University of Limerick Kayak Club

can we get this for the club instead of another mamba?
I think there's 2/3 mambas being bought and maybe a stompere of those boats be swaped for this?
http://www.i-canoe.com/en/Kayaks.21/Whi ... .2106.html

It's very big and very round. Something less big with less of a rail would suit our paddlers and the rivers we paddle better than a Lettman

Also, it's made of fiberglass! Possibly not ideal...

Why were you so against this boat? I know It is not going to be bought but I think we're a missing a good opportunity.

The things I've heard against this boat when I suggested it make no sense and here's why:
they dont make them in fibregalss mass production, they're hdpe like any other boat. they may have made some composite boats but any i've ever seen in real life were plastic and the one I used was plastic jsut like the one for sale in i-canoe. That said, isn't it correct that a lettmann granate won sickline 2013?

you say its very round but then say we want something with less rail, how can you have less rail than round?? anyway this boat is'nt "very round", its a semi planing hull like mamba or remix.

in terms of size i think a large granate is bewteen mamba 8.1 and 8.6 in size comparison. At least thats what it feels like.

why would the granate be less suitable for what we paddle than the mamba or the remix? it has more in common with those than any other boat such as jeffe or exo Xt

I'm not saying this boat is perfect and can do everything, I just don't think it's fair to dismiss it for the wrong reasons.

When looking at different boats we wanted to pick ones that would be suitable for the most basic paddler, we went for tried and tested ones that we know work as club boats.
I don't think the fact that the person who won sickline was paddling a Granate is overly relevant as we try to cater for everyone in the club not just the advanced. If you are looking at buying boats to win races, I think it could be said it's time you buy your own boat.
Again no one in the club has paddled a granate except for yourself, who paddled it over a very short stretch of scrapy drops and flatwater, we haven't gotten a chance to properly see how it reacts and handles Irish water, which is what it will be paddled on for the majority of the time. ~€1000 is a lot of money to take a chance on a boat which hasn't been properly tested yet.
If you feel very strongly that the Granate could be a good club boat maybe you could see if we could get a demo for the club

Sorry, when I said less rail I meant more rail.

From the page you linked:

The material used is high-strength synthetic fibers combined with high quality resins

I havn't got time to be writing out a comprehensive reply. It was dismissed for the right reasons.

In the 2012 Adiddas sick line race 6 of 15 boats in the super final were Granate's.

That should be enough to tell you that it's been designed as a full on race boat and won't be ideal for learning to kayak in Ireland.

Seen a few people paddling them, they look bleedin massive.

What has it got in common with the Mamba or the Remix, except the fact that they're all kayak shaped?

In my opinion it was not dismissed for the right reasons, if those reasons are the ones I've been seeing here. Also it probably wasn't even discussed at the meeting as I suggested it afterwards, when I found out that buying boats had been an agenda item (which is a different issue that is happily resolved I think).

EoinK wrote:From the page you linked:
The material used is high-strength synthetic fibers combined with high quality resins

I understand your confusion, that's a mistake on their part. There is a composite one available but it looks different. The one we're used to seeing is a hdpe aka plastic, boat http://snd-kayak.com/gIMG/lettmann/2012_granate_PE.gif

Statements like this are just horribly misleading keyes. You clearly don't know what your talking about with this boat.

EoinK wrote:Seen a few people paddling them, they look bleedin massive.

large granate : 260 cm Volume: 300 litres
large mamba (8.6) : 259cm Volume: 89 gal / 337 L
practically the same lentgh and slightly less volume in the granate!

EoinK wrote:That should be enough to tell you that it's been designed as a full on race boat and won't be ideal for learning to kayak in Ireland.

you cant say that because the boat was fast its not good to learn in. The guy who won was a slalom paddler and that might say just as much about the boat, unless you don't think slalom is a good way to learn paddling.

Developed by four world champions: Fabian Dörfler - K1 Slalom
world champion, Thilo Schmitt -Sickline World Champion, Jochen
Lettmann - K1 Slalom World Champion and Olympic Bronzemedalist
and Klaus Lettmann - K1 Downriver World Champion. They
guarantee that this new Creek boat is not only fast but it also reacts
on every stroke you do in whitewater like a slalom kayak

JackPhelan wrote:we went for tried and tested ones that we know work as club boats.

Firstly, how is the remix tried and tested as a club boat? Second, as I said earlier I'm not talking about the recent purchase decision anymore. That's done. My issue is with the false notions people have and have spread about what is a perfectly eligible club boat.

JackPhelan wrote: we haven't gotten a chance to properly see how it reacts and handles Irish water

I've seen dave holden paddle it at wacko and of course he won but the point is it paddled well in irish water. Again have we done that for other boats bought such as the remix? no - so why is the granate so shunned?

JackPhelan wrote:If you feel very strongly that the Granate could be a good club boat maybe you could see if we could get a demo for the club

I'll try jack but like I said I'm not trying to make us get this boat, I just think it should be considered in future.btw its going for 890 and thats before (890 - %20 = €712).
It's kind of hard for me to organise considering i can't get it myself and no-one else seems interested enough in it. i'll see what I can do...

TO ADD TO ETHAN'S OUTRAGE!

WHO BUYS NEW POLO BOATS. THEY AREN'T EVEN KAYAKS

GAWD

I spoke to Colm, we might have a demo granate sent with the polo boats we ordered.