Six-Sixteen Dragon Boats Ltd.
North America's leading fibreglass dragon boat manufacturer
(since 1989)
Official equipment supplier to the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival
100% designed and manufactured in North America
Welcome! 
Dragon
boat enthusiasts like you have visited this page
This web page will be revised frequently. Come back and visit us often (Best viewed at 800x600)
Help curb "knock-off" hulls - an appeal
Can you spell "P-L-A-G-I-A-R-I-S-M"? While imitation may be a form of compliment, copying someone's boat lines (worse yet, making
copy by way of moulding knock-off's) is just LOW. Anyone cares to invest some effort can learn enough canoe basics from the library to design very usable dragon boat hulls; there's simply no excuse to steal. Six-Sixteen will take all legal actions available to discourage such practice. However, there is much that the dragon boating community can do that is more grassroots, and the impact more immediate.
Clubs & Festivals: do not buy copy/knock-off hulls (canoes, outriggers, dragon boats etc).Question the origin of the hull design before purchasing. Why support the practice of illegal pirating, and ruin your own reputation in the process? Let your conscience guide your purchase.
Paddlers: do the righteous thing - boycott festivals/clubs that use copy/knock-off hulls. There are so many festivals around that you can enter, why hand over your paddling dollars to people that have no integrity?
Reports have come in that there are knock-off boats, both for rent and for sale, on the Westcoast with modified bow, stern, and interior to hide the fact. Examine the 48' length, 4' beam, rocker, vertical gunnel height, hard 1st chine, and W-shape double-keel bottom; you be the judge.
Many thanks in advance for your support!
New! Cox Amp system for rowing and dragon boating
International rowing and dragon boating regulations allow the use of wired PA system in the boat. Save your cox/drummer's vocal cords and make sure the whole boat can hear the critical calls.
The system consists of the a waistband multi-purpose amplifier and three marine-grade extension speakers for the price of $450.00
The heart of the system is the main amplifier which produces a clean 5W of low distortion power. It runs on 6 AA alkaline or rechargeable batteries, and can power up to three (3) speakers in a daisy-chain fashion. The waistband amp has a built-in speaker and can be used alone such as for teaching, lecturing, or any public speaking where a boost of voice is needed. It is supplied with a very high quality adjustable headset microphone.
The amp has an auxillary input jack which can accept (with an appropriate optional connecting cable) input from a CD, MD or MP3 player, computer, cellular phone, camcorder, musical instrument, and walkie-talkie; even home stereo (RCA jacks) signal. It can pretty well accept signal from any source that has a mini headphone jack. By utilizing a pair of walkie-talkies, one can build a wireless system whereby the coach can give instructions remotely from the coach boat or the shore.
The extension speakers are marine-grade mylar cone (not the common paper cone) speakers which is resistant to moisture for outdoor use. Each speaker comes with a swivel mounting bracket, 6' or 12' (your choice) of wire, and a built-in jack for daisy-chaining to the next.
The Six-Sixteen Story
An Article from The Province Newspaper(1) (link)
An Article from The Province Newspaper(2) (link)
An Article from The Vancouver Sun Newspaper (link)
An Article from Business in Vancouver (link)
An Article from Ming-Pao Newspaper (page 1 of 3)
An Article from
Ming-Pao Newspaper (page 2 of 3)
An Article from
Ming-Pao Newspaper (page 3 of 3)
An Article from The Sing Tao Newspaper (link)
An Article from The Vancouver Courier (link)
An Article from The Vancouver 24 Hours Newspaper (link)
Six-Sixteen dragon boats are built by dragon boat paddlers,
for dragon boat paddlers.
Six-Sixteen is a Canadian company based in Vancouver, British
Columbia, and is dedicated to the production of top quality, durable fibreglass
boats for the growing North American dragon boat community. The company
was founded by paddlers Vincent Lo and Don Irvine
(photo), respectively manager and coach of the five(5) times Hong Kong International Championship gold winner and current course record holder False Creek Women's Dragon Boat Team (link). Through superb quality control and attention to detail, Six-Sixteen fibreglass dragon boats are built with care for performance and durability.
What's In A Name?
Success in a dragon boat race often depends upon a powerful start.
"Six-Sixteen"
refers to the two stage, sequential number of progressive power strokes
applied by the paddlers to get the heavy boat moving from a complete standstill.
