After selling my Zen 3.0 earlier in the summer it was time to get a new boat. Western Canoe and Kayak had some Dagger Indra’s in stock. I have tried sitting in one on the way to the Clearwater River, deciding to get one shortly after. I picked up the MD/L in Green Smoke, Such a good color.
Currently, there is not much water on Vancouver Island, however, the Lower Puntledge River keeps some flow due to a Dam on the river, fish flows, and power generation. So with 12cms (Cubic meters per sec) at my disposal, it was time to get on the river.
First I went out to Puntledge Park, this area has a beach, several eddies, a small wave or two, a wee rapid, and more eddies. It is 10 minutes from my house and provides an area to play around when the water is low. I did some attainment, ferries, and back ferries and surfed a couple of the small waves on my first session.
The 2nd session was a full run of the Lower Puntledge, almost 4km of eddy catching, surfing, and enjoying the beautiful river. It gave me a chance to see how it moved around on the water and to check out the comfort while spending more time in the boat. This paddle was also with the Founder of SIP, Dave Calver, a great organization and long-time friend.
Just yesterday was another session at Puntledge park. This time working it to get back ferries and move around the river a lot. Also checking out to see how my rolls in it were. The water was splendid at 18 degrees while the air temp was about 14 degrees.
I’m a 6’2″, 195lb paddler with size 13 feet. The boat fit well after some quick adjustments. Tightened the backband slightly, slipped a couple of foam shims in the hip pads, foam foot blocks in at the feet. It felt snug and responsive after that.
SPECS
- Length: 9′ | 274.32 cm
- Height: 15″ | 38.1 cm
- Width: 27.5″ | 68.85 cm
- Weight: 53.5 lb | 24.27 kg
- Max Weight Capacity: 250 lb | 113.4 kg
Pros
Cons
Overall it is a very comfy boat with some great looking lines. Seems to be very well put together , moves well through the water, ferries forwards and backwards very well. Seems to track and then snap into eddies with speed. Look forward to getting it out on to some of my favorite Island rivers this fall.
See ya on the river.
No responses yet