I don't know if this is a trip report, or gear talk, so I've just put it in general discussion.
We just picked up a few Stellar kayaks at work to look and decide whether to bring more in, and one of them is a sit on top.
I got the opportunity to take it out for a little paddle today to see what it's like.
It's certainly a unique looking boat. They (Stellar) call it a high performance recreational sit on top kayak. It's looks like a surfski to me, but at over 24" wide, also not quite right. It's a unique boat.
There are certainly some benefits to a sit on top boat such as paddling with much more leg drive, and unhindered ability to wiggle legs.
Being so dramatically Swede formed allows for a really high blade angle, which I quite like. And it was very stable, almost to the point of being boring.
All in all an interesting boat, but my real takeaway was that I need a faster boat.
I paddle an old Necky Looksha IV, and I have never up to this point really considered it slow. This little 14' boat is quicker to accelerate, and I was able to maintain a higher crusing speed with less effort.
Obviously this little boat isn't ideally suited for a multi-day trip, but now I'm drooling over and daydreaming of one of their longer, narrower touring boats.
Although to my old Necky's credit, I got it in exchange for a days labour, so the return on investment has been astronomical. And I know it's not really fair to compare an old, fuzzy, rotomoulded boat with a shiny composite boat.
But still...
Anyone have any thoughts on these less conventional hull shapes with steep bows and more surfski influence? They seem to be more popular abroad than on the West Coast, but maybe I'm unfairly generalizing.
We just picked up a few Stellar kayaks at work to look and decide whether to bring more in, and one of them is a sit on top.
I got the opportunity to take it out for a little paddle today to see what it's like.
It's certainly a unique looking boat. They (Stellar) call it a high performance recreational sit on top kayak. It's looks like a surfski to me, but at over 24" wide, also not quite right. It's a unique boat.
There are certainly some benefits to a sit on top boat such as paddling with much more leg drive, and unhindered ability to wiggle legs.
Being so dramatically Swede formed allows for a really high blade angle, which I quite like. And it was very stable, almost to the point of being boring.
All in all an interesting boat, but my real takeaway was that I need a faster boat.
I paddle an old Necky Looksha IV, and I have never up to this point really considered it slow. This little 14' boat is quicker to accelerate, and I was able to maintain a higher crusing speed with less effort.
Obviously this little boat isn't ideally suited for a multi-day trip, but now I'm drooling over and daydreaming of one of their longer, narrower touring boats.
Although to my old Necky's credit, I got it in exchange for a days labour, so the return on investment has been astronomical. And I know it's not really fair to compare an old, fuzzy, rotomoulded boat with a shiny composite boat.
But still...
Anyone have any thoughts on these less conventional hull shapes with steep bows and more surfski influence? They seem to be more popular abroad than on the West Coast, but maybe I'm unfairly generalizing.