Perception Reflex PRICE SLASHED! $100

[Don Beyer]

Very Good Condition.

Stored indoors.

[Matt Tucker]

[Jim McClure]

I'll bite. Does it fit a 6'6" 265 lb. man?




And I mean a MAN!!!

[Don Beyer]

Nope.
You need to check the Crackson catalog...

[Adam Runyan]

Would this boat be good for c-1?

[David Bell]

Since Don placed the ad, I suspect if it would be good for C1, it would already be converted.

[Don Beyer]

Adam, Nope.

[Tony Daniel]

Hey Don I'm thinking Perception not Dagger made the reflex- edgy, built for speed, would be a good intro to slalom boat. Not sure about sizing and comfort but I bet the skirt that goes on my mirage would work. The c1 equivalent would be the slasher, a true pain machine.

[Harry Netzer]

It is the first of the slalom kayaks designed by Richard Fox. If you don't know who Richard Fox is, that is because Freeze gave him a penalty on the second gate in the finals of the 1989 world championships, and he didn't medal, and eventually dropped out of boating altogether.

[Tony Daniel]

'Freeze, how could you? I'm sure it was just a little touch. Do those really count?

[Don Beyer]

As much as I would enjoy a conversation about the history of whitewater slalom, I need somebody to buy this boat.

Jo's Christmas depends on it.

[David Bell]

Don, I am enjoying the conversation also. Can't you just put a bow on the boat and give it to Jo for Christmas? Problem solved and we can get back to our history lesson.

[Harry Netzer]

I really do want Don to sell the boat. I took it out on G to Q and enjoyed its dynamics on the water. I would have bought it, but I had to get out 3 times to stretch. It would be perfect for someone of a slender size that is looking for a fun kayak. Don had a spray skirt for the kayak, but it was a little too small around my waist.

P.S.

I made up some of the "History" of which you are referring.

[Dustin Johnson]

So what size person would this fit? I'm guessing if it was uncomfortable for Harry, I'm not gonna fit, but Google wasn't helpful. Except that in the early 90s Perception apparently made a "cataraft" that appears to be 2 c-1 boats connected by what also appears to be pvc piping. Looks like Dagger molded it also, and there was a Reflex II at some point.

[Alex Howden]

I fit in it well at 6ft and 155.

[Dustin Johnson]

Dec 7, 2015 22:06:57 GMT -5 Alex Howden said:

I fit in it well at 6ft and 155.

Then it's a no-brainer. Buy the freaking thing! Do awesome old school long boat enders and continue your domination of the sport.

[Matt Tucker]

alex cant handle the gnar....good luck with the sale don!

[Doug (Freeze) Ackerman]

