Wheelboy Review

[CosmikDebris]

Thanks to Bill and David for hooking this boat up for me this weekend. Took the Wheelboy to the Ocoee this weekend, here's what I thought.

Overall Size/Outfitting: I'm about 155lbs and felt perfect in the boat. A friend of mine who paddled the boat on sunday was about 160-165 and said it felt good for him too. Perhaps not as much pop for loops as he would have liked, but he wasn't sure. Outfitting is sparse, but offers a good base to add on to. Since it wasn't my boat, I didn't want to add or take anything away, so I just chocked myself in with some random bits and pieces of foam. This is how I usually do it anyways, haha, so I guess it works. The boat was really heavy. Bill said 42lbs, which I dare say is getting close to my Blunt. It seemed to have thick plastic so I am sure this had something to do with it. It had black, squishy foam in it which seemed like it may have been a little heavy as well. The skirt worked really well, narry a drop in the boat all weekend.

Play Performance: So the first hole I surfed, I all my skepticism about this boat flew out the window. As my friend put it, "I felt a moment of Barryness." This boat is unbelievably smooth on end and will throw down in the hole. It is smooth and in control, making technical moves like the tricky whu and lunar orbit easy. Easy is the keyword here. The stablility made it easy to collect yourself after a few ends or a blunt. Didn't have any big holes, but in the little ones this boat stayed retentive and on top of the water and would cartwheel with ease. Found it to be really quick on some little waveholes and easy to blunt. Lightning quick blunts... Loops were a little harder due to the extra length/sliciness of the bow, but it just takes some getting used to. Not as easy to loop as my All-Star, but I felt it got good pop and once I started figuring it out it wasn't hard. Huge Macho Moves as well. I would love to get this boat on a big wave and see what it can do. I'm a little skeptical still about the edges as I'm partial to hard, 90 degree edges on boats, like on Necky's. I don't like boats that have outward flaired edges like the Allstar much. This boat doesn't have very hard edges, but on the little waves I did have it on it seemed to carve well. It's certainly fast on a wave and really loose. You won't have any trouble with flatspins in this boat for sure.

River Running: Went down river well for a 6'4" boat. Good speed, tended to stay on top of the water, fun for wavewheels/macho moves, splats, rockspins, etc... Not a great down river boat, but not worse than any other short boat out there.

I loved this boat, and would/will probalby buy one if I ever get $1100! If anyone has a used one, let me know! I think the boat sold itself at least once, maybe twice at the river. I'm sure if there were more Cboaters there (I only saw 2 and they both wanted one) more people would've been hooked. This boat makes itself look good, despite it's less than attractive appearance, haha! One bit of advice though, it'd be nice if the boat said "Drakkar Wheelboy" on it somewhere so that I wouldn't have to tell 500 people what the hades it is! Other than that, it was excellent. My only major complaint is the weight. It is too heavy. Awesome job Marko!
Will Lyons
lyonsw@brevard.edu

[Marko]

HI

Thanks for the review. Awesome to hear you like it.

There is a thousand funny stories about the graphics. But I think, if I say those first series of boats don't have graphics, bacause I want them them to read DRAKKAR not DAKAR it should be enough said. More than enough.

I think we have been able to drop same weight too. But generally it is strong boat and should not wear or break too soon. Also the non flewx outfitting has to be stronger than same in plastic. well it makes it up easy on wave.


marko

[PAC]

Darn it Will - now I have to re-ask - will a WB (or 2) be at the Armada for some test driving?

[Marko]

HI,

For a testride please contact :

Bill Reap
2705 Creekbed Lane
Charlotte, NC 28210
E-mail1: billreap@msn.com
E-mail2: billcanoes@yahoo.com



Marko

--
To be honest ... be prepared to purchase one straight away after testride this boat sell itself almost 100 % sure.

[Sir Adam]

I'll be bringing my Wheelboy...and am not planning on boating it as I suspect other will be;). First come first served!

I'll also have my Acrobat and Fanatic, and may bring my glass Groove down if no one else is bringing one...I need to look at the rack space though

[billcanoes]

Hi,

We switched to Road Runner a few months ago- Please do not use the billreap at msn as I no longer have access the last two months.

billcanoes@yahoo.com is the best way to contact me or a pm here.

you can also reach me at bill@liquidmojo.biz


Pac,

There should be some wheelboys at the Armada. I kept two for demos-

I couldn't afford to get the big boy air delivered (over $400, so it will hopefully be in late July) for those interested.