"Six-Sixteen" symbolizes the powerful start dragon
boating has had in North America.
Why 24 Paddlers?
Although the smaller 20-paddler teak boats are the standard size used
in Hong Kong's local and international races today, the 24-paddler dragon
boats are in fact more traditional. Based in Chinese numerology where the
number 12 is very important - (12-month calendar, 12-hour clock, 12
birth animals (link) - the traditional boats in China and Hong Kong
were raced with 12 pairs.
When dragon boat racing became popular in the late 60's and 70's, boats
were needed by overseas countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and
Singapore. For ease of shipment, the teak boats were reduced to 38'10"
to fit a 40' container - the largest container size feasible at the time.
Six-Sixteen, in an attempt to combine heritage and modern technology,
is manufacturing fibreglass boats based on the traditional 12 pairs of paddlers.
Furthermore, the extra seats allow the spare paddlers to benefit from training with the whole team. When racing with only 20 paddlers, the extra seats allow for fine-tuning of the balance of the whole boat.
Construction
The hull contains a hand laid 31 oz. laminate of fibreglass, reinforced
with marine-grade plywood inlays along the keelson and gunnels. Each fibreglass
seat bulkhead is bonded in place at three anchor points which provides
superb rigidity to the hull. Closed-cell foam fills the bulkheads
to ensure positive buoyancy. Seat caps and centre
rails (photo) are straight grain, kiln dried clear Douglas fir,
secured with stainless screws. All screw holes are plugged with dark
mahogany plugs which provide a pleasing visual contrast to the lighter
coloured fir. Western maple, eastern red oak and mahogany
are integrated into the design for their specific abilities and for their
visual appeal. Glues are waterproof epoxies. Wood surfaces are sealed with
five coats of high grade marine varnish.
Features
- molded super-durable gelcoat outer surface guarantees identical
hull shape and surface friction between boats
- through strategical use of superior uni-direction material, the
use of marine-grade reinforcing plywood is kept to an absolute minimum. Our
low-maintenance, true fibreglass construction ensures
longer boat life and minimum water absorption
- all bulkheads are three-point bonded to the hull
- the SPINE - full-length centre rail (photo),
secured at all seats and at two special tapered-fan anchors
(photo), virtually eliminates the fore-and-aft buckling so common with
long watercraft pounding in waves. Six-Sixteen boats are NOT SPINELESS
boats
- No Gunwale Caps - traditionally gunwale caps are used to hide joint imperfections. Our wrap-around fibreglass construction eliminates the need of the gunwale caps. If you have ever banged your fingers accidentally on gunwale caps while paddling at a high rate, you'd know why it is wonderful not to have them
- consistent hull shape, weight, and glide between boats in a
fleet - an absolute requirement for a "fair" race
- unique "W" hull delivers smooth and stable movement
through water with superb trackability
- gridded fibreglass seat-tops provide non-slip seating and require no maintenance
- freeboard is higher than the 40' 20-paddler boats - can handle heavier crews
and rougher water condition
- seating for up to 24 paddlers - a full crew can practise without leaving
the spares on shore (subject to weather and water condition)
more room between seats and functional footbraces; in conjunction
with our unique bulkheads, allow feet to be hooked for a more comfortable
and secured bracing position
- spectacular colour scales and magnificent dragon head and tail complement each boat. Each head and tail set is painstakingly assembled from 15 intricate pieces. They are works of art by themsleves.
Where might you have seen these awesome "Six-Sixteen"
boats?
in Canada
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Port Alberni, British Columbia
- Kelowna, British Columbia
- Comox, British Columbia
- Kitimat, British Columbia
- Kootenay, British Columbia
- Courtenay, British Columbia
- Cranbrook, British Columbia
- Salmon Arm, British Columbia
- Fort Langley, British Columbia
- Campbell River, British Columbia
- Medicine Hat, Alberta
- Edmonton, Alberta
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
- New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
|
in USA
- Seattle, Washington
- Vancouver, Washington
- Oak Bay, Washington
- Kent, Washington
- Portland, Oregon
- Lake Tahoe, Nevada
- Los Angeles, California
- San Francisco, California
- Oakland, California
- New York, New York
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Tavares, Florida
|
Summary of Products and Service
-
48' full size dragon boat
This is the "Ferrari" of all dragon boats; high volume
to safely handle a full crew of 24 (weather and water conditon permitting), ultra stable, tracks incredibly straight,
and a pleasure to steer. This boat has been clocked covering a certified
640M course in under 2min 20sec when paddled by top crews. Probably the
fastest and most stable dragon boat in its class.
