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So - What's with the Whirld nowadays? What's it got? Jim Snyder has poured over 300 hours of plug development into it to bring several key concepts to market. For the last couple years Jim has been accumulating ideas and insights and others have been making suggestions in reference to a new genre of mid-length squirt kayaks- the 9' range. The Whirld is the embodiment of these concepts. Jim started with a rare plug- the stretched Groove Tube Shred plug -of which Jeff Schnelle has the one and only copy of. Jeff Schnelle is famous in the sport as the original Master of Downtime. He was the first person to regularly and consistently roam for 25 seconds and more. Jim excavated the knee and foot area of this plug and grafted in the same section from an Asylum. This brought the toes in a bit and made the wing seem flatter and wider per chop- than the Asylum. It also increased the speed and "tool areas" over the Asylum specs. Jim then went on to tweak the bumps, tunnels, and ponds in secret ways to maximize comfort and minimize volume. During this process he built a machine to hold the boat at any specified angle of attack underwater in a slab of current. He used this machine to study and improve the wing apsects of the boat by finding ways to minimize cross-sectional drag. During this study period, he and Dan Gore discovered the new shape actually downdrafts at neutral angles of attack. This represents a huge improvement in the depthcharging nature of the craft.
With the new bumps in place and the rim building technology under development, Jim turned his attention to optimizing the leading edge of the wing. He experimented with different ways of "flow forming" the shape and finally hit a system where he was able to locate a leading edge which is "cozy" to the water and accounts for different wing heights at different sections of the wing. The wing needs a different optimal leading edge for different heights of wing- such as the knees spot, foot spot, and ends. All these optimized leading edges need to be blended into a unified front- and Jim's flow forming found it. The end result is a design which is totally oriented to and defined by this unifying and beautifully curved leading edge. The leading edge blends the disparate dimensions of the boat together into a single rail. What's that do for performance? It creates a creamy smooth feel to the rails- a trace of speed- but not really "twitchy" like the Asylum. This gives the feeling of smooth high energy that wants to be released- under control.
Another unique aspect of the Whirld which you might notice right off is the "scalloped" tool area in the bow. It is ponded or concaved in front of the feet. When water sucks over the side of the boat- it slams into the bottom of the pond and sends it toward the center of the earth. It's a cool development. What is the "jist" of this design? Well, as you may know, Jim has been avidly pursuing Loops and Flying Fish for the last couple years. The Whirld is an access tool for these moves. Jim saw how many Loop tries were dependent on getting good mysteries in mediocre arenas. So the Whirld is designed to drop well with little energy {but then remain relatively neutral- like an Asylum} while roaming. It is noticeably more "down-hungry" than an Asylum- but not to the point where it is obsessed with drowning. It is also designed to be much slicker edgewise- for Loop control. The boat releases edgewise with high energy and control. So- basically it's for people who want high performance from any arena. Top it all off with a paradigm crushing Jimirim and you have a whole new set of standards for the next century of roamers.
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