Bill Reap

[PAC]

Way cool - I'm very keen on taking one out to play.
Even though I'll be with the boy in a C2 (Hydra) but I'll toss in a spare skirt to test drive with. Hopefully I can spend some time at the put in hole to demo. If someone else takes one down all the way I'd like to test drive at the other stops as well (HINT!! ).

Thanks for bring them!!

PS: I can bring a second cruiser C2 (Gemini), glass Viper, Squashed XXX, Zwo, etc. for others to try - just let me know.

[Marko]

HI

I think I need to fly over to US sometimes for some rivers and some demo days to meet people in this forum. I'd love to bring some of funny things for to try.

I have some real boats , and some boats you wouldn't believe, some of them are more fun than useable.

Bigboy and wheelboy +
Miniboy = Really short wheelboy pre-model 170 cm
Wheelboy 1 & 2 = 230 and 220 long playboats
Splittail a.k.a triangle = concept desings ...
Waveboy and garburator = wave specific c-1 protos for 2006

[Mike W.]

Marko,
How about May 14-15 for our Armada? North Branch of the Potomac. Many of us will be there. We REALLY want to try some boats

[Berkshire Jack]

Facts about myself: I am 5’11” and weigh 186 lbs. From what I understand, this is the very upper end of the design range. I have been C1-ing for 20 plus years. C1 is my major whitewater activity with some tandem open boat and occasional C2 runs thrown in for good measure. I have owned and tried a fair number of C1 boats over that period, but am only of average ability. Before getting this boat, I have only learned a limited number of playboating moves, and hope to use the boat to expand the repertoire. Can handle most Class 4’s, but still get a knot in my stomach on Class 4 rapids.

First Impressions: I took the Wheelboy out on a Class 2 river with one long Class 3+ rapid that I am very familiar with. I didn’t have the chance to bring it to a pool first. I outfitted the Wheelboy with thigh straps in the suggested positions. These worked well and I felt secure in the boat. I didn’t stay flipped over for any length of time because of the spring-time water temperatures, so I could not tell at this point if I would start falling out of the boat if I hung out upside down, such as when rolling in a boil or on the wrong side in a hole. That being said, the Wheelboy rolled easily. All attempts worked the first time and there was no struggling. I’ve owned boats that have rolled even easier, but the Wheelboy is right up there for easy rolling boats. When the hip grabbers become available in the States, I will install them and would expect that the boat will become even easier to roll although they are not really needed.
The Wheelboy felt very very stable. Its primary stability is very reassuring. Its width must play a large role here. Secondary stability is better than most boats. Nothing at all happened unexpected during the run in regard to its lateral edge behavior. Eddy turns were C1 sharp and predictable. Didn’t experience any squirllenous. (sp)
On waves, the hull is the loosest I have ever experienced and this in my opinion is the best and most fun feature of the boat so far (till I get the cartwheels perfected). You could position the Wheelboy anyplace on the wave surface and it felt at home – on the face, at the top, in the trough. It carves across the wave surface well, and its balance was superb. As many others have commented, you can tell the boat was designed as a C1. It was so much fun having that degree of control on the waves.
My only major negative was that the boat was slow. I knew it was going to be but the ramifications of it being slow were disappointing. It was so slow (or maybe I was so weak) that I could hardly catch anything on the fly. This could be a function of the fact that I am towards the heavy side for the designed weight range. I could not accelerate upstream out of eddies to catch waves that in my normal C1’s or 8 foot conversions would not have given me any trouble. In the one Class 3 + rapid, the slowness did not appear to be a problem, but as I dropped down a small chute in the midst of the rapid, I did an unexpected and disconcerting bow stand. Nothing like that would have ever happened in any of the other boats I have ever owned.. Well maybe that converted Mr. Clean that I once had might have done something similar. Bracing into a partial pirouette, I flopped over on my side and with the good secondary stability recovered well, straightened out and proceeded down my line. The bow stand was probably the function of the shortness of the boat, relative low volume in the front, weak boofing, and my inexperience with it all.
One of my kayaking friends on the trip, in envy, commented that in theory you could build an extremely short C1, much shorter than any kayak, because you didn’t have to worry about where to put your legs in the shrunken bow.
In regards to the outfitting that comes with the boat, the seat and console are great. I don’t find any need to raise or lower the seat. The kevlar console is the best I have seen in plastic boats. Appears sturdy and looks like it will readily accept and adapt to almost any type of modification one could wish. The one gripe, which has been mentioned by others, is that the built-in knee positioning holds the knees too close to the center for my liking. I might have to rip out the knee positioning hardware/software and install a kneecup spread further apart, although by the end of the first day I found myself getting use to it.
Well that is it for a first impression from an average type boater. Overall, it was a very fun day and I’m glad about my purchase. It is my initial conclusion that the Wheelboy is at its best as a “park and play” machine, and as a river runner it will present some challenges. But the boat is advertised as a C1 play machine and it certainly delivers in that department. I am not sure I would take it into Class 4 this summer, unless experience gives me a good deal more confidence with its slowness and its bow standing/squirting tendencies.

