I belong to a club on the US East Coast and we are looking at purchasing some additional OC6s. Does anyone have any input on the Calmar OC6 in BC? How does it steer, good for distance or sprint, best conditions for top performance? General quality comments?
Openocean provided me with some nice input but I was wondering if anyone else out there could comment.
And yes, I did a search on Calmar before I ask this question to make sure we hadn't coverd this topic. LOL
frosso
Submitted by frosso on Thu, 04/12/2007 - 7:28am
Mirage, Bradley and Force 5 are all better boats. I'd rather paddle in an old Malia, frankly.
#1 Thu, 04/12/2007 - 2:19pm
Jaimagus (aka Jim),
Curious why you would rather paddle a Malia? Tradition? I have paddled and steered Malias, Bradleys, Force 5s, Mirages and the Advantage. I have also paddled in a Koa boat a few times, and of all of these boats the Malia is my least favorite (with the Advantage a close second). Lateer, J
#2 Thu, 04/12/2007 - 3:56pm
The Canadian Class Racer (CCR) is/was built by Calmar Fibreglass of N. Vancouver, BC. The story I heard (might just be a rumor) is they took a "skin" off a Hawaiian Class Racer (HCR), raised the height of the gunnels and widen the opu so it could carry heavier crews. So to answer your original question it's a modified/improved HCR. Being an earlier design, as Jim mentioned above, the Mirage, Bradley and Force are way better boats BUT I wouldn't go as far as saying a Malia is better. When I started paddling in the early 1970's we only had Malia's. Any boat over 39'-6" was faster than a Malia. Since we bought our 2nd Mirage, our 2 Calmars have been relegated to training boats. For distance races our 3rd/4th crew also have to use the Calmars.
In the mid 1990's when PNWORCA first started, it was virtually impossible to get reasonably priced canoes in the Pacific Northwest. Our first year of racing, we were a mixed bag of canoes. There were a couple of IPCF boats from the 1992 World Sprints, several old Malia's from BC, a HCR and one Bradley. In 1996 or 1997 Calmar contacted us and made us an offer we (PNWORCA clubs) couldn't refuse. Between the Washington and Oregon clubs I'd venture to guess there are 30 Calmars total. If it weren't for Calmar, there is no ways PNWORCA would have the number of clubs we have today. I have no idea how many Calmar's are in CORA. Unfortunately for the CCR, all the clubs have Bradley's or Mirages.
If you're looking to be competitive, go for a Mirage or Bradley. If you're looking for a good training boat that will help you get your paddlers in the water which will in turn help you build up your canoe program, you can't go wrong with a Calmar.
Hope this helps.
#3 Thu, 04/12/2007 - 5:05pm
we've put the puffy ama on a couple of our older calmars, and they work quite well. brings up the performance of the old hulls a notch or two.
#4 Tue, 01/18/2011 - 12:15am