Hello,

I'm 190 cm, and have real trouble finding a kayak that really fits me.
I'm looking to do WW categories II/III, maybe IV, nothing fancy (no
rodeo or races).

My club has a wide selection of try-out kayaks (whose quality I cannot
really judge), and most of them I can not enter at all, the legs and
feet don't get in far enough. They have an old Eskimo Gattino, which
fits barely, with lots of pressure points (hurts like hell after a
while).

I was thinking about trying / buying the Eskimo Cerro, but have to take
a long drive to a shop to test it first-hand. Is anyone here rather
large as well, and uses the Cerro? Is it comfortable for the bigger
fellow?

Are there tips to work around the problem somehow? Or is 190 cm just
beyond the usual WW kayak size?

Thanks in advance,
Jakob

Jakob Bauer wrote:
Hello,

I'm 190 cm, and have real trouble finding a kayak that really fits me.
I'm looking to do WW categories II/III, maybe IV, nothing fancy (no
rodeo or races).

My club has a wide selection of try-out kayaks (whose quality I cannot
really judge), and most of them I can not enter at all, the legs and
feet don't get in far enough. They have an old Eskimo Gattino, which
fits barely, with lots of pressure points (hurts like hell after a
while).

I was thinking about trying / buying the Eskimo Cerro, but have to take
a long drive to a shop to test it first-hand. Is anyone here rather
large as well, and uses the Cerro? Is it comfortable for the bigger
fellow?

Are there tips to work around the problem somehow? Or is 190 cm just
beyond the usual WW kayak size?

Jakob, I'm almost 12 cm (5 inches) taller than you, but unfortunately
for you, that doesn't mean a thing. The deciding factors for fitting in
a boat a shoe size, inseam and experience.

My inseam (pants size) is 36", or about 91,5 cm, my (Dutch) shoe size is
about 46/47 (depending upon the brand). Everything else above my waist
sticks out of the boat, so it's really not that important for fitting in
a kayak comfortably.

What also counts when picking a boat is how much you weigh. I'm a little
under 100kg (~220lbs), that means that some boats that will fit me act
like submarines, whereas others have way too much volume for
playboating. Someone with 20kg more than me will overload boats that
will handle just fine for me... Not to mention that he will probably
need a bigger and wider cockpit and seat as well.

The Eskimo Diablo (little brother of the Cerro) worked well for me for
several years, but nowadays I'd recommend the Eskimo Salto creekboat
instead. It's a lot more forgiving, less tippy and still very easy to
roll. You can run easy stuff in it and it will run extreme stuff just as
nicely, *if* you're good enough.

When you start to kayak, at first everything will feel like it's too
tight and painful. If you're the wrong size for this sport (we both seem
to be), you will either continue to paddle boats with a lot of volume,
or you will learn to deal with fitting boats like a glove.

I paddle a playboat that is shorter than me, the Bliss-Stick Flipstick,
it has a huge amount of room for such a tiny boat, but if I would add
10kg, I'd be unable to control it on big volume whitewater.

The best tip I can give you is to try out as many boats as you can, and
pick one (preferably 2nd hand) that feels good for you. When talking
about "playboats", the Wavesport Super EZ has a pretty decent amount of
leg and foot room, so does the Wavesport T4 of the generation before it.

There are several models of boats made by Prijon and Eskimo that have as
much as or more legroom than the Cerro, several of which are actually
quite a bit shorter (more manouverable) than it as well. The latest
revisions of the older models of Eskimo kayaks have added volume to
them, usually benefiting larger paddlers. Use that to your advantage!

I'm not sure where you are located, but maybe there are certain brands
of kayaks that are more readily available to you... that might influence
what you can buy 2nd hand.

HTH

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/

Dear Wilko and Jakob!

I have the same problems as Jakob.
I am 195cm and my shoe size is 48...

Wilko schrieb:
Jakob Bauer wrote:
Hello,

I'm 190 cm, and have real trouble finding a kayak that really fits me.
I'm looking to do WW categories II/III, maybe IV, nothing fancy (no
rodeo or races).

Same for me. I am in a club where I may borrow a boat but the collection
is limited and I think that this offer should be used by the real
beginners only.

My club has a wide selection of try-out kayaks (whose quality I cannot
really judge), and most of them I can not enter at all, the legs and
feet don't get in far enough. They have an old Eskimo Gattino, which
fits barely, with lots of pressure points (hurts like hell after a
while).

A friends friend as a Gattino as well. There are different opinions
about that boat.
I was thinking about trying / buying the Eskimo Cerro, but have to take
a long drive to a shop to test it first-hand. Is anyone here rather
large as well, and uses the Cerro? Is it comfortable for the bigger
fellow?
I have used the Cerro quite regular and fit fits for me. But there is no
space left. It is an issue of the foot length. Additionally a trainer
has the impression that my weight of 90kg might be too much for the
boat.

Are there tips to work around the problem somehow? Or is 190 cm just
beyond the usual WW kayak size?

Jakob, I'm almost 12 cm (5 inches) taller than you, but unfortunately
for you, that doesn't mean a thing. The deciding factors for fitting in
a boat a shoe size, inseam and experience.
Shoe size might be the most critial point. The length of the legs are a
point as well. I fit in a Lettmann Olymp but my legs are too long to
enter a Lettmann Alpin! This was really surprising me.

My inseam (pants size) is 36", or about 91,5 cm, my (Dutch) shoe size is
about 46/47 (depending upon the brand). Everything else above my waist
sticks out of the boat, so it's really not that important for fitting in
a kayak comfortably.

What also counts when picking a boat is how much you weigh. I'm a little
under 100kg (~220lbs), that means that some boats that will fit me act
like submarines, whereas others have way too much volume for
playboating. Someone with 20kg more than me will overload boats that
will handle just fine for me... Not to mention that he will probably
need a bigger and wider cockpit and seat as well.

The Eskimo Diablo (little brother of the Cerro) worked well for me for
several years, but nowadays I'd recommend the Eskimo Salto creekboat
instead. It's a lot more forgiving, less tippy and still very easy to
roll. You can run easy stuff in it and it will run extreme stuff just as
nicely, *if* you're good enough.
Thank you very much for the hint!

I have bought a second hand Prijon T-Canyon a few days ago. It should be
fine for beginners. Some people claim that this canoe is boring because
it forgives a lot, others claim that this is only true for people with
low weight. I have not that much experience with the T-Canyon right now.

It is easy to tell somebody to try as many boats as possible but it is
also not that simple to follow that advise. A shop in Nuremberg offers
test days when you can try some boats, may be other shops do that as
well.

I think that is very helpful to collect advises from experienced sportsmen
but to be also aware that the question about the best canoe can be close to the
question of the best editor, the best computer platform...

I hope you will find "your" boat soon!

what you can buy 2nd hand.
I have removed a lot of useful information...
Thanks for the help, dear Wilko!

HTH

Best regards,

Christoph