The real history
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As I recall Richard Fox did win the Worlds in 1989. I doubt that he was in a plastic kayak. He and Jon Lugbill were the stars of that event. (see www.canoeslalom.net/archive/1989/1989-06-24-wm-slalom.pdf for the results; note that the winners of the mens and womens K-1 events are the parents of Jessica Fox, who won both C-1 and K-1 at the 2014 Worlds at Deep Creek, Maryland)
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Back to the 1989 event - anyone that got a penalty in gate 2 was out of the running before he ever saw the Savage River. Gate 2 was in the flat slackwater below the Piedmont dam. A raft could have run it cleanly. The tough one was Gate 1; it was hung halfway down the dam break on the right side of the Piedmont dam. I was part of the judging team on gates 1&2 for 3 of the 4 days of slalom. We handed out penalties on Gate 1 like candy at Halloween. Almost none on Gate 2. We were told later that Gate 1 was the most penalized gate in the history of the Worlds.
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THE BIG BROUHAHA ......
After judging the same gates for the first two days, the entire judging corps requested to work different locations. We had volunteered partly to get a chance to see the competitors' runs (and not just the same 2-3 gates for the duration). While gate #1 was exciting to watch, we could not see any of the 25-30 gates beyond #3. Most of the time we sat around and listened to the crowd react to the events further down. Others felt the same. The organizers wanted the same gate crews every day for consistency and experience (even though each racing class was always completed in one day). So.... on the third day the crews were shifted and we got to judge gates 3/4/5, not exactly what we had in mind since these were easy gates and we still could only see about the top third of the course. On that day, the crew at gates 1&2 gave Eric Jackson (I believe) a touch penalty on Gate 1 when he and many others thought he ran it cleanly. I think it impacted the final standings. There was a protest with much drama; the entire gate crew of 4 or 5 folks recalled the touch occurring and were very surprised and dismayed to be questioned. They were very competent judges and unanimous in what they saw. The penalty was upheld. Nonetheless it was upsetting to all of us. The final day we were back at gates 1/2.
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While the crew I was in did not give out the contested penalty, I think that the chance that we would have done the same had we been there is high. The other crew was as good or better judges as we were. Film/video of the run was not conclusive, showing him very close to the gate pole but not apparently moving it (and such replay was not available for the protest meeting). However, the gate was 15 feet or less from the judging crew and all the way across the river (>100 feet) from the cameras and spectators. With 4 or five judges observing it from different angles and all agreeing on a slight touch, I believe that there was a touch.
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So, to set the record straight, neither I nor my small judging crew gave out the memorable penalty, but my larger judging team did (and we were definitely a close team). I think it is only luck, not skill or intent, that allowed me to be so slightly removed from the event. I don't object to or take offense from the suggestion that I was involved in this, because to a degree I was. I thought folks might like to hear the details. We called them like we saw them for everyone.
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While the controversy was unfortunate and we saw much less of the racing than most of the spectators, I think we all enjoyed the volunteer experience at the 1989 Worlds. As in all such events, the skills on display were impressive. If you get a chance to see a good international slalom race, do so.
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Note - for a number of years up to 1989, the Savage River was effectively closed to paddling because the local authorities would not schedule releases as they had been willing to do a decade earlier. One of the reasons that several of us volunteered was that some race officials got a car pass to access the closed road along the river, which meant we could have our own kayaks taken to the race area and paddle down the Savage at the end of each day. I still have a kayak with a big 1989 Worlds sticker on it. That was the pass to get your kayak carried up to the race area. Some spectators probably saw my kayak and wondered who was so dumb as to race in an old Hydra Taurus.
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Note 2 - some of the competitors in 1989, especially from smaller countries, were not particularly competitive. Many knew it. They went to the Worlds to have fun and paddle in the US. At the time, the Worlds ran for two weeks - the first weekend was downriver/wildwater racing and the second weekend was slalom. In between, the real competitive ones practiced on the Savage like crazy trying to become familiar with the river. However, some of the non-contenders just wanted to get in some good runs. One day between the two weekends several of them ran with some of us locals down the Lower Big Sandy. I think they enjoyed that as much as the racing.
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Note 3 - there are no more notes.

[David Bell]

Very cool history lesson! Now are you going to buy Don's boat so Jo can have Christmas?

[Tony Daniel]

thanks for sharing all that Freeze. I enjoyed it.

[The Stehman Family]

I'd buy it for my son Briar, but he just got a brand new JACKSON!!!

[Don Beyer]

Uh...Anyway... Reflex for sale $100

[Jim McClure]

To bad ya don't have 2, you could build a cataraft.

[Dustin Johnson]

I've got a Jackson sticker laying around Don. Slap it over the Perception logo, raise the asking price a few hundred, and it'll sell quicker.

[Don Beyer]

Soon one of you will try to sell a boat...

[Adam Runyan]

I won't I own canoes lol

[The Stehman Family]

Should we take up a collection?

[Dustin Johnson]

We've got to have $100 in the club account to put this s!*tsh0w to rest. Seriously though, you can't find a $100 kayak anywhere.

Dec 14, 2015 15:42:46 GMT -5 Don Beyer said:

Soon one of you will try to sell a boat...

I sold 4 boats this year. Only had a 25% success rate here, the rest sold through craigslist or boatertalk.

[Matt Tucker]

Someone buy this thing so I stop getting new post notifications! Lawd

[Bob Anderson]

I borrowed this boat once and raced it in the Greenbrier Triathlon. It fit me OK at 5'-8 and 150 lbs. It was pretty fast but not as quick as my Speeder.