OC 1 Opinion Reviews - Pueo - PA'A Thanksgiving Race

Some open ocean race courses on Oahu have 'a name'. When you talk about the 'Hawaii Kai Run', paddlers instantly know the course, know the conditions and the variables that may influence the course, not least important where the 'wipe outs' may occur. No secrets here: these happen in the Diamond Head shore break.



Hawaii Kai is located in the South of Oahu. The race course to Kaimana Beach is a good 8 miles long. Off the beach from Hawaii Kai a buoy has to be rounded. The conditions in this first segment are flat, some smaller waves may come into the bay towards you, various currents may be favorable to get out quickly or not.

Once around the buoy you have to chose your course. It is basically east to west but you have to chose the inside, outside or, well, a neutral route. The rising and the falling of the tide in the bay helps to determine this. It seems though, that the good paddlers know the course so well, that they rather intuitively chose where they paddle.

Wind is eastern, thus in your back. The more the better. It is a surf run, yet without any challenging waves. The challenge is rather to work with the ocean to the best of your ability.

Once the bay is crossed, at Black Point, you enter the shore break around Diamond Head.
The waves come from your back left at various angles. The temptation to go 'inside' is always there, even on the biggest days.
Remember that Odysseus had to be tied to the mest of his ship while he passed the singing Sirens; their song was so beautiful, that nobody could resist the temptation to ship towards them, to finally wreck the ship on the cliffs.

Many OC 1/Oc 6 have been ruined in this section. It always seems as if it is doable - most of the time it is!

After that, another short segment and over the reef - be careful here - in to Kaimana Beach ( click images to enlarge )



On a good day this course paddles in about just below 60 min., on a flat day you have to add 5 minutes to your time.

During a recent race - PA'A Thanksgiving Race - quite a remarkable performance of the new Pueo could be observed. Not to take anything away from the individual paddler's performances, definitely not. But could it be that this new boat is just a little faster than the prior art ?

The condition were flat, little wind, a mild roll, little waves to catch all the way, but no 'free rides'. Race course: 8.3 miles.

Here are the first 25 OC 1 finishers of the race:
Pueo
Pueo
Zephyr
Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Scorpius
Pueo

Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Pueo
Polaris
Vantage
Pegasus
Hurricane

Pueo
Pueo
Vantage
Hurricane
Hurricane

I paddled the Pueo once myself and have paddled ‘against’ it quite a few times, flat up to medium conditions, I have not seen it in ‘big’ conditions: I have seen people improve their performance quite impressively compared to last year/their other boat.

• It may be that the ama design makes a big difference.


• The boat is not a high volume boat, that means the wet surface area is relatively small.


• The boat is very well balanced, the ama comes up very easily, effortlessly and gently on every stroke, at least on the right.


• On my Hurricane I moved the seat/foot well 6 inches forward; it definitely works for me. In comparison, the Pueo has the foot well at about the same distance from the bow.


• For my size, 6’5, I would need to adapt the cockpit a little bit to get a good seating position, probably by moving the foot well forward by 2 - 3 inches. If your okole is good for two - to say: not standard size - you may not be comfortable with the seat arrangement


• The Pueo is great in the flat, observed in a canal. Paddling ‘against’ it on a Hurricane, I have to paddle the ama very, very light to regain an advantage. That’s why I think that the ama design is most responsible for the good performance.

You can watch a video of the Pueo in the 'OC 1 Video' section. Observe the different ama, the current ama is entirely different.

OC 1 Opinion Reviews - Ma'a Afi

Boat Specs
Load: 250lbs max
Weight: 24lbs (Ultra Light Hull is 21lbs)
Dual footwell drains
Aluminum pedals and tiller
Aluminum i'akos with adjustable settings
Adjustable seat
Storage area with bungie tie-downs

"This boat has simliar lines to Outrigger Connections Fuze Fusion and Zephyr.
The Ma'a Afi has sharper chines and a flatter bottom."

"The Ma’a Afi was designed for more spread out conditions like in the Kaiwi Channel or smaller conditions. The Vantage is so good in tight wave conditions but its weakness is when its more spread out. It doesn’t get the carry you need in the channel. I think we achieved that with the Ma’a Afi. It slides into ground swell and carries really well. It has a soft, flat bottomed V cross-section that has alot of reserve bouyancy when you need it, but when its small its out of the water. Its got a super comfortable seat and a stable feel even when rigged light. I believe its the best all around canoe I’ve designed.
Another nice thing about the Ma’a Afi is that it does well rudderless. It has enough track to do it for long periods of time, even in the small bumps."

The boat is handcrafted in Hilo, HI.

OC 1 Review - Opinion - Zephyr Versus Fusion

Paddler's comment:
"As far as I know, the Zephyr design differs from the Fusion like this:

- the bow volume has a more vertical distribution
- the sheer line at the bow is pulled up
- the bow seems to have a narrower entry
- the hull is slightly narrower at the foot wells
- the volume of the deck at the stern has been reduced

This would lead to the improvements that the paddler's ratings suggest: better flat water performance, better upwind performance. It seems that the design objectives have been met right on.
Paddletalking with Karel Jr., I learned that the boat excels especially in maintaining the speed in the surf and therefor in connecting the bumps."

