Unofficial UK Slalom BBS

Hi everybody I have decided to give slalom a try so I am selling my creeker as I never use it and I am looking to buy a slalom kayak I have been playboating for about 3 years but slalom is a different ball game so I have a couple of really basic questions ( Sorry if they come up all the time or if this is in the wrong place)

What is the difference between a 3.5mtr and 4mtr boat (Is it just that the 3.5mtr is quicker to turn or is there more to it)

Am I better off getting a 3.5mtr boat or will a 4mtr boat do to start with.

Paddler weights in boats if I am too light would it be harder to turn etc. ( I know if I tried a playboat that I was too light for I would struggle to pull off any moves not that I can do many)

Should I just buy something dirt cheap off the likes of ebay for a few months.

I know that I should try as many boats as I can before I buy and I should demo demo demo but when I first started kayaking 3 years ago I bought a boat as it felt right but over the first year I changed my boat 4 times as I didnt know what I needed/wanted and I progressed quickly.

Liquid logic CR125 (sold because it was too tail happy)
Pyranha Ammo ( enjoyed it but got bored on the flat)
Exo pinup ( I bought this just for the flat but ended up using this all the time)
Jackson allstar 2010 ( I wanted a molan but lets be honest this boat is awesome and after I demoed it I had to buy it but by then I knew what I wanted)
Dagger CFS ( still not sure why I bought this as I never do any creeking)

Sorry for my whole life story its just I feel that even if I demo a boat I will not know what I am looking for.

Cheers for putting up with my stupid questions

Mark

Hi Mark, great to hear of someone coming across to slalom.
Slalom rules used to require boats to be 4m long, but when that rule went out most people quickly switched to 3.5m. You rarely see 4m boats around now (and when you do it's often people paddling a boat that they bought 30 years ago!)

There is nothing to stop you competing at your first few slaloms in a play boat. It will slow you down, but you'll get more of a feel for what you might want to get your boat to do, which will help you when you come to demo a boat. You will also see second hand boats advertised. For a first boat this might be a sensible option and then you can buy a new one when you are more confident of what you want.

It would be a good idea to join a club with some slalom pedigree. I'm sure you are a very good paddler, but you will be surprised how much more there is to learn.
They will have boats you can try, including older 4 m boats, but most people will advise you to get a 3.5. I took my time to change but when I did I was very pleased that I didn't splash out on an intermediate sized 3.75 m one that was available at the time.

In slalom it's more of a disadvantage to be too heavy for your boat rather than too light. I am too heavy for my 4m boat and resemble a submarine conning tower progressing slowly along, the hull largely submerged. Turns as sharply as the Queen Mary. Stay away from 4m boats, courses are rinky dinky these dsys, premium on carving turns not straight line speed. If you go along to an active slalom club you are likely to get to try out some 3.5m boats. Main thing is to get started in whatever you have to hand.

Millsy,

welcome, I hope you have a great experience of slalom paddling. If you need more help just ask anybody here.

Jim.