This is my mini review of the Carbonology Sport “Vault”.
As per my forum name I am an adventure racer, I have been paddling seriously a little over two years now and in that time have progressed from an Epic V10 Sport to an Epic V10L and in that time have also paddled lots of other boats in my search for the ideal all round boat for the paddler who hasn’t got 4 or 5 days a week to paddle.
In reviewing this boat I have used my experience on the V10 sport and V10L as benchmarks, these two boats were very carefully considered purchases and I was very happy with both of them as per other posts that can be found under my username.
Due to a recent shoulder injury I had to call upon the services of a paddler to form a veterans team for one of the worlds largest adventure races staged here in Western Australia (WA). The paddler was a South African now living here by the name of Martin Gunda.
Martin was also a V10L (elite) paddler but had recently started paddling the Carbonology Atom in the carbon lay-up. Although I had heard and read about the Atom I hadn’t had the chance to see the boat until meeting Martin at the King of the Cape race a few weeks before the adventure race.
I went away having been very impressed with the boats clean lines and finish, I didn’t dare ask to paddle it as it looked far too big a step up for this mid pack paddler and besides it didnt look like a tall fella like me would have fit in it
![:blush:]( ":blush:")
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When I sold my V10L a couple of weeks ago, I started looking at what boats were around. I emailed Martin to ask his opinions on whether I should take a look at the New Carbonology Sport “Vault”. I have to admit when I first heard the name "Vault" is made the boat sound big and heavy (like a bank vault)
![:huh:]( ":huh:")
Martins reply went like this
“
I took the Vault out for a 15km paddle on Sunday morning. Richard Eadie had done a big downwind a week earlier and he averaged 16 kmh!!
The conditions I took it out on were a lot more placid. This boat was around 12.5 kg. I popped a butt pad in the boat…because I have to. The cockpit is more open ie built for a bit bigger paddler and you don’t feel as snug as in the Atom. Still the boat has a similar feel. It’s got more volume in the nose, and behind the cockpit. It’s slightly wider too. I’d put it in a category close to the V10 in terms of stability, but still 5.95m. It’s certainly no slouch. I could accelerate the boat from 10km/h to 16km/hr quickly, never had a brace stroke out at sea and the trick is to keep the rhythm going such that you are above 11 kmh ie on the plane. Into the wind it is still good with little slapping of the bow. On a flat day the atom would out perform it. On a big downwind that extra stability and volume would have it the same or quicker than the Atom. It probably about ½ to 1 kmh slower than the atom on the flat but definitely more stable. And it has 2 bullet venturies which make very short work of water.
It would be worthwhile for you to have a paddle on this.”
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So today I rang Gary Butlion, another South African now living in WA who imports the Atom and the Vault under the banner of “
Viva Paddlesports
”. I spoke to Gary quite a while back when I heard about him setting up shop here as he had planned to build a version of the Atom as an adventure racing/downriver special here in Bunbury, about 90 minutes south of the Capitol, Perth.
Later I spoke to Gary and unfortunately the commercial reality was that production costs would be too high here to be competitive and so while he has gone ahead with the Atom multisport boat, it is produced in SA and imported along with the Atom and Vault boats.
I drove the 90 minutes south to meet Gary and we brought the Vault out for inspection.
Once again the Carbonology Sport presentation was faultless. I would rate the finish of this boat better than almost any other boat I’ve encountered accept the gleaming Epic’s, but there’s something about the smoother lines of this boat that I find more appealing.
( L to R - Gary Butlion & I)
This boat was the hybrid model, a combination of carbon and glass that brings it in at a tidy 12.5kg.
Having come from a 15kg boat the difference upon lifting it was immediate, even though it’s only 2.5kg, the difference in lifting and handling the boat made it feel much more.
On went the Garmin forerunner GPS and off I went for a roughly 8 km paddle.
