I am considering a purchase of a CD Oracle GTS and am looking for some feedback on it positive or negative or both. Thanks

There is one review on the Paddling net and the reviewer gave it a 10.

Hey buckm1nster, I don't know if all the Oracles were thermo-plastic, but at least some of them are. I don't have a problem with that material, but there have been some problems with it.

It is interesting that CD has dropped the Oracle from its line.

All the Oracles are thermoformed.


Such as?

Dan

I noticed CD dropped use of TCS for all their boats. I e-mailed them for an explanation on both counts. Their reason: "because our market is more so with the composite or rotomold material.The TCS kayaks did not have a big demand, so we decided to discontinue that line"

Okay, this is the third time I've tried to answer Paddler's question.

Maybe I should have said that some manufacturers have had a problem, or two with the plastic they use. In particular, Eddyline had a problem with the plastic gaining humidity while in storage. This caused some kind of problem that would show up after a time in the finished boat. I read where they replaced some of those boats.

As I said, I have no problem with thermoformed platic as a boat building material. It just might be the toughest and most durable material presently being used. But, like everything else, there are pluses and minuses. From some of the designs I've seen, it appears that it is necessary to design in some divits and curves to keep things ridged. Nothing wrong with that except that some places on hulls are relatively flat and these areas tend to be a bit flexible. That of course is not unique to thermoplatic, but I have noticed that Delta for instance had to put a stiffener in their hull.

If there is one issue with thermoplatic that looks to be a little bit of a problem, it might be in forming in a very sharp bend. I'm sure somebody has figured out how to do it, but so far I haven't seen it.

I was out with my friend today and he smoked me paddling. I don't paddle is ideal but his is not top notch either. His Oracle seemed bit faster than my Solstice. I'll have to try his boat next time out. He is about 140 lb and me 225 but I should be stronger. My paddle has less surface area then his and I was paddling much more. Thinner Oracle much faster?

Dealer told me CD was not happy with the quality of the thermo-formed boats and stopped production.

Dog,
Were you guys racing, or what? Let's see, the other guy is light as a feather; his boat is less beamy and nearly as long and he had a larger paddle. Stronger, usually only works for sprints.

I have paddled with lots of other folks where I have had to kick it up a notch, or two, when it didn't seem like it should be the case. In my own testing of my boats against one another, I've found that for normal paddling, there isn't a whole lot of difference. But when the going gets hairy and you need some extra speed, the big boat wins.

Not racing but just going at a good clip. I'll have to get my Nomad / Extreme finished. Actually I'll try his boat next weekend. He is light but strong for his weight. I concentrated to paddle properly. May be 1/2 mph but after 20 minutes he has some yard between us. New paddle soon for me. Oracle is 3" narrower than my Solstice and 6" shorter.

Yeah, if you can't keep up in the Extreme, you're
probably going to have to fake a shoulder injury.

LOL that's funny! I am taking his boat out this week for sure!

I could be Richard Kimble "The Fugitive" in a kayak and show up with a canoe paddle.

May be surfski witha hidden motor!

I tried the Ilkeos and it was much faster. Will try an Eddyline S 18 this weekend the material is starting to grow on me a bit.