Contents
  1. Overview
  2. Flight characteristics
  3. Recommended uses
  4. Plastics & variants
  5. History
  6. Notable throwers
  7. Similar discs

The Westside Boatman is a 11-speed slightly overstable distance driver. With published flight numbers of 11 / 5 / 0 / 2, it is most often described as suited for controlled-distance tee shots on a straight-to-fade line, first 11-speed for players not ready for a 2.4+ cm rim.

Overview

The Westside Boatman is an 11-speed distance driver rated 11/5/0/2 that Westside calls 'one of our fastest drivers that was designed to fit all sizes of hands.'[1] Its 2.2 cm rim is noticeably slimmer than most distance drivers, and the flight is built on long glide with 'very little fade': faster arms can hold it on a line, while slower arms get a dependable overstable finish 'without having to grip such a big rim.'[1] Zero turn plus a modest fade of 2 makes it one of the more predictable point-and-shoot drivers in the Trilogy stable.[1][3]

Flight characteristics

Flight numbers: manufacturer vs. community
SourceSpeedGlide TurnFade
Westside (mfg) 11 5 0 2 Published spec
Discpedia community Loading ratings…

Flight numbers describe the published behavior of the disc when thrown at its design speed. Real-world flight varies with plastic, weight, age, and thrower power. The community-averaged numbers above reflect crowd-sourced observations from real throws — typically slightly more understable than the manufacturer's published values, which is the most consistent pattern across nearly every commercial mold.

The Boatman suits controlled-distance tee shots where you want driver speed but fairway-like predictability — it holds the line you put it on and finishes gently left.[1] The narrow rim makes it a sensible first 11-speed for smaller hands or players stepping up from fairway drivers.[1][3] Current production is VIP plastic, Westside's durable clear premium blend that the company states is more than 98% similar to Latitude 64's Opto.[1] Stock weights run 170–173+ g.[1]

Best for:

  • Controlled-distance tee shots on a straight-to-fade line
  • First 11-speed for players not ready for a 2.4+ cm rim
  • Power hyzers that carry instead of dumping
  • Predictable drives in changing conditions

Plastics & variants

The Boatman is available in the following plastic blends from Westside:[1]

VIP

Plastic blend significantly affects flight character. Premium plastics like Champion, Z, or C-Line generally fly more overstable when fresh and hold their stability over time. Base plastics like DX, Pro, or Active beat in faster and become more understable workhorses with use.

History

The Boatman was PDGA-approved on March 21, 2011 (certification 11-12), making it one of the earliest molds from Westside, the Finnish-designed brand in the Trilogy family.[2] The PDGA lists it under its original Finnish name, 'Boatman (Tuonelan Lautturi1)' — the ferryman of Tuonela, the underworld river of Finnish mythology, in keeping with Westside's mythology-themed disc names.[2] Beyond today's stock VIP runs, the Boatman has appeared in Tournament plastic and in limited VIP Ice editions such as the 2022 PDGA Pro Worlds Chameleon release.[4] PDGA specs: 21.4 cm diameter, 2.2 cm rim, 177.6 g maximum weight.[2]

Notable throwers

Currently no information

Similar discs

References & further reading

Sources

Content on this page has been cross-checked against the following sources. Numbered citations in the prose above link to the matching entry here.

  1. VIP Boatman — Westside Discs official page
  2. Boatman (Tuonelan Lautturi1) — PDGA Equipment Certification (approved 2011-03-21, cert 11-12)
  3. Westside VIP Boatman — Infinite Discs
  4. Westside Tournament Boatman — Gotta Go Gotta Throw

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