Im going to buy an olympic sprint kayak for my daughter , I dont know anything about them and would like to hear from anyone here who knows something about them. She weighs 115 lbs, and is 15 years old with good outrigger paddling ability , wants to do some sprinting . Many mahaloz in advance for your help.....
Submitted by fuzerider on Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:39am
Theres a couple of sites you could look throug
Nelo
Plastex boats
Performance paddle
#1 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 6:14am
Hi Eric.
Simon River have an excellent line of sprint kayaks for all levels. Check with Karen Lukanovich in Toronto at
karenl@simonriversports.com
regards, dan
#2 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 6:45am
Try Epic Kayaks. They are making Sprint Kayaks with Ted Van Duesen
#3 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 8:34am
You might want to try Kayakpro for a good value.
#4 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 10:42am
Now days sprint kayaks vary only minimaly in preformance so it doest mater that much who makes them . But the most important thing to consider is do you think she can handle a racing K1 or do you want a more stable masters or veterans club versions .best to try out a few first, but also kids learn fast .
If for racing the most important factor is geting the boat in the right size as the sprint boats have very small optimal paddler weight range of only 20Lbs that is why they are made in many sizes(S,M,ML,L, or similar 60,70,80,90).
Now days Portugese Nelo is the top marque in the market ,but also quite expensive ,Best US made boats are probably Van Duesens designs made by varius makers ,but as said preformance differences are in tenths of a percent ,the differnce in size is much bigger and if you are overwieght or to light for the chosen boat the difference in speed will be big compared to a right size boat.
For starter don't vaste the money on carbon boat as the weight limit for the ICF races i quite liberal and can be achieved by fiberglass boats ,which are not that stiff so loose a tiny bit of speed
http://www.plastex.home.pl
http://www.mar-kayaks.pt
http://www.vajdamr.sk
http://www.vandusenracingboats.com
In canada you can get some cheaper hungarian boats here :
http://www.kayaksport.net/boats/index-boats.htm
Not exactly the hotest top competition designs but good enough to win for most paddlers
#5 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 11:05am
Give John Abraham a call @
www.superiorsurfsystems.com
(218) 525 1720
He is a great guy to talk to, knows about + is dedicated to getting kids in cool boats !
Skis and Sprint
Tell him I said for you to NOT mention my name .... LOL
Still waiting on the Epic Sprint kayak rudder specs too. Mine should work John.
#6 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 11:06am
She likes this one , I`m not sure I want to be seen paddling it though.
http://maineoutriggerchampionships.blogspot.com/
#7 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:01pm
That is what you could call just a right amount of gay if its for a girl or just gay if its for a you.
But other wise if you are not in similar wight range as she is it wont fith both.But dont be selfish buy one just for her.
#8 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:07pm
OK
http://maineoutriggerchampionships.blogspot.com/
#9 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:15pm
Thanks for all the input here , I really appreciate it .
Aloha ,
Fuze
http://maineoutriggerchampionships.blogspot.com/
#10 Fri, 03/21/2008 - 1:25am
Eric,
Check out Michael Fekete at www.kayaksport.net. He is in Toronto Ont. The boats are made in Hungary which many would consider the Sprint capitol of the world for Kayak/Canoe.
There are many models and builds (Glass, Kevlar, full Carbon etc) to pick from. I own two of his boats and love them. He sells Olympic class boats (very tippy) and Intermediate down to beginners models. C boats, Kayaks and Skis. Great guy to deal with and the boats are super solid and durable and very affordable compared to Plastex, Nelo etc. He sells to many clubs in the North East and West US.
Mahalo....Pittbrah :-)
#11 Fri, 03/21/2008 - 6:43am