The “Fungis” (pronounced: fun guys) from BCCKC (New York) write in about the Fun Series.

August 6, 2004

Hi EJ,
First time I met you was at the MooseFest a few years back, and I’m glad
to see you are happy at doing what you do best….bringing more people
into this sport. Even while raising a family.

I’ve come from a "River Running" school
of thought, and not much into "Rodeo Play" . My main goal was
to be able to learn Hole Basics Strategy………..just so once I get
into a hole, I can come out without fear of swimming.

I’m using an RPM Max as my Big Water Boat, and light
Creeking with it also. My progression of River Runner Play boats have
a long list, but have done me some interesting trips. I went from a Super
EZ, to an S8 – 235, to now a Super Fun……..and this is my story…….

When a few of my friends ordered your boats without
demo-ing, I thought they were following a dream, and I wished the best
for them. It was hard to buy a boat straight from a catalog, without even
sitting in one. Well after a longer waiting time then expected, they drove
the 5 hour drive to Mount Zoar’s and picked up their new boats. Even when
they came back, I was still cautious about the newness of it all, and
was even a little skeptical …….a new company, older, but different
material, new designs, but yet still believed in your dream……..to
make a kayak that everyone will be able to use….and have fun in !

So here I am, paddling on the Salmon River, once in
a while, I’ll take a few photos, during their PaddleFest Weekend. I see
a few more Jackson Kayaks on the water, so I took some pics of them as
well. Then I start to ask more questions…….questions to paddlers I
know……and their previous paddling experience level, and watch as they
are beginning to live it up in their "Funs".

So, now I’m getting really curious as to the similarities
of the EZ series to the Fun series. And two others in our group started
thinking on the same lines…………..what if ? could we ? too soon
? I know ! Let’s DEMO !

And then ….we got excited ! A week later, after calling
around to see which outfitter had the boat sizes we need to take care
of us. We made an appointment to demo with Bay Creek (Rochester, NY),
on a small creek nearby thanks to Steve (the owner) and to Adam (FreakShow)
for taking us for a run. We already planned to buy a Super Fun, and two
4Funs, which we knew he had in stock. Then I asked another friend to join
us and maybe demo a Fun. His intent was to check out your "Happy
Feet" and maybe install them in his boat (a Booster 55). I told him
he might as well demo them with us, and get a feel for it. Well, when
we came back, we had grins all over the place. More so, when we found
out they also take trade-ins too. We left there with FOUR new Jacksons
strapped to the top of my Aztec, and still shaking our heads…..this
has never been done before….plus…..we sold our three kayaks that week,
so it was a total of 8 kayak deals in one week ! It was worse than Christmas
morning….we parked for dinner, and the whole time we were eating, we
kept looking out the window and started grinning again, saying , "Wait
til the gang sees this ! They’re gonna think we lost it !". And the
hardest thing we had to do was keep it a secret until next weekend, when
we pull up to the river, and announce we had a new nickname………we
are the "Fungi’s" from the BCCKC and let’s get paddling !

Anyways…….I just wanted to bring you up to speed,
now that we gave your kayaks a good test on a Class II-III river.

And this is my review on the Jackson Super Fun………………………

My stats……….. 5’6" tall…….245 lbs…………size 10 feet……….28
" inseam
Boats I’ve owned…..Grind, Super EZ, S8 – 235, H3 255, Big EZ, Big Gun,
ARC, And still….an RPM Max.

I feel I’m a solid Class III boater, others feel I’m
more Class IV, (but they don’t know what’s going through my mind when
I run the tougher stuff)…….I’ve paddled 5-6 years, almost every weekend…also
take alot of pics, and post them on Webshots…it’s free for everyone
interested, and saves me email time.

The first thing I noticed when I got on the water was how high I was sitting
out of the water ! Even at my weight, the water line was surprising !
The comfort was amazing ! I moved the seat to the front position, took
off the red extenders for the back band, inverted the hip pads ( really
nice velcro to make unlimited adjustments). And the feet………tons
of room I had to add foam in front of the air chambers for my short legs,
so I know the taller paddlers should fit nice too ! I put a sponge on
the left side of the hip pad wall, and a smaller water bottle on the right
side, and they stayed there. I was able to put my pelican box standing
upright, against the stern foam pillar wall, blow up the air bags and
all was secure !

Now the test………..
As I was paddling downstream, not once did I feel out of control, very
stable. My stern never caught an edge, and I had no unintentional stern
squirts ! Amazing ! We take our time running rivers, surf all we can,
eddy hop, make tougher moves on easier water, play follow the leader,
and was I impressed ! The speed of such a short boat (way faster than
the Super EZ, even the S8 ! ) Not only was I catching waves I usually
miss, but, I was staying on them ! I even caught a few on the fly, that
seemed so easy, and under total control. It’s always nice when you decide
to get off a wave, instead of the wave spitting you out. Some of the surfing
I was doing, they were getting ready to blow a whistle , I’d be on so
long. What a feeling ! I feel like you combined the speed of the S8, the
spinning of the EZ, the ease of rolling of the RPM, and the comfort of
a recliner….all in one boat. I suppose by now, you might get tired of
reading the same reviews. That’s why I started from the beginning as to
when we became interested down to when we gave it a good test, to now
that we are the proud owners of your design…….The Fun Series !

In our club (the BCCKC) we now have ……….1 Super Fun……..4 – 4Funs……….3
– Funs Next week….who knows ? a few more ! I sure would like a nice
decal to put on the back of my car, and I’m sure I’ll be getting a hat
(they were out of them at the time) It’s a 1.5 hour drive to Bay Creek,
so we’d love to go more often, definitely worth the trip. Thanks to all
that put these silly grins on our faces…..matter of fact….I’m grinning
right now !

***Stevie"G"***aka***Phantomboater***

 

Phil’s Fun

Kevins 4Fun

Jon’s 4Fun

My Super Fun