For a playboat I liked the way it worked so much better than any of the conversions I have tried, that I am eagerly anticipating the Fatboy. I am hoping that because it too is intelligently designed as a C1 it will similarly rise above the conversions as a creeker, and that knot in the stomach disappears..

[billcanoes]

Hi Jack,

David Good had the knee supports removed and it felt really good. I took mine out last night. It's really easy, pull the two plastic slides out towards the seat, then there is a 10mm nut on each side which holds the block. Remove the block and reattach the nut- the foam covers this spot and it does not interfere with the seat supports. David used two foam blocks to spread his knees out.

Bill

[Boise Bob]

Long-time WB owner. At first I had the same feeling about my knees not being spread apart enough. However, I resisted removing them and I now find my knee positioning to be comfortable and natural. I have actually mounted minicell foam on top of the WB knee stop, which provides a more efficient energy transfer from my knee to the boat.

Fight you knee-jerk reaction to take them out and give them a chance for a while.

My Stats: 6' 185 lbs

[Berkshire Jack]

Hello Bob,
I tried the boat again. Left the knee supports in as you suggested, and it felt alright. I will probably get use to them.
My balance is improving all the time, and can do pretty good flatwater bow stands with the Wheelboy now. The cartwheels are coming along but are not there yet. My old shoulders are taking a beating, and I don't want to over do it.
You mentioned that you put some minicell foam above the knees. It sounds like a great idea. Do you have a picture of it that you could emai or post?
Jack

[Marshall]

OK, I paddled Will's on the Ocoee a few weekends ago and had my own by the next weekend. I think that by itself should say something.

I've had one now for about three weeks, and I'm still amazed every time I get in the thing. You expect playboats to be a tradeoff between certain things--hull speed vs shortness, slicyness vs loopability, etc. Forget all of that. This boat is good at everything.

First of all, it paddles like a little raceboat. It seems to glide with every stroke, especially on wave type moves. I'm not sure how this works, since the boat is two feet shorter than my creekboat and much faster.

It's stable and not too edgy. You can paddle it aggressively and not have to brace all the time, and the bow (mostly) stays out of the water when reaching forward. When boofing, the softer edges slide over rocks, and the bow lifts up.

The softer edges don't seem to slow it down on a wave--it turns back and forth almost by thinking. It likes to sit high up on the foam pile where you can move around easily.

It's very crisp on blunts. Because the boat stays back on the pile, it can accelerate well off a stroke. I haven't had it on a really big wave yet, but even on small waves the bow lifts out of the water.

It's quick and balanced doing cartwheels, and it stays in one place so you can link ends without flushing. It feels a lot like the session when cartwheeling, except that the volume keeps it in the hole better.

But for all of it's slicyness, it's still very loopable, and again it stays in one place.

Criticisms? Hmm, it's heavy. But that only matters when it's on your shoulder. You can't tell in the water, and the thickness/stiffness of the plastic improves performance. And I think it's built to last .

It is a really good design, and a really fun boat. I'll be happy to let people try mine...I'm usually at the Ocoee on weekends.

Marshall

[Marko]

Thanks mate !!!

marko