Pyranha 9r (M)

[Levi Rhodes]

I’ve had a chance to paddle a 9r on several occasions over the past year and finally picked one up for myself last week.  Since then, the boat has been growing on me every time I hop in it.  I’m really excited about it and want to share my thoughts.

OUTFITTING: At first I thought it was going to be a lot of boat to paddle, as the demo models I paddled were not outfitted for my smaller figure (5’6, 135 lbs). I think that was because I felt like I was sitting pretty low in the boat.  When I bought the boat new, Pyranha included several pieces of foam to outfit it with and I used just about all of them.  Two seat shims, a carved foot foam block, and all of the hip shims later, I feel as snug in a boat as I ever have.  Pyranha’s latest outfitting is very adjustable and comfortable for what it is — simple.  Many brands have been adding all kinds of instantly adjustable seat options which make me want to compare them to a luxury car.  The Connect outfitting requires about five minutes with an allen wrench/screwdriver combo but can be adjusted just the same as the heavier luxary outfitting.  Once adjusted, I feel this fit is much more solid, sturdy, and reliable as I know it is not going to move.  Many people see this as a con, personally I see it as a pro as it has reduced a lot of weight by keeping the outfitting simple.  As you sit in the boat, your knees are not too straight, nor are they too tall.  They are a happy medium for me.  The connect outfitting allows you to adjust the seat rake angle, seat height, hip pad tightness, the seat can be adjusted forward/back, and of course the foot block can be moved.  Where other outfittings have been going towards more of a “luxury car” feel, I’d say the outfitting in the 9r feels more like a sports car.  Purposefully crafted with no extra nonsense.

HULL: Coming from a small shiva, the 9r came pretty naturally.  The 9r’s planing hull  has a significant amount of edge which starts at the knees and makes its way to the butt of the stern.  With no chine, it isn’t a trippy kind of edge, just enough to carve on, but not something for the water to grab ahold of when you don’t expect it to.  The bow has more of a displacement feel with no edge, which is where it gets it’s true creek boat feel.  The bow has a crazy amount of rocker and less towards the stern.  This keeps the bow high and dry- it rides over waves and holes rather than through them, and the sterns lack of  keeps it moving fast without sacrificing handling.  For such a fast boat, it turns very well. At almost nine feet in length, the 9r is predictable and forgiving.   With less stern rocker, however, I must say I haven’t figured out the magic behind boofing it like I could in my Shiva.  I believe this is due to the stern profile.. The Shiva is a boofing king, so maybe I am a bit jaded after having the ease of it’s boofability and graduating to a longer creeker means I need more time to figure this out.  This is not an issue, however, because of the bow rocker.  As I said before, the bow likes to stay dry.  If you plug a boof that you are concerned about going too deep, you are likely to be forgiven by the 9r’s desire to resurface predictably and with stability.  Chances are, you won’t even get that bow under the water off of anything smaller than a 5 ft ledge if you keep it square.

The 9r was originally designed to dominate the short boat class of creek racing.  It’s fast and light.  One of my first concerns when buying this boat was that it would have less plastic to make it lighter and in turn would be easier to break.  After some digging around for answers, I have been informed the hull is not lacking plastic, it is the deck which has been lightened and reduced.  It does not feel thin or weak by any means, but when shouldering it you will notice it isn’t as heavy as you would think. Another unique bonus feature worth mentioning is the ‘wave deflectors’ at the bow of the boat.  On each side of the bow, a little ledge facing the water redirects water that would otherwise be splashing in your face.  It’s kinda fun to notice when paddling it.

All in all, I would recommend this boat to boaters of any skill level as it is a very forgiving boat for my first timer friends, and something I was able to hop right in and fling myself down class V.  Message me if you’d like to paddle it down a rapid or two and get ready to go fast in a classic.

 

• This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Levi Rhodes.

[Levi Rhodes]

Update~~

I scooted my seat forward a hair and it feels sweeeet.  Fixed my boof glitch and it took less than a minute.  I also adjusted the seat ‘rake angle’ which pushes my knees into the thigh hooks better.  Both of those adjustments took a slight little loosen of the wingnuts behind the hip pads and it slides right into place.  Also- I noticed that the plastic on the cockpit near the ratchets for the backband is curved/lipped so it rests nicely when shouldering the boat, and doesn’t dig as deep as a straight edge would.  *neato*

-LR

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by Levi Rhodes.

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