Fun 1, Fun 1.5, 2 Fun, Fun, 4 Fun, Super Fun,
Star, All-Star, Super Star---- The most choices ever offered, choosing
is more difficult since you have to weigh your options, but 100%
better than having no choices. Here is how you know which boat is
right for you.
So far I have provided you with either a river
running/playboat or a full on freestyle/rodeo boat. This is the
first choice you need to make.
Let’s start with some paddler profiles
and I will give you the type of boat, then we will finish by discussing
the sizes of that boat.
| 1. |
Not 100% confident in their
roll- FUN all of the way- |
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a. |
The Fun is the easiest boat
to roll ever made. |
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b. |
This boat will make your rolling much better immediately,
then it will allow you to improve your roll for offsides, hand
rolling, back deck, etc. etc.- |
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c. |
Perfect for kayak schools to teach rolling, perfect
to improve your roll. |
| 2. |
Wants something that is really easy to river run
in. |
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a. |
Fun is stable, with the perfect amount of final
stability to keep you right side up. |
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b. |
Non quirky- a very predictable boat, designed
to run most types of rapids and have you not wish you were in
any other boat. |
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c. |
Edges are clear of the water, available to use
if you want, but aren’t in play during normal paddling. |
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d. |
Makes the trip from put-in to take out right side
up and in control easier than ever. |
| 3. |
Wants something super comfortable and lightweight-
The Funs provide both like never before- with more leg room,
foot room, and easier access in and out of the cockpit, simply
pick one up to test the weight. |
| 4. |
Wants something that surfs really nicely |
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a. |
Very fast, smooth, easy to control hull, is perfect
for learning to surf. |
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b. |
The hull steers with a simple lean of the hips
like no other hull in history, with the stern following the
bow, so you don’t have to be as fast with your paddle
|
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c. |
The top end of the surfing is nearly unlimited
with the aerial moves at your finger tips, and no move out of
reach. You can take the Pepsi Challenge with the Fun on a wave
against any other companies full on rodeo boat. |
| 5. |
Wants to learn more playboating |
| |
a. |
Want to learn to loop? The Fun is designed to
loop with ease- The higher volume bow launches you out of the
water to help you clear the stern. Did you know that a front
loop is easier to do than a cartwheel if your boat is a good
looper? It is true! A cartwheel is one of the most involved
playboating tricks since you have to put your boat on edge,
keep you weight over the boat, and switch strokes in the middle
of the move! It just so happens that since boats didn’t
loop well until recently, most people have spent many hours
learning to cartwheel and very little learning to loop, therefore
there is more cartwheel expertise in the world than looping
expertise, but that trend is changing. |
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b. |
Squirting is awesome in the Fun, the high parting
line means you drop more edge than most boats so you don’t
squirt when you don’t want to. When you want to just drop
and edge and back sweep and you will find that he wing shaped
deck on the back goes under and is REALLY easy to control. Not
bad considering that the boat also back loops really easy! This
is a unique combination of looping moves and cartwheel/squirting
moves. Most boats make you choose one or the other, but you
don’t get both. |
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c. |
Want to learn to flatwater cartwheel?- The bow
of the Fun is harder to get down than a full on rodeo boat like
the All-Star, making it harder to learn to flatwater cartwheel.
Other companies also have boats that you can do a flatwater
cartwheel easier than the Fun, but you will be giving up the
loop ability and the river running ability for sure. |
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| 1. |
PLAY, PLAY, PLAY, PLAY, PLAY, PLAY |
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The Star series will make you an instant hero
among your normal group of paddlers- you will improve instantly
in the following ways… |
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a. |
You will be able to do flatwater moves with more
ease than ever before. |
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|
i. |
The fastest, easiest flatwater cartwheels in history.
|
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|
ii. |
The easiest and highest flatwater loops in history, it is
like looping with training wheels. |
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|
iii. |
Bow and stern stalls are relaxed, smooth and balanced. |
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|
iv. |
Flatwater cartwheels are super balanced and effortless. |
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b. |
Hole moves |
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|
i. |
The loops are through the roof- start landing in front of
the pile in a front surf, go bigger, stick more of them than
ever. |
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|
ii. |
Back loops are as easy as front loops to stick assuming that
you can do them- finally learn to do them! |
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|
iii. |
The best looping boat is also the best cartwheel boat? This
is a first!!! Don’t sacrifice a single thing in a hole
when you paddle one of the Stars. |
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|
iv. |
All of the new moves are made easier- learn the McNasty, Lunar
Orbit, Phonix Monkey, etc., all of the old moves made easier-
splits, cleans, etc. |
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|
v. |
The ends slice through so easy that clean cartwheels are as
easy as regular ones if you drop the right amount of edge. |
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c. |
Wave Moves- |
| |
|
i. |
The perfect combination of looseness (sliding all around)
and carving (maintaining controlled surfs)- easy to set up moves. |
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|
ii. |
Easier to get off the water than any boat, front or backwards. |
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iii. |
Faster backwards (opposite of most boats)- so you are more
likely to stay on the wave when doing moves. Most people get
stalled backwards temporarily and then flush off or lose control.
