Dragon Boat West

was returning our trusty 6-16 at the end of practice to see: TWO BRAND-SPNKING NEW BuK dboats!! (excuse my enthusiasm, as this was my first time actually seeing one up close)

So I had a seat, and they're comfy... hull design's very similar to the Gemini, and it's spineless, but boy, it there a whole lot more legroom!!

So what's the scoop on these? Will we get to race in them?

Cheers,
Will

woo hoo!   wonder if we'll use them tomorrow....   :D

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!  i'm in LOVE!   those things are AWESOME to sit in!

too bad the steering support isn't set up on them yet, otherwise we would have taken them out.  :(

there was 4 more sitting at the DBA warehouse on friday.  2 slated to arrive on the island and the other 2 to pemberton. i like the design, hell of a lot better then the gemini's.

sooo.. what does this mean for the fate of the gemini boats for this year???

It is my understanding that FCRCC sold two 6/16's to finance the purchase of the BUK's, and that this was done to ensure that the local teams had access to the same boats that will be used at the World Club Crew in Toronto later this year....

As for the Gemini's, I don't believe the introduction of the two BUK's will have any impact on the boats used at the various regattas this year.

It sounds like the BUK's will be great to paddle in, but how long before people start moaning about them when they've had to spend half a practice standing on the docks waiting for their turn in the boat...the BUK's will slot into the FCRCC rotation as 6/16's, so those teams that often had to utilise more than 10 rows of seats to accommodate all available paddlers will have to leave some bodies behind, or carry them along in the coach boat and perform some on-water gymnastics.....

Geminis and 6-16's will be used for Alcan.  I don't think there are enough BUK's to race 9 boat heats.  And Alcan won't spend the money to rent BUK's from other clubs when they already have a fleet of 6-16's and Geminis.

I really think that we should do a protest of the geminis

Hey Garbage (can I call you that) :lol:

You are correct there are not enough boats close by to race BuKs.  I have heard the retrofit of the Geminis is progressing well.  People who have seen the work and have tried them have said good things about the work.  It seems there is an extra 3 inches between seats and the arch under the seat is gone so for us tall people it will be much better (not that I paddle though).

Let's just hope they don't fall apart in the middle of a race or practice.  I heard a couple of the "new" Geminis may be floated this week at DZ.  Anybody confirm this rumour?  We will all hold our breath to see how they turn out.

At the very least, perhaps Alcan can field the few Buks they get in the Guts & Glory race? Oh heck, throw in the Taiwanese boats in there as well! The more, the better!! :)

mmm, yes, lets t-bone and crack the brand new BUKs in the guts and glory. :S

We took out a BUK last night and ran into a couple of issues that other teams need to be aware of:

• Lights - currently there are no mounts on the BUKs for boat lights.  You can improvise by wedging the light in the slot that holds the tail using a rope bag or jacket.  Until FCRCC puts light mounts on the boat do not take one out for a night time practice unless you have that light securely mounted on the boat.
• Steering Oar - the BUKs use a shorter steering oar.  Another team took a BUK steering oar for use on a Gemini leaving me with a standard length oar.  The paddlers in the back bench were in danger of losing their heads when I was sculling the boat around.
  
  
  REMEMBER - the short OARs are for the BUKs!

Other than those minor items, it was a great practice and our paddlers really seemed to like the boat.  Good leg room was the most frequent comment.

Another note for steerspeople - the steersperson's position is a few inches higher in the boat then on the Geminis.  Not much, but enough to change your center of gravity.  Something to watch for your first couple of times in the boat.

StraightLine.

had a chance to paddle in the buk as well and simply put, the are amazing!   they're smooth, fast, and no matter where you are on the boat, you will have incredible leg room.  i cant imagine there being very many complaints with this boat, thats for sure..

Paddled in one of these tonight.  OMG these things are awesome, smooth as silk and FAST! And the LEG ROOM! OMG! Too bad we won't be able to race with them because I think we would see a lot of sub 2 min races!

A note with the Buks:

Because the way seats are screwed on, it's a bad idea to tie them off at the seats.

There are bungees with a metal ring installed at the front and back of the center posts for such purposes.