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(Gene Cosloy) wrote in message . com...
John Fereira wrote in message ...
"Michael Daly" wrote in
:

On 1-Apr-2004, (Gene Cosloy) wrote:

I'm
looking for a good tracker which, with minimum knee hanging effort
will get up on it's side and turn quickly. At the same time it
shoudn't be overly twitchy and have great secondary stability.
Moderate cockpit for a 5'10" 175 lb paddler and 16' with a skeg.

Is there a reason you are limiting it to 16'?

Ignoring the length limit, there are many in this category - Boreal
Designs Ellesmere, NDK Romany and Explorer, VCP Pintail and Anas
Acuta, Necky Chatham, WS Tempest, Nigel Foster's designs...

Actually I have a good dealer in my area where I intend to try out: WS
Tempest, NF Legend, and CD Caribou and Gulfstream. The new Necky
Chatham won't be available until May. All they have is plastic which
I'm told does not perform the same as the composite version. Will
report back next week.

Gene
Tried out a number of boats, with interesting results: Here goes:
First I rejected a number of boats out of hand because I wasn't
comfortable with the cockpit. These boats were only sat in and not
demoed: Lincoln Isle au Haut and Eggmoggin both felt that the thigh
braces were pushing my legs down straighter than I would be
comfortable with over a long period of time. It's a shame because
these are both the lightest boats in Kevlar that I encountered. I
rejected the VCP Acuanaut/Argonaut for a similar reason although the
length and width of the cockpits were fine. A boat whose cockpit I did
not like but actually demoed anyway was the WS Tempest Pro. I liked
the way the boat handled in the water but felt both the Hip and thigh
braces constricting. ( I'm going back next week to try again with the
hip braces and thigh supports removed.) I'ts obvious to me that I like
a long or keyhole type of cockpit with a moderately high deck so that
my legs can have a decent amount of bend in them.) Now to boats that
actually got wet and one that got me wet! CD Caribou S in glass: Wow
terrific hull speed, great initial stability even when tipping back
and forth on the primary chines. Great tracker and moderately
manuverable given that I wasn't willing to edge the boat more than
the first chine. Plus IMHO the most beautiful boat to look at! Cockpit
length/width perfect although the position of the thigh braces place
your legs closer in toward the center of the boat than I'm used to but
I found it comfortable. Not a lot of room to move around and change
position though. Question whether this would be a problem on long
trips? Next the CD Gulfstream. Wow whats not to like: tracks great,
very stable but easy to go on edge and turn. Boat was too wide for me.
Would need to pack out the cockpit too get a close in feel. If this
boat had a 22" beam and behaved the same as the Gulfstream I would be
very happy. P&H Cappella, no bad habits, nice predictable boat, very
roomy cockpit for it's size. Why doesn't this boat turn me on? Impex
Susquehanna: not sufficient stability for this novice when edging.
Transition from primary to secondary comes without warning. Nigel
Forster Legend: too tippy on flat water for me. NF Shadow got rid of
the tippy feel. But no cigar. All of these boats were demoed on flat
water with minimum wind. Next I traveled to R.I. and tried a couple of
boats in Wickford Harbor which had some chop and definite wind and
gusts up to 15 to 20 mi/hr. I got into a VCP Nordkapp and 2 feet from
shore attempting to check out it's feel wiggled my hips left toward
the shore and found it very responsive and then wiggled to the right
toward the open water and found myself up on edge the combing in the
water and without a spray skirt taking in water and then the next
thing I knew I was swimming. Stupidly I didn't even have my paddle set
for a brace on that side. Oh well I got into dry clothes and took out
a ND Romany Explorer. All I could tell was I liked it, into the wind
or with the wind behind me, turning, didn't seem to weather cock at
all, good hull speed, but since I was so spooked by my earlier
unscheduled swim I didn't dare try to edge and found turning to be
somewhat slow given my anxious state. Big shame because this could be
the one. This or the 16' Romany which I wasn't able to demo or even
see. So where I sit now it's either the Caribou S, a smaller
Gulfstream if that exists and the ND Romany/Explorer which needs
another trial when I'm less nervous or willing to don a drysuit. Any
more comments are welcome. Someone suggested the Impex Curituck but I
can't find one to demo.

Gene

Good list but you forgot to mention tne VCP boat that *is* 16'; the Avocet.
It's also worth mentioning that the two Nigel Foster models that are 16'
(Rumour and Echo) *are* quite twitchy.

Doesn't the Eddyline Nighthawk come equipped with a skeg? That might be a
good addition to the list. I'd also add the P&H Capella and Vela (which is
actually less than 16' long). If you're going to include 18' long boats on
the list you might as well add the Current Designs Caribou.

Find a good dealer and try them out. A kayak symposium is also a
good way to check out and compare a lot of kayaks.

Mike