Aloha from the DDay beaches !
My name is Pascal, 39. I'm from Normandy in France. First of all, I was very pleased to discover your website. Thanks
I am not yet an OCpaddler. I 'd need your advice, please. I 'd like to use or a surski or an OC1 for spearfishing and fitness first.
Please, could you tell me iff a surski is stable enough to use it for spearfishnig ?
What are the advantages using an OC1 (fast, stable, etc) versus surfski ?
What are the best places to try and/or buy an OC1 and/or surfski in France or in Europe ?
Thanks in advance for all your replies
Pascal
Submitted by pascal on Sat, 05/12/2007 - 8:21am
Hello Pascal
It all depends on what kind of surf ski you are thinking of. In Australia, a racing ski (usually 18ft long and NOT very stable) would not be suitable for spearfishing, but great for fitness. An OC1 would be better, because the outrigger gives super stability and is great for fitness too, but there is no allowance in current designs (at least here in Australia) for the kind of OC1 that would have storage compartments etc to aid in doing other activities like fishing. I am thinking what might suit best is some kind of sea kayak. There is a huge variety of designs available, but they are very stable, and some are fitted out specifically to do other activities like fish etc. Hope that helps Pascal.
Janita K
Queensland
Australia
#1 Sat, 05/12/2007 - 9:11pm
If you want a kayak to dive off of, forget the oc-1 or surfski. They are hard enough to paddle without a mask, fins, speargun, weightbelt, spare speargun, knife, back up threeprong, and of course a 100 pound ulua. Just not gonna happen. Go to the gallery in this link and search kayaks. There's some pics of some kayaks with fish.
http://www.hawaiiskindiver.com/
Poops on u
#2 Sat, 05/12/2007 - 9:39pm
Pascal - have to agree with the others, the sea kayaks are the "pack-horses" you want for fishing/diving off. They are made to carry heaps of gear, and remain stable and easy to paddle. but if you want some fun.... an OC1 is probably the best compromise! (surf ski´s are not as easy to modify for doing anything other than having fun surfing!).
I think there are some being made in Spain (Canary Islands?), that you can try, otherwise I know there are importers in germany - a quick google search should sort you out.
#3 Mon, 05/14/2007 - 1:44am
Thanks for all you comments! Actually, I know quite well the sea kayaks? I had few of them and the last one was a Prowler 15. But they are all heavy and not very fast even if they cab carry a lot. And paddling in a 5 or 7 mm wetsuit without fastness, it is a real sport.....
That is why I was thinking of a OC1 but they are difficult to find in Europe to test them. There is Watergear with the HYPR or All wave and DDB Strat a French
So I am still searching for a test.
#4 Mon, 05/14/2007 - 1:12pm
Pascal, an oc-1 is no better than a srufski to haul diving gear. Its a trade-off. You need the sea kayaks for stability and space. An oc-1 is made strictly for speed and nothing else. It is still pretty unstable and cannot haul gear.
If you find something fast that is stable and can haul gear you better get a patent on it cause you gonna get rich.
Poops
#5 Mon, 05/14/2007 - 1:50pm
allwave team
hi pascal,
you can try our canoes in biarritz, ludovic Dolou can help you.
www.oceanoutrigger.com
ciao
#6 Tue, 05/15/2007 - 2:00am
Pascal,
You could use an OC-1. Rig the Ama as stable as possible (depending on the boat) add a few pounds to an Iako for added stability or even add a net between Iakos for your fishing gear. It's doable once you plan it out. Yes the boats made for racing are not meant to be super stable and are made for speed but that does not mean you can't make it stable. Adding as little as 2 pounds to an Iako makes a huge stability difference.
Personally if I was going to fall off any boat in the ocean, sea or a lake I'd rather it was an OC because they are much easier to get back into than a Kayak or Ski.
Good luck with your choice,
Pittbrah
#7 Tue, 05/15/2007 - 3:31am
Pittbrah, have you ever use a kayak for diving? I'm just curious cause in my own mind, with all the gear that you need for diving, it seems pretty impossible to rig an oc-1 for it. I could be wrong but its just seems like its not gona happen.
Ok I'm done with this one..
Poopsie
#8 Tue, 05/15/2007 - 10:02am
I agree with poopoo
Do what I do... Have a ski or 1-man (or both) for the workout AND a good SOT plastic kayak for use as a freediving platform. Both ski and 1-man are not practical to use as a spearfishing platform. Go to any major spearfishing comp. - You will not see a single competitor with anything other than a kayak (usually plastic, but sometimes 'glass) with hatches. Yes, you could probably rig something to work, but why?? Additionally, modern ski's and OC's are fragile compared to a plastic SOT. Taking abuse as a dive platform is not one of the design parameters.
My 2 cents
#9 Wed, 05/16/2007 - 9:32am
Pascal
No contest, go for a fishing ski. The south african guys have developed huge range. They are fast enough trawl off, got hatches, dry and fish hatches. Cheaper than racing skis and OC1. Youll feel lot more confortable gearing up on these crafts.
Also you wont feel bad riveting additional hocks or gadgets to your ski for you diving.
Have a look a this site.
Fishing skis
I can send you a price list, or contact brett at the site.