- 40' Fibreglass replicas of the Hong Kong
style dragon boat (not yet available; coming soon)
Great for serious teams to practise
the tippiness and cramness of this style of boats before heading off to
compete in Asia. Originally designed for the lighter-weight Asian paddlers,
these boats do not have the necessary volume to handle a full crew of the
higher average weight of North American paddlers. A word of caution to
all coaches and organizers: never put more than 16 average-size paddlers
in this kind of 40' boat, be it wood or fibreglass, or the safety of the
paddlers could be seriously compromised.
(A BUK boat swamped in calm water during the 4th IDBF World Championships. Photo courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer/Vicki Valerio. Additional excellent photos at http://inquirer.philly.com/specials/2001/dragon/(link).
15' Pool Practice Boat
Want to practice year round? Too cold outside? How about a small group time trial? The 15' poolboat is your answer. It is actually the middle 1/3 section of our famous 48' boat. It sits 10 paddlers and you get EXACTLY the same spacing, sitting height, and bracing posture as in a regular boat. Tethered to a pool side or the dock, it doesn't even require a steersperson. The use of paddles with appropriate holes is recommended to closely simulate proper resistance and paddling rate in still water. (original suggestion by John Thompson of Edmonton)
"Dragon Boats - A Celebration" See
Picture
a beautiful book on the topic of dragon boat by Pat Barker.
It contains 120 pages of excellent writing and photographs on the history,
dragon boat designs and construction, paddling technique, and customs of dragon boating. A must-have reference manual for any dragon boater. The price is US$30.00 includes
shipping to anywhere in North America. Address is at the bottom of this page.
- "Dragon Boating - Level-1 Technique &
Coaching"
a comprehensive training video. This video visually covers safety, paddling technique, training exercises, coaching tips, and race plan preparation. The price depends on shipping cost. Write for a quote at False Creek Racing Canoe Club, 1318 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6H 3R8.
IDBF-Certified Grey Owl Dragon Boat Paddles
We are an official distributor for Grey Owl dragon boat paddles - high quality dragon boat paddles built to International Dragon Boat Federation standard.
- REGULAR - Heavy, inexpensive, (47" only) US$35.00
- HI-PERFORMANCE - Medium weight 3-layer laminated shaft, hardwood edges on blade (41"-51"), US$45.00
- CARBON-SHAFT - Medium weight, fibreglass laminated blade, no flex (41"-51") US$90.00
- PEARL - Medium weight, foam core with fibreglass lamination, no flex, durable (41"-51") US$110.00
- JET - Light weight, foam core with all-carbon lamination, no flex, durable (41"-51") US$160.00
The above prices include packaging for shipping worldwide; additional shipping charges depend on destination. Prices are slightly less for local Vancouver pick up. Write for a quote.
- Custom repair and refinish See
Pictures
to fibreglass canoes, kayaks, solo and six-man outriggers.
Links
- Pacific Northwest Racing Canoe Page, Oregon, USA
- Dutch Dragons, Zoetermeer, HOLLAND
- Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival, Vancouver, CANADA
- False Creek Racing Canoe Club, Granville Island, CANADA
- Hong Kong Tourist Association, HONG KONG
- Wasabi Paddling Club, Portland, USA
- Abreast In A Boat Society, Vancouver, CANADA
- Abreast of Life Dragon Boat Team, Central Vancouver Island, CANADA
- Team Fire & Isis, Kelowna, CANADA
- Spirit Abreast, Chilliwack, CANADA
- Chemo Savvy, Winnipeg, CANADA
- Kelowna Dragon Boat Club, Kelowna, CANADA
- Lotus Sports Club, Burnaby, CANADA
- Dragon Boat Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Fraser Valley Dragon Boat Club, BC, CANADA
- Shuswap Dragon Boat Society, BC, CANADA
- Comox Valley Dragonflies, BC, CANADA
If you'd like to be linked from here, just ask! The only prerequisite is that your site must already have a reciprocal link to this site. Thanks.
Comments and Questions are Welcome. Write to Vincent
Lo at:
2552 East 21st Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5M 2V8
email: VLo616@aol.com
All specifications are subject to change without notice
