The Kayak Forum is Sponsored By
|
|
|
| |
Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Buying a CD Kayak
Posted By: Ray In Response To: Buying Kayak without tryout (Ron)
Date: Monday, 22 January 2001, at 11:56 a.m.
I have narrowed my choices down to Current Designs Storm, Wilderness Systems Cape Horn 17, and Prijon Kodiak. Any comments from folks who have paddled any of these models? (I'm 6' tall, 200 lb. )
I'm your height & weight (I'm a bit big in the hips) , paddle eastern Georgian Bay, and I've tried the CD Storm, its a very nice boat. It fit me quite well, and it was nice to paddle although I was a rank beginner at that time. Its used by White Squall ( Parry Sound, Ontario...contact them for some opinions..they will gladly give you advice, and can sell/ship you a new/used boat as well) extensively in their rental fleet, and it seems to be very durable. Don't know about the other ones but I've seen and sat in the Wilderness Systems Glass kayak that resembles a greenland style with hard chine, and am not sure if this is the same as the Cape Horn, but IMHO it is not even close to a Current Designs in terms of comfort, fit, finish, etc. I absolutely would not buy one without trying it first, especially for someone our size.
Some thoughts..I've assembled and finished a glass kayak, and own three other glass boats ( A CD Pachena, Boreal Ellesmere, Mariner I) and find glass kayaks very easy to work with, repair, add custom fittings to, etc. My Mariner is 19', was built in the late 1980's with a heavy glass cloth layup, has seen lots of abuse, and just keeps on going. I'm its fourth owner and it will never wear out. If the hull is of good thickness, ie. 55-60 lbs for a 17 foot kayak, it is more than strong enough for your needs. It will be a lot easier to fix if you're in a remote location. Durability will be dependent on abrasion resistance more than anything else, and in my experience of paddling the rocky shores of Georgian bay, use short 2x4 wood skids to haul your boat onto rocks, or try to unload as much weight as possible and lift the hull, and you can enjoy the benefits of a glass hull. Rock will eventually damage a plastic hull as well as a glass one, but you can easily fix the glass, especially if you're far from help.
I would buy a used CD Solstice in Glass ( its the hull the Storm is patterned after) before a new plastic Storm. The Solstice GTH version has a wider seat, the regular Solstice will fit you well if you're below 36" in the waist. They're an excellent all around touring boat, fast, comfortable and responsive, and its the one boat I'd recommend to you sight unseen.
Ray.
| |
Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board is maintained by Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks with WebBBS 5.12.
|
Kayaking Technique |
|
|
|