#10 Tue, 05/06/2008 - 9:26am
Salut Pascal,
Marcus here from Watergear.de in Bremerhaven, Germany. Ok it is not so close to your door :- ) but we got maybe the right Canoe for you. We carry the whole Outrigger Connection line, The Hurricane and also the Pegasus are ready for a testdrive in our local waters.
Test all the Canoes and find the right one for you without any hasle.
Take care
#11 Tue, 05/06/2008 - 10:04am
guess Im in the minority.....as usual....but I think the outrigger is the perfect platform for fishing. In fact, I'd venture to guess that it even has a bit of history as a fishing boat....wink, wink.
True, the current oc1's are designed exclusively for competitve paddling, but I think that the concept is viable. It may be a matter of modifying an existing oc1 (see eckharts post in http://www.ocpaddler.com/node/3530 for ideas) or starting from scratch. In either case, a large volume ama that sat out far enough to allow room to paddle on the left but still have a hammock style net to carry gear as well as hatches in the ama and the canoe. Seems like a killer idea to me.
#12 Tue, 05/06/2008 - 11:29am
Some tahitians use their V1 for fishing. With our open cockpit design, there is plenty of room under your seat or next to your feet for your gear and for fishes caught...
#13 Tue, 05/06/2008 - 10:06pm
Depending on the species & size of fish you're hunting, an OC1 could make a real decent craft. There's not much freeboard on these things but you could get creative with minicel foam to build a decent lightweight platform behind the cockpit for your kit. As you've had experience with kayaks you no doubt have some experience outfitting boats to your needs (attachment rivets, etc...). OC1's are built generally to win races, so they are light and not as durable (although more seaworthy than they appear). As stated, you could make a rack for the gun on the outriggers (iaku's) or on top of pontoon (ama). Ensure that you get biggest craft available since you'll be adding lots of weight to boat with gear. If you're a minimalist spearo going for medium sized fish that shouldn't be too much weight. You could mount a fishbox behind cockpit for your catch. If your a bluewater hunter shooting big fish and going for Nantucket Sleighride's, then OC1 probably not a good choice. Good hunting.
#14 Wed, 05/07/2008 - 7:33am
Pascal-
While some people here have decent arguments for using your OC1 to fish, I gotta side with the guys who are against it. A Scupper-style plastic kayak is much better. If for not the reasons previously stated than for this: If spearfishing in France is like spearfishing in other places ie:Hawaii, East Coast USA, etc., then alot of times the best launch spots are really rocky. A plastic kayak can be dragged over rocky terrain, that is one of their benefits. A composite OC-1 cannot be handled like this. Especially think about when you come out with all your gear, fish,etc., what is the first thing you do? Drag you boat up the rocks to a safe area so you can offload your stuff. You could do it with an OC1, but you'd always need somebody else to help you shuttle stuff while one person holds the boat in the water, you'd have to take your fins off to carry the OC1 out, which would be hard to do on a sandy beach with the fatigue of diving 3-4+ hours, can you imagine on a rocky shoreline?
Go to your local classifieds, find a cheap used scupper for $200-400USD, hook up with some OC1 paddlers in your area or a distributor and really try out the sport to see if you like it before you drop the big bucks.
PS- Love Normandy-style French cuisine. I went to Le Cordon Bleu for culinary school, my head Chef Instructor was from Normandy, used alot of Calvados in our recipes!
#15 Wed, 05/07/2008 - 11:59am
Found this. Could be what you're looking for. You can even DIY if you don't need the solar cells and the motor.
http://www.solarpoweredkayak.com/
#16 Sat, 05/10/2008 - 2:24pm
for diving you want a nice kayak.
you gotta think about everything your gonna take and plus the fish.
#17 Sat, 05/10/2008 - 6:12pm
me and my boy fish spearfish,dive,fish,eat,live out of seahawk double waka ama .Its got a large hatch behind each paddler.Its way more stable than any kayak Ive owned and some of these were 850 wide.Its no racer and has alot more displacement than the sprint ones we use but we smoke the kayak boys all the time.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5978/doublewakatw1.png
#18 Sat, 05/10/2008 - 8:09pm
That solar powered kayak is no outrigger canoe , with a 12 volt battery in the "ama" good luck recovering from a huli with that thing.
http://maineoutriggerchampionships.blogspot.com/
#19 Sun, 05/11/2008 - 12:48am
With the weight of that platform+outrigger+battery... seems it's not likely to huli ! And the guy never said he wanted nothing but an outrigger canoe... he was even thinking of a surfski.
mauiboy_downunder, where did you get that V2 ? Who made it ?
#20 Sun, 05/11/2008 - 7:54pm
i think this is one and the same... no V2 though.
http://mauikanu.co.nz/
#21 Mon, 05/12/2008 - 11:58am
I saw that last week while paddling.
It looks ridiculous (IMO) but perfect for fishing.
The guy told me he was faster than regular plastic kayak!?!!
Legs are much stronger than arms was the argument.
The system works with 2 kind of paddle under the boat (no propeller)
http://www.paddlinglife.net/uploads/HobieMirageresize.jpg.JPG
#22 Wed, 08/06/2008 - 9:08pm