Back to reality after a sweet trip to the pristine waters of the Columbia river gorge. I was able to paddle the new 9R a few times, read more to check out my review!
Pyranha Kayaks latest gift to whitewater, the 9R, was a real treat to paddle. I got to take it out for a few rips on the ultra classic class 5 boulder gardens and waterfalls of the Little White Salmon and once on the very steep and continuous Trout creek into a big water Wind River.
What I noticed most about the boat was the bow. The rocker is profound and the bow itself is long. The boat measures in length at around 9 feet, hence the name. When paddling the boat the bow length was not at all cumbersome and I was able to easily point it in the direction I wanted to go, accompanied with the increased rocker, “set it and forget it”. Not much body movement was needed to keep the bow out of the water.
The hull on the boat, a mix between a planning and displacement hull, maneuverable and not the least bit grabby. It did what I wanted with no unexpected glitches; Easy last minute eddy catching and corrections, speed and soft landings, not much more I could ask for in a hull. It excelled on steep creeks skipping over piton potential and navigated effortlessly through big water powering through holes and over squirrely water. Was even able to flat spin it on a wave and front surfed like a dream!
The width of the boat is narrower than most creek boats. It is noticeably narrower than the new Burn. However, I enjoyed the width of the boat as it allows for more maneuverability with the added length and is not so narrow that it loses stability; it’s also much faster! Easy to roll, never flipped over unintentionally, very stable.
The stern is low profile and long. This allowed for quick slalom-esqe turns (leaning back on one side lifts the bow and allows for quicker turns). However, I did notice the stern would occasionally get caught up on shallow ledges as there is not much stern rocker, which facilitates the increased speed. A small price to pay in my opinion, but I could also see it being a little squirty for the heavier folks. I weigh in around 160 with gear at 5’4’’ and felt the boat is big for me but pretty perfect for the big stuff. I think this boat would be great for beginners and absolutely loved by all. I think the 200+ lb club may find this boat a little sporty, but I can’t see them not liking it. Only on an overnighter with a few days worth of gear in the back would I see the low profile stern and the width becoming an issue with the bigger paddlers. Over 200lbs I would suggest getting an XL Burn or Large Shiva.
I am not embellishing when I say I am obsessed with the Pyranha 9R! It has made kayaking for me 100 times more FUN!
Check out this video of her in Gettin’ Busy on the L-dub.
http://vimeo.com/119189149