With additional speed backwards you can do a blunt (for example)
and then drop back in quickly to turn around again (or do a
back blunt). Most boats are faster forwards so you can get in
a front surf, do a blunt (for example) then you are in trouble
if you can’t turn it around right away. |
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|
iv. |
All of the big wave moves are super easy to launch, with an
easy to land hull. |
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v. |
The boat being substantially lighter than any other companies’
boats make the moves much less physically demanding to initiate. |
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| OK- Now the sizing:
Within each series you can adjust the performance
of any of the boats substantially by choosing a different
size. Also, your body position within the boat changes the
performance dramatically too. So, this is a general description
of which boat to choose for what you are looking for. For
the sizes you fit into- look at the spec sheet.
|
| 1. |
Kids: it is tempting to put your kid into a boat
that they will grow into in a year or two. Buy your kid a pair
of jeans that they will grow into in a year or two and send
them off to school and see how that goes over, not good! If
you want your kid to try kayaking, and actually like it, you
have to suck it up and put them in a boat that they won’t
feel like a geek in. This is no joke. You may be happy paddling
along and being an eddy flower, watching the other kayakers
play, but you kid will at least imagine themselves being able
to do this one day, and if you put them in a boat that they
have no chance to learn to play, then you will take away their
excitement for learning. I had Dane in a long fiberglass boat
when he was little. One day just stopped asking to go paddling
and lost all interest in paddling himself, only still liking
foamboating. I asked him numerous times if he wanted to go kayaking.
Finally he told me (he was 6), that he wanted a “planning
hulled kayak like me”. I told him that he didn’t
need a planning hulled kayak until he learned to roll and wanted
to start playing. What he said changed my idea of what a kid
is thinking forever, “I don’t need to learn to roll,
until I have a planning hulled kayak that I can play.”
He didn’t like watching all of the people he new do fun
stuff in our kayaks while he ferried around and that was all
he could do. David Knight and I designed him the Ace 2.5 and
he suddenly was stoked to kayak, learning to roll the next spring,
learning to flatwater cartwheel that summer, learning to surf
and play all summer long and becoming what he is today- a full-on
kayaker with a confidence level a kid can only get from being
the young one who can do so much. What do you do with your Fun
1, or Fun 1.5, or Star when they grow out of it? The resale
value on these boats will be record setting and you won’t
have any problem finding a new home for them at a cost to you
of about $200-$300 for the entire time your kid has the boat.
It is not worth stymieing the growth potential of your kid as
a kayaker to save $200-$300 over a few years. With that said-
you should not over weight the boat, knowing that if your kids
is at the upper reaches of the weight factor already, then the
river running ability of the boat will be reduced. Example:
Fun 1 40-80 pounds- 60 being ideal. If your kid is 70 and growing
fast- a Fun 1.5 which has a 70-120 pound range is best all around
to learn in. They will learn to roll and paddle it easily now,
then be able to flatwater play it in a short amount of time.
If your kid is not a beginner and wants a full on playboat-
get the Fun 1. Make sense? |
| 2. |
Adults: Assuming you are not growing, then you
are much easier to pick a boat for. You will likely fit into
3 different sizes of the Fun family. I, for example, fit the
2 Fun, Fun, and 4 Fun. I paddle the Fun as my river running
playboat. However, the 4 Fun floats me even higher and is a
little easier to stay upright, while the 2 Fun is easier to
get vertical and squirt, but is edgy because I weigh it down
in the water too much. The Fun is a perfect size for me for
ergonomics, river running, and playboating. So here is how you
choose: |
| |
a. |
If you want to go a little more on the side of
river running and less on the play- go with the size bigger,
or your size if you are on the lighter size of it. |
| |
b. |
If you want to get vertical a little easier, and
are willing to have your edges closer to the water, go with
your size or a size smaller. |
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c. |
If you want the best all around river running
playboat, that does it all within the parameters of the design
for your size- choose the one you are closest to the middle
of. |
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d. |
If you are on the edge of two sizes- you are lucky.
Decide which you want to maximize- river running or playboating,
and choose accordingly (small for play, larger for river running)
Remembering that both will do both well, your choice will determine
which one you make easier. |
| 3. |
Body position in the boat |
| |
a. |
If you are tall and thin- move the seat back a
notch to balance the boat out- the bow should not pearl. |
| |
b. |
If you are short and stocky- keep the seat neutral
or move if forward one notch, but make sure the bow doesn’t
pearl. |
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c. |
If you want to do flatwater cartwheels or bow
stalls easier- let some air out of the Happy Feet, slide forward
and tighten your backband so you have more weight on the bow
making it easier. |
| |
d. |
If you want to do squirts or stern stalls- loosen
the backband, and pump up the Happy Feet to move you back a
little and put more weight on the stern. |
| |
e. |
River Running- Neutral is best as long as you
don’t pearl to keep equal volume in bow and stern for
horizontal paddling. |
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f. |
Loops- Move seat back for maximum air on front
loops! |
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g. |
Wave surfing- neutral |
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h. |
Hole playing- neutral |
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i. |
Rolling- neutral |
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|
|
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The Star is ½
of a size smaller than the 2 Fun The Star is ½ of a size
smaller than the 2 Fun (it is the easiest to get vertical boat
for most small people) The All-Star is the same as the Fun,
the Super Star is ½ way in between the 4 Fun and the
Super Fun.
|
| 1. |
If you want the best all around rodeo boat you
should get the one that most closely fits your weight. |
| 2. |
If you are on the edge of two of them then: |
| |
a. |
For bigger loops, more room in the boat, easier
river running, but harder to get vertical- get the bigger one.
|
| |
b. |
For the easiest possible flatwater cartwheels,
and to be able to boss the boat around more, but not as big
of loops, get the smaller one. |
| 3. |
spaced the Stars out enough for them to fit most
people with just three sizes. In a world where most boat companies
only make two sizes of their rodeo boat, I think you will see
the benefits of a third size right away, especially if you are
big or little. |