Paul,

Just came back from the paddle fest, S.F. and you are right the Eddyline
Nighthawk 17.5 is roomy and is another boat that I can fit into but what can
you say about the material that they use. Is it sea worthy? If it is why
do they make an extreme version, special order only? I just sat in it
today. I'll have my local shop get me one to try.

Also, at the paddle fest today I met Brent Reitz, whom I have watched his
forward stroke clinic DVD. His is a real nice guy and the DVD is perfect
for getting up to speed with efficient paddling. I also met Greg Barton,
who won two Olympic medals and designed the wing paddle I use. He did not
talk much as he was getting ready for the forward stroke class he was
scheduled to teach. I did not stick around...Real fun day but would have
been more fun if I would have spent it on water....



"Paul Stivers" wrote in message
...
(Fiona) wrote:


i am not new to paddling.
capella is a great boat but likely much to small.
the capella weight capacity likely caps at 170 or 180 lbs for comfort.
bigger guys or women who are experienced canoists can paddle it well
but if they are just entering the sport the initial tenderness of the
craft could drive then away before the joy of paddling can be
realized.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I paddled a bunch of Brit style boats
at the WCSKS last weekend. All too tippy for my big inexperienced torso.
Exception was the Tempest 180 proto.

I only paddled it briefly a month ago, but the Solstice GT XL seemed to be
at the other extreme. Very stable, relatively slow, stiff tracker,
doesn't
edge turn that well. I'm inexperienced at edge turns, so a more
experienced
person might get it to turn better. But the Eddyline Nighthawk 17.5, for
example, edge turns very well for me. Only problem with the Highthwawk
17.5 is that the cockpit is huge, and the boat's a little on the slow
site.
Not enough contact with the body unless you're built like a professional
linebacker.

TallGuy, you should only take our comments as food for thought.
Definitely
paddle them and see what you think. If possible rent some boats for a
day.
Many shops will deduct the cost of up to two rentals from the price of a
new boat.

In a ruddered boat, I really like the Northwest Discover hull. Pretty
fast, turns well, fits a big guy. I would put a Seal Line foot peg and
rudder system on it. I was talking to the Northwest designer at the
symposium. I think the factory will retrofit better footpegs for you upon
request, and for an added charge of course. Thigh braces would also need
to be added if you want really good lean and sculling control and want to
roll some day. And you'd have to be ok with the Styrofoam bulkheads (I
think they still use Styrofoam.) The hull is great though, IMO .

There should be other ruddered choices: Nimbus, Seaward for example.

--
Paul S.

"TallGuyCA" wrote:

Paul,

Just came back from the paddle fest, S.F. and you are right the
Eddyline Nighthawk 17.5 is roomy and is another boat that I can fit
into but what can you say about the material that they use. Is it sea
worthy? If it is why do they make an extreme version, special order
only? I just sat in it today. I'll have my local shop get me one to
try.


Personally, I like the Carbonlite material. There have been some quality
problems. I have a friend who bought one the first year it came out, and
had the combing (not sure if I'm using the right terminology) around the
cockpit opening separate, or something like that. That was a known
problem early on, that has been solved. I also talked to a guy at the
WCSKS who said he had a seam separate.

The Carbonlite should be great for dragging over rocks. Pretty hard
stuff. More so than linear polyethylene, and certainly more so than gel
coat.

Their modulus material is fiberglass with Carbonlite over it, in place of
the gel coat. I haven’t hear of any problems with that. That’s not
special order. The fiberglass would give you more rigidity and the
Carbonlite, if it’s thick enough, would still give you good scratch
proofing.

Their modulus extreme is special order. I’m not sure, but that might be
fiberglass/Kevlar with Carbonlite over it.

I’d focus on fit and performance for your needs. If you end up liking
the Eddyline the best, then decide whether you want to save $500 and try
Carbonlite, or whether you want the fiberglass. To be safe you could go
with the glass and it wouldn’t cost any more than any other glass boat,
plus you’d get the Carbonlite in place of the gel coat which I think is
only a plus.

I’m guessing that Eddyline has a patent on the Carbonlite, and when it
runs out we’ll see more manufacturers using it.

My main concern with the Nighthawk 17.5 would be if you want to learn
some of the performance stuff like rolling and sculling, it would help to
have a snugger fit in the cockpit. The boat might also feel a little
slow. But if you want extra primary stability and room, and still have a
very seaworthy design, I think it’s a great boat.

How did you like the Solstice and Capella?

--
Paul S.