first impressions of the SL350 MAX plastic slalom boat

(top boat is SL350, bottom boat is SL350 MAX)

I threw a bit of foam (not much needed) into the new SL350 MAX yesterday and met friends on the Rattlesnake section up in Falls Village. This is a great proving ground for me to test a new slalom boat because I used to live up there, am used to the water and the races we often hosted on this whitewater.

My impressions can be summed up simply and (almost) all positively, by saying that this boat is a real deal modern slalom boat.

The only difference is that it is in plastic, thus weighs 14 Kg instead of 9 Kg. I knew the boat was ICF legal because of it's width and length, but I didn't expect it to paddle as well as a modern slalom boat (probably a plastic prejudice). A lighter boat would certainly be better for competition, I felt like I was not losing other performance features in this new plastic boat.

I enjoyed the SL350 "regular" last year, but honestly felt that it was a bit too small for 180 lbs. (It felt better at the end of the summer when I was 15 lbs lighter). I must admit a preference for larger boats, and am not so used to the skinny slalom boats since I stopped training several years ago (spent more time in fat creek boats).

The SL350 MAX is exactly the boat I have needed: a modern design in a more durable format that composite.

Sales Note:
I am not bringing these boats into the country. I am taking time to focus more on my art.
Tony Z, at Donkeflip.com is taking pre-orders for the boats and he has a nice shipping arrangement with Forward Air.
http://eastfork.mybigcommerce.com/products/SL350-Max%252d-Slalom.html
So, if you want a plastic slalom boat, contemporary design, bigger than the regluar Dragorossi/Rainbow SL350 and the Fluid Donza; that is ICF legal (the Galasport plastic boat is too short for ICF rules), then think about the SL350 MAX

SL3.50 plastic slalom boat comparison

after last year's success with the SL350, the Dragorossi/Rainbow factory decided to design a larger plastic slalom boat, the SL350 MAX.

The regular SL350 plastic slalom boat is in the top half of the composite photo and the Max is in the bottom half.
(click on the image to make it bigger)

Below you will find an animated GIf with the two boats switching back and forth so you can more easily see the volume and rocker differences between these two race-legal plastic slalom boats.


The animation might be sized incorrectly, depending on your browser and blogger.
The whole 700 pixel wide animation can be seen by going directly to the source here
http://www.100waves.com/animations/SL350Compare.gif

edit:
just noticed that Tony Z. is taking pre-orders for these boats.
here is the link for those who find themselves curious
http://eastfork.mybigcommerce.com/products/SL350-Max%252d-Slalom.html

Denise and Lisa are all smiles in their DR slalom boats

Winters in the northeast can be long, so training means months of boating in the snow, finding runs that are free of ice (or sometimes "mostly" free of ice)

Triple Crown Championship is April 10th & 11th

check the website for details
TvilleTripleCrown.com
and have a look at the sponsors

Jim, you will be missed

http://www.npmb.com/cms2/e107_plugins/coppermine_menu/displayimage.php?pid=1594&fullsize=1

http://www.npmb.com/cms2/e107_plugins/coppermine_menu/displayimage.php?pid=1592&fullsize=1

http://www.kayakingphotos.com/albums/2008/ma/dryway0708/page/image63.html

http://www.kayakingphotos.com/albums/2008/ma/dryway0708/page/image65.html

a good boater
a positive enthusiastic attitude
a friend to anyone who showed up to the river

rest in peace

THANK YOU to the boating community

Back in the middle of December, I was gaining some good momentum, getting positive feedback, on one of my paintings in a contests. Inspired by the possibility of doing well in the contest, I asked the boating community for their help, since they are the ones who really understand what I am making with this type of art.

http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/1052127370/
http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/1052127986/

http://www.npmb.com/cms2/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?136900

I did not win the contest (although it was very close). But, I was super psyched by how many people in the whitewater community stood up for me by voting. I was also inspired (through many requests) to make prints of the painting and a couple of other pieces that are related.

After wrestling with many different printing options, i decided that QUALITY would serve as a better "thank you" than something cheap (which would fade within a year or two). The decision reflects a belief that boaters deserve something that will last longer than their creek boats, and be something that they can enjoy for a very long time; something to look at, year after year, reminding them of the dynamic, fun times to come when the snow melts, the rain pours, and the rivers run again.

Over the next four days, I'll post a new giclee print.
The only place that these prices will exist are here on this blog.
That should keep the cheap price within the boating community and their families.
When the real website is built for these prints, the price will be about 30% higher. But, for now, I'll pass along the wholesale price that I get to the community, and let boaters be the first ones to get their hands on these limited edition prints.

Southwest Colorado Bakery

just outside of Durango



with a super cool delivery vehicle

making awesome buns and rolls for restaurants

and some sweet loaves of bread for everyone else (sliced and unsliced)

with a separate room for preparing the spelt formulas (preventing cross contamination with the wheat products)

surfing rapid leads to the flume (8' drop)

click image to see 2000 pix wide image