Submitted: 06-11-2001 by Jim Smith
Today was my turn to paddle the Eliminator. I am 5 feet 10 inches tall,weigh 185 pounds, and have a 31 inch inseam. I believe physical parameters are as important as skill level in reviewing a boat. My friend Bob Jackson brought along an Ocean Kayak Sprinter as a yardstick. I paddled both boats with a Garmin E-trex GPS in order to judge hull speed. We paddled the boats in still wind, both with and against the current, and boat wakes in Banks Channel and the Intercoastal Waterway at Wrightsville Beach, NC. The boats are very close in terms of hull speed. However, the Eliminator is slightly faster when cruising along at a comfortable pace. I sprinted the O.K. to 7 mph. I was able to go 7.7 in the Eliminator. I never sprint the boats "all-out", because my races tend to be around 10K. I prefer to know the speed that I can realistically maintain for short periods of time in order to pass someone, or break-away. The big plus on the side of the Eliminator is the seating relative to the footboard. You are placed higher in this boat than anything I have paddled except an ICF marathon boat. You feel as though you can really bear down hard during the pull phase of the stroke; the added leverage is something you have to feel to believe. Please, do not think that the higher seating leads to instability. The flared section of the hull behind you contains a great deal of "flat", which makes the boat extremely stable. Please consider this a calm water review. I will post another review after paddling the boat in the Atlantic. So far, this has proven to be an excellent training boat for me, and a bullet for my two sons to paddle. |