Doing non-racing things with a racing boat?

[Tsuga8]

There's a Jensen VA-1 for sale near me. I've never been in such a boat. With utmost respect for the racers among us, I have absolutely no interest in racing. I do have interest in a better tracking, faster paddling boat just to see the sights and leave traffic noise behind faster.

What's the load capacity of such a boat like? Could it be used for tandem tripping? Solo tripping? Tandem day paddles? What would the downsides to using a racing boat for lily-dipping be?

 

[recped]

I paddled a Jensen (not sure of the model) once and only just a short test paddle. it is the only canoe I have ever been in where I was blown away by the acceleration, speed and tracking compared to my own boats which are more "traditional" and not intended to have these attributes as they are mostly intended for moving water.

I'm going on an all flat water trip in a few days, the Jensen would be great for that except that I am almost 100% certain that I will encounter significant swells and probably some whitecaps so I'm sticking with my whitewater boat which can handle that type of stuff. The trip will no doubt involve a number of open crossings in the 5 - 10km range, I don't want to get caught out in that given the likely situation of having high winds out of nowhere.

I don't really know about cargo space, it's a narrow boat but I do really long trips in 14 foot boats, I don't pack light, I'm sure I could get most of my gear in an 18 foot boat even though the Jensen is narrower.

You don't have to go fast just because you have a fast boat.

 

[Alan Gage]

Stability does not feel like most other hulls. It's a very round bottom and you can roll it all the way to the gunwale with virtually no effort. The good news is that you can roll it back flat with very little effort too. There is not a "point of no return" that is felt with some hulls. It will feel quite twitchy.

It certainly would not be my choice for paddling solo. You would need multiple dogs towards the bow to balance out your weight in the stern. The bow and stern are very skinny so will sink very deep if the weight distribution is off. They're very wide in the middle so kneeling in the center would, I think, be quite awkward. I think it's a boat you want to avoid leaning except when trying to turn it.

I enjoyed paddling mine but I hardly ever got to because I rarely had a tandem partner. When we were out in it we were generally paddling hard. But there were also times we backed off to cruise and my 30 pound dog came along on more than one occasion. You definitely felt it when she moved side to side. It can certainly be paddled at a less than race pace but I found I was always on my toes and it's definitely not something I'd want to trip out of though I'm sure it could be done if packed light on flat water. It does not ride up and over waves, it slices through them.

If the price was right and you thought you could recover your money by reselling it I think you'd probably enjoy trying it out. I wouldn't recommend paying top dollar though based on your stated uses.

I thought it was really fun to paddle. It feels good to make a boat fly. Most boats feel like you hit a wall at a certain point where you just can't make it go faster no matter how much harder you paddle. Not so with this hull. If you can give it more power it will give you more speed.

I wouldn't expect it to be considerably faster than a tripping tandem paddled at a leisurely tripping pace but it will certainly reward higher outputs.

Alan

 

[lowangle al]

See if you can get a test paddle. That should tell you all you need to know as to weather you'll like it or not.

 

[Gamma1214]

I vote for "grab it". You can never own too many hulls and it's fun to paddle and release if you don't fall in love.

 

[Tsuga8]

Sage words, thank you gentlemen. The problem with paddle and release is that my garage is already over capacity on boats. @recped and especially @Alan Gage 's descriptions are really useful. The issues with trim and sinking an end are obvious once pointed out but wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise. Comments on stability would have been harder for me to predict, given how little experience I have with such hulls.

 

[dutchlennart]

I have tripped with a scr a couple of times on flatwater rivers and lakes.
It works nicely if you know the weather
The trips where a couple of days. In nice temps and travelling light.
I guess i could stretch it for a week or so. It depends also on your on weight.
This crew is about 150 160 kg s.
I think my hemlock eaglet can do the same thing only 30% slower.

