The boat has been out for a few months now but I'm now just getting to writing up my thoughts on it. The boat is fast. The larger Fathom, according to designer Tom Derrer, has the same wave drag curve as the Falcon S18 which is a foot and a half longer. At the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium in 06 I raced the Fathom against the Falcon S18 with a fellow rep. We then switched boats and raced again. In both sprints and longer races the boats were side by side. I've been meaning to invest in several GPS for these events but I haven't quite done that. I think our "race" was as close to real world as you can get.
At the same event in 07 I used the LV and "raced for giggles"a BCU 4 star instructor who was in a Valley Pintail. We just went for about 40 strokes but in the Fathom LV I was able to stay right along with him. My bow wake was larger of course but the bottom line is that these two boats could tour together and not be way off pace with eachother. Most of the people at this event just do the lean, edge, roll routine and I know that the Fathom LV doesn't always appeal to that crowd. Why?
The high back deck doesn't allow for easy back deck rolls! I look at the WW boats around in many of them have huge rear decks for volume...I don't hear WW boaters making a big deal out of this! More importantly though, there are a ton of boats that do fit the low deck criteria and I don't think Eddyline was after competing with that. I like to look at this from the perspective of Eddyline's history and customer base. The Raven, Nighthawk, Falcon, Merlins, Winddancer, Ospreys. North American designs for San Juan Island touring...very efficient and comfortable. They are simply Tom's designs.
I like to play guitar. I think about the best guitar players that I have met over the years and they seem to be more respectful and appreciative of all the differant designs out there. Sure, a Bluegrass Player may prefer a Martin and a FingerStyle Jazz player might prefer a Taylor. But that doesn't mean that one is way better. The are just different. Frankly, I'd like to have both in my quiver. One great guitar player I know picked up my 'ol beat up guitar and ripped a few licks. "Cool...unique sound" he said.
To me the Fathoms just represent Tom's design philosophy. Comfortable and efficient and made for a target audience. I'm no super hot shot boater but I like to surf, roll and edge and the boat really is fun. I've paddled most of the other boats out there and I like a lot of them too. I think the unique thing Eddyline has going for them is their experience in thermal forming. Some companies have tried and given up while Eddyline seems to have it dialed. Sure I'm biased...but I am also the hardest on these boats as anyone out there. I've broken some but I've also been amazed when I've done something to a Carbonlite boat and it just laughs back. I've dropped them from the top of my trailer. In 8 years I have had one crack from this. The rest just bounce back for more.
The higher foredeck in the Fathoms don't seem in interfere with my stroke. Extra padding in the seat would help anyone who wants to sit up a bit higher. The volume for my big yellow boots is appreciated! The boat is quick and at 175 lbs I have to really crank to get the bow wake to slow me down.
Here are a couple of shots of me in the Fathom LV. I'd be happy to share more experiences in it or hear how other people may or may not prefer its "sound". The lower shot is Jim Stohlquist (yeah Stohlquist WaterWear) paddling the LV up in the San Juans. He paddled both models and as you can see would probably enjoy the larger volume one more.
I work for Eddyline and I drank the Kool-Aid but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in what you might have to drink too.
