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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
can of worms
Posted By: Karl In Response To: Re: Romany 18 (Tim Mattson)
Date: Saturday, 15 March 2003, at 4:16 p.m.
oh, the passions people develop about boats! This post is sure to create some controversy; here goes.
Tim, I think I am emenently qualified to compare the Tempest and the NDK Explorer because 1) I have spent more time in both boats than anyone alive, and 2) I can be counted on to have an opinion!
Summation on both boats- which one comes in the color you want?
Seriously!
As for nitty gritty-
Stability: Both are exemplary for both initial and secondary; a slight edge(hee,hee) to the T,esp initial. Note- early production T's had a seat pad way too thick, thismade the boat worse than the Ex.
Both pass my pee test(comfy w/skirt off using pee bottle in 3'-4' beam sea).
Responsiveness: Ex tracks better, T is looser, esp at the bow.When heeled, the Ex will initiate a turn way quicker than the T, yet the T is far more responsive to a bow rudder when heeled.
Weatherhelm: ok for both @10-20kn. The T will turn upwind earlier than the Ex, both are easy to correct, albeit different(see above). Above 20kn(esp above 25kn) the T has the huge advantage. The Ex will leecock and is hard to turn upwind unless you get the beast above 4kn.
Speed:good, not great,for both. Neither boat accellerates great from a stop.One annoying thing about the Ex is the odd increase in resistance around 4kn. The T responds more linearly up to 5kn. Despite the L/W, both boats are slugs above 5kn(Ihave been in many boats of similar L/W than I can boost, but they fall short of these two in most other ways).
Fit:aw, thats personal! The T is snugger than the ExHV, roomier than the stnd Ex.Outfitting is primitive in NDK boats, kinda plush in the T. That said, my Ex has deluxe outfitting and if I was to buy a T, I would probably rip out nost all of the factory stuff.But- the Ex does have a lower aft cockpit rim, better for that GP stuff you are getting into.
Quality: I did not respond to another thread re: NDK quality 'cause I have a major issue not only with the poor QC the NDK response. Suffice to say that it is better to have glass than 1.5cm thick gelcoat in a 20cm keel section. It is great now that I have had a professional yacht hull repairman rebuild the thing.
PS, there have been several annoying QC issues with the T; difference being that the company responds with an "Oh,shit" and tries to do in line improvements.
One last comment. I have had a lot of gear in the T, but not a multi day load. All the above was based on comparing them unloaded. When the Ex is loaded to the max, it has been the most enjoyable laden boat I have ever paddled. IMO and the opinion of two others, it seems to behave even better. We even agreed that the annoying blip @ 4kn was gone!
let the mud slinging start!
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