high volume kayak selection

thinking about getting another kayak and looking for something with lots o room for kayak camping.

i had a tempest 17 but found the skeg box took up alot of room. considering a tsunami but would need a gas pedal style rudder. any suggestions are welcome, also had a prijon kodiak which had tons o room and gas pedal rudder, however i really didn’t like the way it would want to tip and roll and dump you out when landing on a beach the tempest din’t do this at all it handled beautifully maybe a tempest 18, dunno anyways. thanks for any and all input.

I have a
Delta 17 that I camp out of. It has the gas pedal style rudder & lots of storage space.

Poly or Composite?
Or Price range?



That’ll determine a lot of your choices.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

Bigger than Tempest

– Last Updated: Feb-17-13 11:46 AM EST –

Do you mean able to carry more weight or easier to pack?

A ruddered boat is an obvious way to have easier back hatch access.

Oval hatches are easier to access.

QCC 500 is a big boat with big hatches
CD Storm
Necky Looksha 17
PygmyBoreal XL
http://www.pygmyboats.com/boats/borealis-XL-kayak-kit.html

a few more
Delta 18 has even more space for gear if you want to go real big.



Atlantis kayaks aren’t available everywhere, but there Titan is nice with lots of space.



Current Designs Solstice line haul tons of gear.



Seaward has some high volume kayaks with gas-pedal style rudders and great quality.

My kevlar Perception Eclipse 17
Sea Lion. Advertised here on p.net. I know it’s higher volume than the Tempest 165, not sure about the 170.

I have a Tsunami 165
I bought it as a pack mule and it does it well. Loaded it tracks great and does not need a rudder at all, unloaded in a side or quartering wind, a rudder can be handy to have as the front does ride high. I am 6’ 200lbs and the boat does seem huge to me, it takes quite a bit of padding to get a snug fit.

Getting in and out of the cockpit is very easy due to its large opening. It is so easy to get in and out of that I use it as a confidence booster for people learning wet entry.

Not as fast as your tempest but it does make a good SUV in my opinion.

How many liters of space do you need?
A large backpack for several days of camping would be 75L. I get by fine with a 55L backpack for three to four days.



My Eddyline Journey is considered low volume due to the very low ends. It has 127L in the bow and stern, which is more than twice the size of my backpack. Add to that the space in front of my feet and I find I have plenty of room for reasonably luxurious camping, certainly more comfortable than backpacking. There’s room for plenty of fresh and canned food, and water.



I think your volume needs depend on the size of your gear, especially your tent, sleeping bag, and mattress. My gear is moderately light, not ultralight, and moderate in cost as well.



So if you find you need more than 150L I recommend working to reduce the size of your gear.



The Deltas have tremendous capacity, even in the short models.

I have a CLC
I have a Chesapeake 17 which works for me. I have been able to carry all my gear and water for 10 days in the everglades. If one did not have to carry water you could be gone for a month or more. This is a wood kit boat so may not be what you are looking for.



How much volume are you looking for?

As always…
…paddle before you buy (I’m sure you know this). As a shorter guy, the increased deck height of some of these HV boats causes a problem. It’s sad, but I sometimes don’t have enough clearance to paddle without hitting the deck every now and then (especially if I’m not concentrating).

Looksha 17
My Necky Looksha 17 is a HV boat. It has tons of storage, can’t really imagine you needing more than it can hold. It is a rudder boat with adjustable foot pedals. I’ve had mine for a couple of years now, and while it is a bit large for me and most of my trips, it was a great deal. I plan on going on some overnight trips when my boys get older.

Skeg box
I’ve never had trouble with the skeg box. There is room behind the skeg box for small items. Tents and tent poles fit well on each side of the skeg.

BIG THE ECLIPSE & AQUANAUT
These are two commodious boats; I’ve done 3-day trips with each. Besides tent, bedding, cooking gear, food, camera & bag, a couple changes of clothes, toiletries, and a doormat (beach camping), I also indulged in a portable canvas & strut camping chair - and had room for all, even in the skegged Aquanaut.



The unfortunate downside of this recommendation is that both are fairly well-regarded boats -especially the Aquanaut -but both are now discontinued, although I would expect Aquanauts in particular to remain available for a while.



Both would fit your bill to carry a load, as you



PADDLE ON!



-Frank in Miami

tip, roll, and dump you out
The Prijon Kodiak would tip, roll, and dump you out doing surf landings, and the Tempest wouldn’t at all. That’s probably the toughest part to put a finger on. I can’t judge skill level, the number of experiences we are talking about and the conditions on those days, the particular behaviors or properties of the Kodiak that made it difficult for you to handle in the given conditions.

Anyway, you stated a concern about manageable surf landings, and a sea kayak with a lot of room for camping gear vs. other sea kayaks.

The Current Designs Nomad, which was originally named the Extreme. I’m pretty sure all of the CD ruddered kayaks come with gas pedal style rudder controls now, and if you can get an earlier one, like the Extreme, used, it’s easy to upgrade those pedals. It’s got a lot of room for camping gear, no skeg box to work around, and my hatches still stay dry after many years of use. That’s the minor stuff. The fun part is that it is very well balanced in the wind, very well mannered in rough water, a nice stability profile, and a fast, efficient hull design. I like to describe it as a big Cadillac or Lincoln. Everything feels smooth. It corners very well given its size. It doesn’t have that fast “feel”, but it’s like those big luxury cars, where you look down and realize you’re flying and didn’t realize you were going so fast because it never really “feels” like it compared to being in other vehicles. I’ve done many successful rough water landings in mine, both loaded and unloaded, where others have gotten toppled. A lot of that can be how the paddler handled the particular kayak at the particular surf landing, but I will say that it feels easy to manage surf landings in it to me.

I’ve got a video here from yesterday doing some surf landings in it unloaded. I think it’s important to practice this stuff in your expedition kayak, because safe landings out camping in more remote areas become more crucial than landings at a play spot near your car and/or other help. But you can see me surfing in a number of times.



http://youtu.be/o59X88zb7T8

Delta 17
Second that.