Fluid Kayaks Team

After the Outdoor Retailer show, Natalie and I found ourselves transporting a Detox Large to the Colorado rep, Dan Glauser. For those that know us, it should be no surprise that we stopped off at the mwave for a couple days before actually delivering the boat, and while we were there, this funny thing happened where I got all confused and thought I'd try playboating in the Detox. The bright colors must have messed with my head.

Once I seal launched into the canal, the frigid waters cleared my head and I realized where I was. I warmed up with a couple launches, figuring that the extra hull speed of the Detox would help me shoot across the wave easier, giving me more air. I had tried the launch in a Solo a few years back, and it had only sort of worked, since the edges on the Solo are designed to be a little softer. In the Detox, I had the speed and the carving ability. However, I didn't have the skill. I couldn't really dial in the downriver freestyle, even though I felt the potential.

What I did notice, though, was that the Detox handled the eddylines like a boss. In fact, I was singing the "Like a Boss" song to myself every time I made an eddy turn. (I was going to link to the video here, but some of the lyrics aren't family friendly.) The eddylines at the Mwave are probably the most intense eddylines I have paddled. A friend of mine broke his shoulder against the cement bottom of the canal in the river right eddy. You definitely have to watch yourself out there. However, the Detox had the perfect hull for that situation. The flat bottom never engaged the swirly currents unless I made it do so by putting in some edge. The ends had plenty of volume to keep me flat and level, and the length gave me the speed to go in whatever direction I chose. It had the best of both worlds; the performance of a playboat with the stability of a creekboat.

After giving up on the launch, I was starting to get antsy for my Nemesis. However, just for kicks, I paddled out to see how the Detox surfed. Holy crap! I had completely forgotten that this boat had a modern playboat hull. I did a couple clean spins, and then gave the blunt a try. I didn't think that it would work or anything, I just thought it would be funny to have a photo of someone roundhousing what is essentially a creekboat. Here were the results:

Of course, the Mwave is not your ordinary wave. I wouldn't expect this sort of performance at a "real life" spot, and it's really not what the boat is designed for. It was just fun to push the envelope, and see what was possible. Despite the surprising abilities of the Detox, I couldn't wait to get back into my Nemesis and really shred the wave.

I'd like to thank Natalie Kramer for taking all the photos in this post.

Oh, and Dan, we'll deliver that boat just as soon as we can. I think that we might stop off at a couple creeks on the way home, though.