Fluid Kayaks Team

All last summer I have been paddling the standard Nemesis M. Big Waves, small waves, running rivers… I was stoked on that boat! With Carbon Designs being more and more frequently seen around the Ottawa, Lachine and the other high volume runs in the area I got really hooked on the idea of what this design would be like in composite.

How much bigger could I go? How much easier and faster would it be to huck it around? How strong could it be though? I had tried composite boats before and really liked the performance of the material but never really the design of whichever I tried.
So when I got an email from David Arnaud last fall about Fluid bringing out a carbon-kevlar version of my boat I couldn’t believe it. Dream come true! I was dancing around the house!

That was the fall. With all the testing and challenges of releasing a new material, a new outfitting design and all the stuff happening behind the scenes that I have no clue about it took me until a month or two ago to actually get my hands on one of those babies. And New Zealand as creeking Mekka kept me entertained without my own playboat, too.

Oh yes, I have had it for a while now. No photos, no videos, no updates until now.
Why? Well, easy to explain. I was too busy enjoying the boat itself to be worrying about anything other than that. Well, now David asked me what I was thinking about it and here is my take. Sounds like a lot of hype but it actually is that good!!!

My first rides out I took it real easy, I wanted to take the time and figure the boat out properly.
The first spot I surfed for a longer session was Babyface on the Ottawa, an alright wave and capable of decent air and advanced tricks, however compared to others around here a little slow and not really steep at all. Whenever I had the chance I would play somewhere else in the past years.
The boat being stiffer and lighter now changed that completely. I all of a sudden had room to move around because I was way faster. The hull was looser and any change of edges would result in instant response. Everytime I’d land a trick I would find myself instantly surfing again while in plastic boats you’d often have a bit of delay due to the hull flexing on impact.
That made sticking moves easier and it also opened up bottom to bottom combos like bread and butters on this average wave possible. Stiffness also means looseness so I could spin and grind into tricks easier, linking them that way.

With less weight to move around and good edges I could use more subtle movements and the boat would still follow easily. Which not only made for cleaner and more fluid(!) tricks but also longer sessions as I wouldn’t tire out as quick.
I was so excited about the capabilities of this boat on that wave that I didn’t even bother taking it onto some of the bigger and faster features like Cornerwave or Garburator yet. I eventually did though and after figuring out how to control the speed and instant response I now had bigger tricks came easier, too. Once airborne the low weight would make the boat rotate faster allowing me to go inverted easier and finishing my tricks way snappier, too.

Another thing that pleased me was the new outfitting that came with the boat. They completely redesigned the seat, making it stronger and lighter while raising it a bit and adding support. Thanks for that, guys!

I still have my plastic boat. I know that I won’t be able to take the composite everywhere. I’ve hit a few rocks already with it and it is holding up strong but I’m doing my best to baby it. So if you see me getting into the boat it will always be a bit of an awkward dance, trying to get in in the water, no sliding off rocks like I used to. But I consider that a very small price for opening up a whole new world of playboating to me. So if you have waves or deep holes around you that allow you to take a little better care of your material try it out, you’ll be surprised!

I don’t think I’ll ever want to go back.

Thanks to Jackson Franchetto for the Babyface and Tiia Koskela for all the Garb shots.

http://bootfahrer.blogspot.com
http://www.ahoishop.de/