Tangler
Paddler
Old school North American: Nimbus Solander or Nyak?
https://comoxvalley.craigslist.org/boa/d/courtenay-wilderness-systems-tempest/6907134536.html...I'm somewhat surprised that it's still listed after more than 3 weeks... (price?): https://comoxvalley.craigslist.org/boa/d/courtenay-wilderness-systems-tempest/6907134536.html
You'll probably find that the front deck and thigh area of even the LV Prana is quite high (like a lot of Current Design boats). Make sure the footpegs will suit a shorter paddler.My partner and I will take a look at what's affordable. Ocean River has some good choices like a Prana LV, and I think that the Tempest 165 @red kite mentioned is worth a look. I think we'd both love to try a Sterling Illusion but as new the price is out of our reach.
Thanks for the clarification. The larger Tempests were the ones I was thinking of.The Tempest 170 and 180, and Chatham 17 and 18 are very different boats, so these comments don't hold for them. Not sure they would fit smaller paddlers.
I owned a Legend, a 'my size' version of that hull...I will attest that it's a fast boat with a lot of gear capacity and will carve turns (for a touring boat). I am not sure about the 'confidence inspiring in conditions'. I owned it fairly briefly and only had it mild-moderate chop but I found it more wiggly than I enjoy in a non-racer(sure, my Necky Phantom was much wigglier than that,but it served a different purpose). Maybe it would suit a more skilled paddler better, but I have talked to a couple ex-owners that share similar opinion...The Nigel Foster Silhouette is a "smaller persons boat" that can hold a good clip of speed, confidence inspiring in conditions, and carves nice turns if you're willing to put it on its side. A bit prone to perling in the surf though.
I'm about the same size as you and would NOT call the Legend our size! Try a Shadow (same hull but in our size) some time, I suspect you'd be a lot happier.I owned a Legend, a 'my size' version of that hull...I will attest that it's a fast boat with a lot of gear capacity and will carve turns (for a touring boat). I am not sure about the 'confidence inspiring in conditions'. I owned it fairly briefly and only had it mild-moderate chop but I found it more wiggly than I enjoy in a non-racer(sure, my Necky Phantom was much wigglier than that,but it served a different purpose). Maybe it would suit a more skilled paddler better, but I have talked to a couple ex-owners that share similar opinion...
Hello Raj,
I am 5'7"/ 110 lbs, so I'm really close in size to the paddler you mention.
My current touring boat is a Sterling Illusion...
I could go on if needed...
Good point! Alex Matthews explained that idea to me a few years ago. For example, reducing the beam and the volume at the middle may mean that the ends don't get out of the water as readily when the boat is edged.In theory, it's seems logical that you could take a certain design and make it larger or smaller to fit more people. In practice, scaling a boat up or down can result in a boat that doesn't handle like the original at all.
I'm with you on that!Finally, I love buying used boats because I can try them out for as long as I want in all kinds of conditions. If I fall in love with the boat, great! If not, I can usually sell it for the same amount of money that I originally paid. Not so with a new boat! Everyone always wants the latest design, but sometimes the original model was the best.
Moral: When you have a perfect boat, don't change anything!What that meant, as Schulz discovered, was that the Coaster could not be scaled up or down without losing essential elements of performance.