Re: [Paddlewise] WW boat

William,

I'm am 6' 1/2" (used to be 6'2") and about 220lbs with a size 12 shoe and I
can barely fit into the Pirouette. Mostly the inseam and the feet; long legs
and long feet can cramp your toes into the bulkhead and create a very sharp
angle on your ankles. It's not comfortable for me for hours of playing. This
is one of the reasons I migrated to an RPM Max although I think the plain
old RPM would have done just fine. Almost all of the w/w boats built prior
to about 1995 were small; they didn't start producing boats for bigger guys
until they all witnessed the phenomenal success of Dagger's RPM. Somewhere
around 2000 it became popular to build designs in two or three sizes.

The Pirouette is a fine river runner and a decent little playboat. At least
one CKF'er uses his as a rock garden boat and I know of a few people who
like them in ocean surf. No "edges" though.

The RPM and RPM Max will surf standing waves but they have no edges so you
can't really do tricks with them. They side-surf well, though. And they have
a lot of buoyancy so they'll keep you on top.

There are a lot of Pirouettes out there and you should be able to find
something to try on. I found pain to be a great motivator to move to a
larger boat but it took a few years.

There are some reviews on www.paddling.net which can be valuable. Ignore the
numerical values (everyone thinks their favorite kayak is a 10) but you can
draw insight from the commentaries.

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA





On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Leonhardt, William J
<wjleonhardt_at_bnl.gov>wrote:

> In the recent postings of our group wherein people listed their aquatic
> vehicle holdings, Jim & Craig both listed a Perception Pirouette
> whitewater boat.
>
> I have been looking to pick up a cheap WW off Ebay to just play with.
> I've had a little experience here and have found that I don't fit in
> every WW boat.  DAMHIKT!
>
> My impression is that I would be able to fit in the Piroette.  I am
> 6'-1" tall, 217lbs and size 13 (US) feet.  [184cm tall, 98kg, 15.5 stone
> with 46 shoes]
>
> Can anyone confirm this?
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