This boat will arrive in the U.S. some time this early spring.
The new outfitting includes an adjustable rotomolded seat with pad.
The new ratcheting backband is larger and set up for easier adjustment. Everything is attached to the seat so no matter where you move your seat the set up for the back band is how you like it.
Traditional thigh hooks and a new adjustable bulkhead foot brace system. Move the black plates (which are on top of the main white plate) to fill in the space and prevent any slipping past the bulkhead. It's a safety feature that many are incorporating into their standard setups these days.
a quick shot of the hull. Not the best photo. Flat light and unscratched new plastic don't make for the best contrast. But, you'll get the idea...
Where does the Mad Boy fall in the DragoRossi creek boat line?
Check out these photos for quick comparisions with the Critical Mass and the Mafia.
blue CRITICAL MASS (left), yellow MAD BOY (center), green MAFIA (right)
My First Impressions...
I paddled the boat for the first time on Friday after Thanksgiving at Bulls Bridge. First impression was the stability. Big flat spot on the bottom makes the boat sit flat and confident. The edges are rounded enough so it's still easy to put up on edge for ferrying and it transfers edge to edge in a familiar way.
The boat is fast. I actually had to back off a bit on the approach to this boof move that I normally do when the river is at 1'. Typically I am in either the Mafia, or my Fish so have to paddle a bit harder to make the cross current move. The Mad Boy is very fast for it's length; probably a hair faster than the Critical Mass. But, the nice thing is that it's not TOO much faster. The adjustment is easy. I'm sure it will be a good big water boat too.
A note on the new outfitting. It took me about 5 minutes to get the bulkhead, thigh hooks, hip pads, and seat where I wanted them. Probably would have taken a bit less time if I was not distracted by talking with a friend who I had not seen in several months. All in all the outfitting is very easy to deal with, very "industry standard" and familiar.
4 comments:
I paddled the Mad Boy at Tville yesterday and have to say it is the most comfortable boat I have ever paddled. I believe the boat I paddled had a modified seat which sat me a little lower in the boat which was a different feel. The boat did everything I asked it to. This would be a great all-around boat. If I had to replace my Scud as an all-arounder it would be with a Mad Boy. Maybe down the road there will be one in my boat quiver.
No modified seat. that's what will be standard in the boat. I was just explaining how they had to take that extra production step to make it so comfortable. Nice to see that little extra effort thos guys are willing to make for the sake of improvement.
Is that the production boat? The pics on the DR site make it look more bulbous in the nose....like a WS Habitat. Please tell me they didn't carry the volume out to the nose like this. I wanted one after seeing the pics in your blog post but the DR site makes me think twice.
This is the full production boat as they are coming out of the mold.
More photos on this other blog post
http://totalwhitewaterfun.blogspot.com/2008/12/mad-boy-on-water-with-normal-paddlers.html
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