NOTE: Corran
once described Daniel Herzig as: “One of the young, up and coming, European
kayak athletes”.
Today Daniel is sponsored by DragoRossi kayaks and fast becoming known
for his big air moves.
Daniel posted this review of the Squashtail on the Boatertalk website and although he is sponsored by DragoRossi
his review is factually and technically correct so we asked him if we could reproduce it here on the High
'n' Mighty website.
Daniel is a really cool guy and was more than happy to oblige!
Review: DragoRossi Squashtail - By Daniel Herzig
When looking at the Squashtail, it strongly reminds on one of those dedicated
surf kayaks, that only appear on oceans.
Basically it is a surf kayak, just optimized for the needs of the (compared to the ocean ones) turbulent, slower and smaller
river waves.
This results in increased width for quicker planning and reduced length for maneuverability within the narrower space
you have offered on a river feature. While dedicated ocean surf kayaks are made of
super-stiff composite constructions,
there is HDTP used to rotomould the Squashtail, so you can still smash your boat against rocks and concrete features of the river!
HANDLINGPaddling the Squashtail in flatwater gives a pretty funny feeling - the narrow bow gives funny optics too. Basically the boat is, due to its slicy bow and short stern, very easy to
flatwheel, although you immediately notice that this is NOT what it was built for. Flatwater loops are also performed pretty easily but, when linking ends, the unbalanced volume becomes obvious very quickly. |
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The stern is barely rockered which provides the paddler with more than enough speed in a front surf while at the same time almost eliminates bounce. This means that you cannot just "butt bounce" into the air as you fly forwards down the face of the wave. Instead of positioning in the
sweet spot and "waiting" for the perfect bounce, you have to drive the boat with loads of speed towards features like diagonals, or those "bubbles" appearing on unstable waves. Hitting those, the boat loses its weight (same effect as jumping over a ramp), and your favourite move can be done. It is possible to support this technique by means the four (pretty large) fins, that come with the boat however I wouldn't recommend those shiny red pieces of joy for river surfing. I'd say they're more useful for trimming the boat towards ocean surfing, where you really need that extra bit of grip on big carves. |
| Once in a back surf, the extremely highly rockered bow allows for huge bounces. This in combination with the short stern makes the Squashtail the easiest boat I've ever paddled for any backward move! At the same time, the boat still stays at pretty high speed in the
back surf. All in all, the Squashtail is a pretty unique design. It enables the paddler to transform those stunning ocean surfing lines onto river waves, and bring those super cool short radiant turns, and funky freestyle moves onto the ocean. It is not really comparable to other freestyle designs, due to its obvious different goals in design. I can sum it up like this: It's definitely faster than any design I know. It bounces less. It's extremely fun to paddle and although you're likely to get lots of windowshades the first couple of times you paddle it they shouldn't bother you! |
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OUTFITTINGThe outfitting can be described pretty quickly. It's solid, functional, and very nice to look at. The seat has a good profile that lifts your legs towards the deck. The knees find good support beside the cockpit rim (it's a kinda integrated
knee brace). |
| Right in the middle of the kayak, on the floor in front of the seat, another ratchet is located. This one controls the
foot brace, which actually is more of a heel brace and allows you to
wiggle the toes around, while having a bombproof fit with the heels. Real big boys or girls can quickly take out all the stuff and increase the
foot room by some fifteen centimeters. The kayak is stiffened by microcell foam walls in the bow and stern. Closer inspection of the seat reveals two ABS shafts. These are about 60 centimeters in length and are designed to support the critical part of the hull (directly under the seat). This construction results in a very stiff hull, there's almost no "wobbling", even on the fastest waves. Grab loops are placed right beside the cockpit in a balanced position, so from now on you can carry your kayak as if it were a stylish handbag! |
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