I had to work through a few km of estuary and harbour waters before hitting the open ocean and even then the chop and swell only amounted to 1 -2 foot at best, however there was quite a bit of confused water as the swell refracted off a sea wall and it gave me a good idea on how the boat moves in what I find often challenging conditions when in the V10L.
There was a moderate breeze blowing so I ran the boat at all the various angles that one could encounter and every so often peeked at the GPS to see how I was tracking speed wise.
The boat left me with these impressions.
Primary flat water stability is somewhere between the V10 sport and V10L.
Secondary stability is again between the two boats, not as reassuring as the Sport but in the confused water and any side chop/swell it was an improvement for me over the V10L.
One big difference between the V10L and the Vault is the depth of the seat or maybe it’s the height of the cockpit sides, either way the boat is very dry, the venturi bullet scuppers are very efficient and where the V10L would have up to an inch of water splashing around in the footwell the vault was almost constantly dry.
Going through some chop that would normally see water on my lap in the V10L I didn’t have any water entering the cockpit.
This trait is similar in the Atom and Martin remarked that as the cockpit sides are high he can actually brace against them with his lower legs in big conditions to help with stability.
I found the cockpit very comfortable and would guess that it is the same width as the V10L, it fits me very nicely, combined with the high cockpit sides I certainly felt part of the boat and could imagine feeling quite secure in bigger conditions.
The footplate and adjustment seemed to be almost identical to the Epic set-up (functional and easy to adjust).
I really liked the rudder feel (feedback) and action, it felt much more connected than other boats I had paddled and I'm assuming this may have something to do with the use of metal cables as opposed to spectra cord?
There is a grab handle and bungy cords at the front of the cockpit but it didnt dawn on me until later that there weren't any bungy cords over the rear deck which can come in handy for stowing the lifejacket my missus makes me take out but doesnt get worn
![;)]( ";)")
I assume this may be done on purpose as I would anticipate a side saddle entry into this cockpit would be near impossible and so the surfboard style entry using the handle at the front of the cockpit is probably the way to go.
The boat didn’t feel any faster to me than other boats I have paddled. Upon returning home and downloading the GPS, I compared some average times with paddles in my own boat and a V12 performance recently. I have my Garmin set for 500m laps so I can look at average times through the paddle.
I would rate them all about the same in flat water, even though the V12 performance and my V10L were 2.5 kg heavier.
In mentioning the V12 I suspect the V12 has marginally less primary stability and I would rate secondary stability about the same as the Vault.
Viva Paddlesports
At $3500 for the 12.5kg hybrid (Carbon/Glass) ski it is more than competitive with other similar boats on the market in WA.
Gary told me that as there is no middle man he is able to keep his boats prices down, and another advantage he offers is that he personally backs the boats, although he hasnt needed to effect any warranty repairs to date he has had customers who have had the misfortune of damaging thier boat and Gary has had them back on the water quick smart, peace of mind here in the West!
For those attending the Mandurah "Duel" Ocean versus Estuary paddle Gary will have the Atom and Vault at the Expo for demo.
Just a footnote to the day. Before packing up to head home I asked Gary if I could see if I could fit in the Atom and to my suprise I could, with relative ease, so I took it for a quick blast and in one word..."Wow", this boat fly's
![:woohoo:]( ":woohoo:")
within about 30 metres I was giggling like a child, BUT...although I didnt fall out, it is the type of boat that would need lots of time in on a regular basis to remain quick over longer distances and in anything but calm water, it will be very interesting to see how this boat fairs in the multisport and downriver racing scene next winter.
.
I assume this may be done on purpose as I would anticipate a side saddle entry into this cockpit would be near impossible and so the surfboard style entry using the handle at the front of the cockpit is probably the way to go.
within about 30 metres I was giggling like a child, BUT...although I didnt fall out, it is the type of boat that would need lots of time in on a regular basis to remain quick over longer distances and in anything but calm water, it will be very interesting to see how this boat fairs in the multisport and downriver racing scene next winter.