Romany S/Romany HV/Poseidon

-- Last Updated: Apr-23-08 10:44 AM EST --

being the geek that i am, and being all but certain in my understanding of various kayaks, i called Sea Kayaking UK, and spoke directly with Nigel Dennis this morning.

the hull of the above boats is the SAME hull. the deck was modified for a new fit as was the seat position and height on the coaming. there lies the difference between the above boats.

in summary: the Romany S, the old, no longer available Romany HV and the previous to that name, Poseidon are the identical hull.

cheap satisfaction gets me through the day...
carry on....

Well…




Interestingly, on his website if you click on Romany S you get a picture of the Romany HV along with the specs for the boat. However, there are folks who have seen/paddled both boats, including a well known NDK dealer, who say the S has slightly “harder” chines and a fuller or flatter profile especially toward the stern.



Just my idle chatter having seen, but never sat in either.

I have seen, sat in, and run my hands
along the Romany, LV, HV, Surf. There is a difference in the Romany, Surf, and LV I am positive. There could be no difference between the hulls of the Surfs and the newer HVs (right before they were switched). But there is a difference in hulls between some HVs and Surfs.

you are right
Nigel’s wrong.

What the hell would

– Last Updated: Apr-23-08 5:36 PM EST –

Nigel Dennis know about his own boats???

If they are the same…

– Last Updated: Apr-23-08 1:52 PM EST –

If they are the same, what makes the Romany Surf "surfy"? What's really different about it?

I knew what the Romany, Romany LV, Romany HV, and the Posiden had the same hull.

==========================

Any way, it appears Nigel can't make up his mind.

http://www.seakayakinguk.com/kayaks/range.html

The following description of the Romany S implies that the hull is different.

"Having a flatter hull this kayak surfs well."

==========================

"Interestingly, on his website if you click on Romany S you get a picture of the Romany HV along with the specs for the boat."

The picture that you are clicking on is a Romany HV as well (the same picture is used on both pages).

Probably flatter hull in general
related to other models.

Reminds me of French winery
with casks labeled “can be sold in US as Burgandy”.



I’m sure much of what is written of PNet is fodder for uproarious laughter among those who build boats.

the widths of the Surf and HV are dif.

– Last Updated: Apr-23-08 5:00 PM EST –

*** edit ***

two different websites have 2 different widths for the Surf.

This is from the product description of the HV...

"The Romany HV is very similar to the Romany Surf, formerly known as Poseidon this boat is designed for the larger paddler. It has softer chines than the Surf It has a wider keyhole cockpit than any other British made fiberglass sea kayak and has more volume in the rear to support the paddler’s extra weight and gear."

Note the part where it states "It has softer chines than the Surf..."

1 Like

Maybe their mold is settling
It’s pretty common for an overused, underbuilt mold to change shape. Valley went through this same problem with the Nordkapp a while back. I have seen a Romany S sitting next to a Poseidon. I should have taken a photo as photographic proof would have settled this debate. The hulls were different. The Poseidon had a noticeable V while the S was pretty flat. So I guess it comes down to the age of the boat. If Nigel is claiming he is using the same mold, then it has been evolving into it’s current shape, which is significantly different from hulls of several years ago.


Thanks!
JBV:



Thanks for making the call. Good to know.



You did mention that Nigel stated that the deck, seat and coaming were modified for a different fit…what is different about the fit? Is it bigger, smaller?



I too have seen the descriptions stating that the Surf has harder chines.



Maybe the comparison was comparing the HV/Surf/Posedion to the standard Romany.



Seems to me that I saw on a website a while back that the Romany HV was “a good surfer” because it had a flatter hull than the standard Romany.



I don’t know. It’s all becoming pretty confusing!



I asked this question a couple of times here recently. I want to get a day boat to accompany my Explorer and can’t fit the standard Romany.



I have found some Romany Surfs and some HVs for good prices, but don’t live close enough to demo them all and am trying to narrow my search by nailing down the differences between these boats.



Matt



thanks

Matt

Poseden/Romany S
I have a Poseiden and I e-mailed Nigel about the design when the Surf came out and his response was:



Hi Steve,



No the Romany S has a similar hull to the Romany HV but a completely new deck. We no longer offer the Romany HV or Poseidon.



All the best,



Nigel


Nigel
I talked to him in person a few years ago to see if it would be possible to retrofit the new (at the time) stainless rod skeg adjuster to my boat, so I wouldn’t have to deal with kinked skeg cables anymore. I even had pictures of the inside of my boat. He didn’t seem to know much about it, or if it would be possible to retrofit. I found this odd, being that his name is on my boat.



He’s an amazing guy that tells great stories and obviously can back it up with his skills, but I’m not sure how directly involved he is at this point in boat construction. I’m not surprised that you have conflicting information from him on a question like this.

If memory serves
I think a made a reply about this awhile back. I have paddle both boats in fun conditions.

I was confused about the differences; while the cockpit design is very different, there was conflicting claims about the hull. In actually paddling them, I could not tell any difference whatsoever in performance.



The fit of the cockpit is very different. I was actually quite annoyed by the fit of the Poseidon. The forward part of the keyhole is much wider than an Explorer, to accomadate husky thighs, I suppose. Well, I have husky thighs (6ft, just over 200lb, with a lot in my legs), and felt I didn’t need the extra width for entry/exit. What was more notable was the lack of connection on my thighs for edging. There was just much less contact than I like.

The Surf still has a wide keyhole, but it also has thigh hooks. That, and the knee bumps a la’ the Explorer HV. Much more contact.



I know one person who had a Poseidon, loved it, and sold it to get an S. I thought about buying his old boat, but think I would rather spend the dough and get the S, just for the fit. I suppose if one likes working with fibreglass, it wouldn’t be too difficult to modify the older design.

everyone didn’t like the Pos/HV fit
universally in my experience. but everyone loved the way it paddled. we had a used HV in the shop i worked in and it lasted all summer before it sold, we all paddled it a few times and the cockpit fit was reviled. exactly as you describe Karl. i paddled for a few days at the ASSC and his crew and posse also hated the fit.



a couple years ago, i emailed the Nige and asked him, if he would ever consider the most excellent deck treatment of the Ex HV to the RHV and he said, yes, it’s done, you’ll see them in NA this spring. i did, i demo’d, i ordered, i own, i paddle. it’s not a trademarked design feature, why some other boats don’t do it i’ll never understand… (like Valley for one big example)

What other models?
“related to other models.”



What other models?



The only comparable model is the normal Romany.



Either the Romany S is flatter than the normal Romany or it’s the same.

When was the name “Poseidon” used for the Romany Surf? I’m trying to sell my Poseidon and several people have asked when it was made.

@ said:
– Last Updated: Apr-23-08 10:44 AM EST –

being the geek that i am, and being all but certain in my understanding of various kayaks, i called Sea Kayaking UK, and spoke directly with Nigel Dennis this morning.

the hull of the above boats is the SAME hull. the deck was modified for a new fit as was the seat position and height on the coaming. there lies the difference between the above boats.

in summary: the Romany S, the old, no longer available Romany HV and the previous to that name, Poseidon are the identical hull.

cheap satisfaction gets me through the day…
carry on…

Saves a lot of $$$. Far cheaper than wimmin.