 

[zekabl]

I purchased a 80's mixer for $200 many years ago. I am too big to sit in the seats so I sat on a pad in the middle and used a 260cm aquabound carbon paddle. It was very stable just sitting on a lake or large river this way and it had good speed when paddling. I put my teenage kids in the seats and had them paddle across Briggs Wood (lake). They didn't make it very far before capsizing on the windy day.

 

[scoutergriz]

One buddy has an x-17, and another a Cruiser, while not true "racers" (both were used extensively in marathons) they are definitely twitchier than most tripping boats and have a lower capacity, but they're an absolute joy to tandem trip in, the round bottom profile makes them unbelievable when leaned to carve a tight turn but on an even keel they want to run straight only. I've never tried to solo either one.
If you have the skills and abilities to handle a true thoroughbred that's fast and highly responsive to every nuance, I'd go for it- If you don't like it after a few trips you can always flip it, especially if you get a good deal on it, If you don't get it you'll always wonder what could have been

 

[Steve in Idaho]

@Tsuga8 , I built a lean-to covered rack on the side of my garage.

 

[Alan Gage]

@Tsuga8 I would like to modify my earlier response slightly.

I wrote my response thinking of the V1 proboat, I'd forgotten that the V1-A was a slightly detuned version of that hull, which I also used to own. The V1-A is a bit more friendly than the V1 but still quite different than a tripping hull, even the fast ones like a Cruiser, Minn 2, or even the Jensen 18.

Alan

 

[Tsuga8]

Thanks Alan for those additional thoughts - very useful. I suspect those latter hulls you mention are really what I should be aiming for to fit my needs.

The rest of y'all are terrible influences! I keep thinking I'll flip boats but they come in and don't leave. At a certain point one has more boats than one has time to try them all. I still need to decide which of the current fleet is going to go.

 

[stripperguy]

I looked at the specs for that V1-A Jensen...I didn't see any cross section views, but if it's designed to fit the USCA cruiser standard, I have lots of experience in USCA Competition Cruisers.
I built several strippers as Comp Cruisers. Never raced them, but tripped with them for many years. I used to think that was the ideal tripping canoe. Shallow arched. Plenty of room, extremely stable, pretty darn fast.

I've also built (and raced) a few pro boats, known in my day as "327's", which seem similar to the Jensen V1 Proboat. Fully rounded bottom, flared above water. We could roll that hull to the gunwales easily and safely, and recover just as easily. Those hulls were fast, but the rounded bottom had little initial stability, constantly dithering, a very nervous hull. After a full day of paddling them, my lats would be worn out from constantly correcting the attitude. Ultimately safe, but it never felt that way.

Even now, if I needed a larger tandem, I would choose a Comp Cruiser, or one similar.

 

[yknpdlr]

I remember well in the earlier days of the Adirondack 90 mile classic canoe race, especially when rounding a particular highly wind exposed point on afternoon windy Raquette Lake, a number of pro boats would be seen having capsized. Thankfully the prime track was close to shore, so no real problem with paddlers recovering. Ulitimately that was a primary reaon for substantially altering the race route to avoid that segment by veering of to finish day 1 at Blue Mountain Lake as it has been ever since. Strangely, in later years I see fewer and fewer such pro boats in this race.

 

[D J Hayes]

My spouse of 53 years has been wanting me to get rid of an 18 1/2 foot Wenonah Jensen v1-a mixer that I picked up some years ago. This is the set up with sliding seats and a "whale's tail" in the stern to move the typically lighter paddling partner farther back to balance. It is one, fast boat and I loved paddling it. But, my wife will only go with me in the stable Spirit II canoe and she tells me I have too many boats. Anyhow, if anyone lives in the general vicinity of Geneseo NY, you are most welcome to give it a try

 

[Tsuga8]

Thanks for the offer and anecdote D J! Your anecdote confirms my suspicion that this is not the boat for taking my wife lily dipping. Sure would be fun to try one though. Next time I'm up near you I might just drop you a line!