OC 1 Review - Opinions - Pueo Versus Fuze

OC 1 Reviews - Opinions - Hurricane Versus Pegasus

Paddler's comments:
"The Pegasus is a great all round boat where I am in the North-East, but when it gets bigger (even in 3-4 footers) it has a tendency to pearl for me and I need to lean back quite a bit. Now mind you, I weigh 195 lbs, so not exactly ideal weight for this boat. Its not low in the big stuff but likely medium to decent depending on what you weight and therefor how low the boat sits." ( Comment from ocpaddler.com )

OC 1 Reviews - Opinions - Pueo

What do you think about the results ?

Paddler's comments:
"I paddled (the Pueo) in some flatwater. then went out in the ocean paddled upwind and then back downwind. The boat is amazing in every circumstance. It carries the glide incredibly well in the flat. It turns on a dime with the new ama. It picks up every bump downwind and it glides over the upwind bumps without rocking around and flexing."

"Last night we had 2-4.5 feet conditions, all very choppy not really clean. Our usual run is flat through the basin for 2 miles to the break water and then uphill straight out to some pins left over from the LA Olympics maybe 2-3 miles distance and return.
I’m not surprised by the survey numbers for the Pueo. The flat water performance was unexpected but distinctly fast. Through the chop and back wash at the break wall it stayed nice and stable,and where the Kaimana plods a little with a lot of up and down slamming, the Pueo slices right through and loses less glide. I attribute that to the forward cockpit and the higher gunwhales. The cockpit flares out above the water line which provides more buoyancy when you get sucked into the trough either up or down wind. It’s of course stiffer like all new boats. Super sensitive steering which I like. Turns on a dime. It has a different trigger point when catching bumps, again forward cockpit. Once on the bump it runs like hell and easily connects. Ama is super quiet and looks like the hull of a german World War I naval destroyer. Ama slices in and out without plowing when leaning left. The seat feels like you are glued to it. A little shaving for my hip bones and I’m good.
Way more sophisticated then my Kaimana. It feels like I have to bring up my game to really utilize the Pueo/Porsche. You have to be precise to appreciate it’s possibilities."( Comments from ocpaddler.com )

Please see also the video of the Pueo in action in the 'OC 1 Video' section.

OC 1 Review - Opinion - Hurricane - Fusion - Zephyr

Please feel free to leave a comment.

OC 1 Review - Opinion - Fusion - Outrigger Connection (draft)

• GENERAL

The Fusion is designed to excel in open ocean downwind conditions. And this is does ! As we all know, this boat has an impeccable performance record in the Molokai Hoe Championships with Karel Tresnak Jr. 'at the helm'.
It is one of the higher volume outrigger canoes. This makes the model especially attractive for paddlers above 200 lbs.

• Technical data
• Displacement
• Length overall
• Length of waterline
• Beam/ Beam at waterline
• Draft
  
• Looks
• Details
• Seat - the seat arrangement is super comfortable in Outrigger Connection designs. A look at the photos will give you a good idea. Seats are available in different sizes, ex. taller people sit further behind. The gunnels are pulled up - this gives the seat extra stability and a very good feedback to your hips.
• Footwells - these are two seperate wells, generously enough spaced to be comfortable for all size of feet. The two Venturi drains are quiet and do a great job.
• Rudder - a relatively large rudder, available im two basic shapes.
• Ama/Iakus - the ama has a pretty decent volume. It is quiet on the water. I hardly feet it while paddling. The iakus are availble in aluminum, in the past carbon iakus were available, they are a little lighter. The set up is very easy, a set of screws keeps the iakus in place. A very good and stable solution.
• Chines - the Fusion has two relatively soft chines. While this feature does not significantly increase drag, it does help the boat to track very well on the wave surface. 
• Performance
• In The Flat
• The Fusion is not a flat water canoe. Canoes designed for optimal flat water performance generally have a narrower entry at the bow and less rocker. If you own a Fusion you can make it work in the flats; it will require you to work a little more.
  
• Upwind
• I like the upwind performance of the Fusion. The boat feels safe and always in control. It cuts the oncoming wave sufficiently to not slam down excessively into the trough. The trim is good and the performance is definitely competitive in these conditions.
  
• Sea On Beam
• One particular thing that some beginners experience is that the Fusion 'can huli without a warning'. Indeed, I remember it: once I felt the huli coming, I was already in the water. Later, this feature - likely due to hull shape specifics, good secondary stability - becomes a plus. It allows you to fly the ama easily at any degree. The Fusion takes beam on sea generally very well.
  
• Downwind/Following Sea
• Small Chop: If you are not an expert then you will experience the performance in small chop somewhat similar to flat water conditions.
• Medium: Now you are entering the waters that this vessel was designed for. The 'take off' is still requiring some intense work but once you're on the wave the boat is fast, precise and very comfortable.
  
• Large: "The size of a wave may be measured by the awe that it provokes in you". 'Large' is for me when it starts to get a little scary. Large conditions mean for me also: ' I want to be on my Fusion'. I am biased here because I own a Fusion; nevertheless this is a good boat for when it gets big: very maneuverable, great secondary stability, and the famously comfortable seat allow you to feel at home in challenging conditions.
  
• Rough: Ask Karel Jr about this one.
• Wind: I have never experienced any significant negative effects even from strong winds, side winds etc..
  

• Conclusion

Summary: A great boat for the - male - open ocean beginner, the heavier paddler above 200 lbs/ 90 plus kg, and an expert vessel for big downwind conditions.

• Pros
• Cons

View a images of the Fusion.