since some of the people who are interested in this plastic slalom boat are not currently competetive, I was asked to show a comparision of the DragoRossi plastic slalom boat, which falls within modern race dimensions, and one of the last competetive designs that used the older, longer dimensions.
3.5 meter SL350 on the top (new rules) and my old blue 4 meter on the bottom (old rules)
I dug out the last race boat I had before grad school got the better of me and I stopped training at the end of 2004.
Length restrictions were changed from a minimum of 4 meters to a minimum of 3.5 meters right after that time. So, the old blue 4 meter boat is obviously longer. Look how the designer has to make all sorts of strange features just to create a shorter rocker and make an easier turning boat. The new 3.5 meter boats can have the same rocker, or tighter rocker, without having to create odd tips on the boat.
If you have not tried a new 3.5 meter boat, and you used to race, then you really need to get in one of these new toys. They are more nimble, turn easier, and will make you feel like a champ.
For those of you who still compete or coach, you'll be happy to see a plastic teaching boat that is made with current design constraints in mind.
oh yea, this is an announcement about the pre order pricing too.
I got the factory to set their price for the half container being shipped to the U.S.
I'm putting up my money and credit to bring these boats over here so need to cover my butt.
The retail price will be $700.
However, anyone who gets an order in, by the middle of January, before the container ships, will be taking some of the risk away from me, and will be considered as a co-importer.
This means that you can get a boat at wholesale price.
see details here
Buy them for your club.
Buy one for yourself.
Buy them to sell.
Shipping can be arranged on an individual basis, but it starts to get expensive with FedEx, UPS, and the like. I suggest Forward Air. Better yet, if someone is travelling from one of the drop points on the east coast to your location, a little bit of gas money goes a long way.
What is the weight range on these boats? Specifically, what isthe max weight?
ReplyDeletehad a 210 lbs guy in the boat last weekend and he paddled it fine. But, you could see that it was above the optimum weight for the boat. Kind of like the same size guy in a regular RPM. It's not great, but not too bad either.
ReplyDeleteCorran just posted the peak performance weight range as 130 - 180 so I need to defer to his response.
I'll keep putting people in my boat to see how they handle it,a nd post follow ups.