Rambo pumps the adrenaline on a Mission for warp speed and the Ocean provides the ride.
Probably my best video to date, hope you enjoy.
Apart from the excellent downwind run, this video highlights what is possible with the Go Pro Hero3 Camera and a little (2 days) editing. If you want a 150mg HQ mp4 copy download here http://blip.tv/file/get/Rambooc1-MissionAdrenal383.mp4
Leave a comment if you like, helps make the insanity of making video's a little more enjoyable.
Cheers Rambo
Fellow Pegasus new owners, you are gunna love this canoe.
The first thing you notice is you sit IN the canoe not ON it, so you are closer to the water. It's also very comfortable, and the seat shape hugs your butt both sides and at the rear, which gives good control and feedback in a bumpy ocean. Ama feels light and lifts easily out of the water with a quick hip throw and balances just above the water without bracing with your paddle on the right.
Upwind performance is as good as the Hurricane, but it does it in a different way. Instead of punching through the waves, it pops over the top (but doesn't launch) and lands without a slap on the other side.
Downwind, this is where this canoe shines ... it drops in easy and earlier with less effort, once it has momentum it just keeps going and really surprises you how easily it bridges numerous bumps without loosing speed. It tracks straight, even when sitting on the crest and doesn't want to broach. The downwind performance is the main reason i decided this canoe was right for me. With it's ability to drop earlier and easily, it gives more time for you to select the path to the next bump. (i lent the canoe to Johnno for 10 mins to do a run downwind and i won't say what he called me but i accept it was a term of endearment that men call each other when they approve of something only you have)
The Peggie doesn't respond all that well to quick short strokes (like the Hurricane does) so it lacks quick acceleration, it does however respond to long hard strokes and continues too run-on, negating its lack of acceleration. ( i would still use my Hurricane in sprint races on flat water)
Build quality and finish is excellent, you can hardly see the seams. Stiff as, but like all Divinycell foam core canoes, will dent easily. Iakos are easy to fit into the Ama and Canoe slots and were number matched at the factory, so don't exchange Iakos between canoes.
Steering response, the Pegasus will throw you off, if you chuck a full rudder at speed, extremely directional. Ama is very close to the main hull compared to a Hurricane, about 200mm closer. Occasionally i hit the ama with the paddle , but this is just an indication i need to tighten up my recovery stroke.
The Pegasus will reward a good surfing type paddler and improve an ordinary one. The Hurricane is still in my opinion the fastest canoe for young, strong, skilled paddlers, (which I'm not) but the Peggie for me, helps overcome the loss of explosive strength you experience after 50 and allows me more time to make skill type decisions like bump chasing.
Be very interested in hearing what the other new Peggie owners think when they get their canoe.
I wasn't able to take photos of the unloading etc .. but it was a pleasure to bust the security lock on the container and be the first to peak inside (no little China-men jumped out) .... Awesome seeing all those canoes in one place and having the opportunity to unload them all.
You can read my prep- purchase reasons for selecting the Pegasus here ...
Well here she is in all her Glory. .... Just blessed wearing her floral wreath as witnessed by a couple of pelicans prior to being put through her paces in good upwind/downwind conditions.
Click photos to enlarge
What do you think ... please leave a comment belowWon't sleep tonite, Peggie arrives in the morning at 5.00am. Have not been this excited since my first born kid 25 years ago. Think I've even waited 9 months too. Don't know about everyone else, but i have always had an emotional attachment to my canoes, i still have my 1st one, born 1991, just can't bring myself to sell them as their part of the family.
Just like babies, canoes have there own personality and faults ... some leak, some go off track, some wallow, but all you can do is guide them in the right direction and hope the manufacturer has done his/her job.
After a 3 week trip from China and in the close company of 74 brothers and sisters, Peggies probably looking forward to wetting her nose. First things first though, she must be blessed and named and introduced to the family, then taken out to Carty's and shown the dangers. Might have to take Huri also, as he knows the dangers at Carty's more than me, having been sacrificed on the rocks and reborn earlier in the year. I think Huri knows somethings happening, he's been performing fantastic over the last few weeks.
I'll be at the birthing chamber (shipping container) first thing in the morning to help Chris with the delivery, so will get to see all the brothers and sisters. Yes i will take photos of them and post them here tomorrow night. ... after i have got Peggies bum wet.
Cheers Rambo
I recently trialled a Kai Wa'a Chinese made Pegasus (with super stiff construction and the new Ama and Iako's) at Hamilton Island in as many varied conditions as I could, and have this to say about why I have changed over.
Firstly, a few things i found that the Pegasus does better for me (note i said for me) than the Hurricane. I’ve paddled Hurricane for 3 years now and love it, but at 54, I have found that I’m slowly losing my short explosive strength to pull onto some critical bumps that i need to get onto, to stay competitive downwind. After trialling the Pegasus in downwind conditions i have come to the conclusion that it drops in sooner, with less effort than the Hurricane and doesn’t need to be ridden as aggressively to achieve the same result. It’s also more responsive to rudder input and also seems to glide better in small clean ocean swells. Upwind and flat water the Peggie is on par with the Hurricane. (again my opinion, from my trials)
End result is my race times should improve because I’m moving to a canoe that covers my weaknesses in the type of ocean conditions that i now race in.
Yes, i could also do explosive strength exercises or gain more downwind skills, if i was 15 years younger i would probably take that option.
I’m not loyal to any one brand, I'm just trying to minimize my race times in all possible ways, including smart, results based training and skills, as well as, canoe selection.
I think, it’s a smart equipment choice for me, that will result in faster times and more comfort in the longer races. The Hurricane will remain with me, we’re been through a lot together over the last 3 years, actually i keep all my canoes.
Time will tell if i made the right decision, I’m confident i have.
Don’t forget my decision was based on where I paddle and the ocean conditions I race mostly in. If it was a flat water decision, i would have stuck to the Hurricane.BTW i also found the Fuze to be very similar to the Peggie downwind, but the way the volume is placed in the Fuze makes it feel slightly slower in the flat, but i have not confirmed this in a "one on one" trial. FuZe is awesome for comfort though.
Different boats for different conditions for different people .... it's not an easy choice is it?
Cheers Rambo
What do other Pegasus paddlers think of the canoe, or my reasons for changing?Please comment below. Labels: oc1 review, Pegasus
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