Hello everyone
Well, i m looki g for à fast kayak Just for Day ride ( maybe more).
First i had an inflatable kayak( x500, 380 cm 65cm 16 kg) , a Good one but not faster enough.
Then everyone said take à hard kayak.
I ve got à dag miwok hi luxe (500 cm 60 cm 25 kg PE PolyEthylène… Plastic)
Not really more faster than x500.
Im looking for à faster kayak.
I was said valley étain 17.5 even it is in plastic… It sweeps very very well.
Or Prijon ?
But in prijon There is several models who seems the same.
I m Just looking for calms rivers or lakes.
No White water, no seas, no surf… Just water like à mirror. And i look for one of the Best…
Not thé Best that will cost Too much.
“Just” about 2000 €. Or less…
So in prijon what is the graduât ?
Marlin grizzly… What is the faster ?
Thanks for your advices
hum ok ,i was thinking you are in UK but you are in America orQuébc so obviously i cannot have answers.
the kayak i know are not those you know
itiwit x 500 ???
i see your 'petites annonces " …great
just the beautifuk kayaks i see on youtube but aren t to sell here!
i see the localisations ,Atlanta, Maine, Athens , Montpelier '( in France Montpellier…) Concord…
If it is still made, a Prijon Barracuda might fit the bill. It has a rounded hull that is surprisingly fast for a heavy (and tough) plastic kayak. Depending on your experience and size and weight, it might feel tippy—demo it if you can. Its depth is for an average man or larger; it was too voluminous for my small self to edge well but still fast.
I wouldn’t call any of them fast. Epic has some fast boats, Westside has fast boats. If you are on the east side of the pond, you should check out Nelo, Vadja, and Streuer.
To keep your costs down you should check out the used market. Kayak racing is a very big thing on the continent, and fast kayakers always want to go faster, they upgrade a lot, I know because I have done the same thing.
Fast may be a big leap from where you are and may cause an expensive boat to sit un used. For fast, look to 18 feet or so, 22" wide or less, usually a rounded hull with minimal rocker and light as can be. The problem is going from a boat that can’t be tipped to a fast kayak is a huge leap in stability. My advice would to watch the used market and find something inexpensive that looks promising. Learn more with that boat and refine the particular’s as you enjoy the boat and stretch your limits.
The stability difference between something like a 24" wide hard chined boat and a fast boat is dramatic. The fast boats are fun, but it’s not something you go to without some hours in a serious sea kayak first.
Forget Prijon unless you can find an old Barracuda as they don’t make it any more. Prijon dealer a mile from were I live. Paddle them all. They are to wide a boat now.
Not sure if you want to stay with plastic if so a fast plastic might be that one from P&H a Valkyrie. its is a plumb bow design and is plastic. If glass boats are good with you there are many out there. Epic 18X or an old QCC 18 they are out of business now, Tiderace makes a Pace 18.
I looked it up, it is 16+’ x 24" approximately. So it isn’t a barge but could be faster.
So basically you have the whole wide world of faster kayaks available to you. Buy something used and see if you like it. We have 2 narrow (22" ish) boats in our fleet. A Cetus and a Seguin. Paddling them back to back is like night and day. Both boats, have their advantages and disadvantages. The only way jmbleuet will know what boat is best for them is to paddle them. So buy used and sell if you don’t like it.
I don’t quite agree you have to test paddle to know which is a FAST boat. Sure a boat you like the way it handles or how you fit sure. BUT you can say which boats will be fast by its design without ever test paddling it. . Narrow being one aspect (22" or under ), long water line another (17 feet or more). Very little rocker. Plumb Bow designs are the fastest in calm water. Long boat with rocker means the boat is 1/4 out of the water with over hang which does nothing for speed. Fastest boats I have paddled are the Epic 18x and QCC 18. Both plumb bow. I have paddled many kinds of boats. My current Tiderace Pace Tour 17 not quite as fast as the other two mentioned. BUT it handles the rougher water a little better. BUT OP said calm water.
I agree, but it does sound like the original poster sounds fairly green and being someone who owns the epic I’ve got to say that it isn’t a boat for someone who has minimal experience with these type of boats. My thoughts for someone with less experience in these sorts of boats (based on my limited number of boats I’ve paddled) is something like the Chesapeake 17 is a great compromise. I’ve seen people who have plenty of experience in massively stable boats get pretty nervous in one of these even, but they none the less do have pretty good stability and can be mastered much easier than the boats that actually qualify as a “fast sea kayak” class boat.
Nelo makes other boats than the ICF models that are their claim to fame.
We know that the OP wants to upgrade, the only way for him to know how much is to test paddle. I have seen people with little experience hop into an ICF boat and make it do tricks for them.
I am not one of those people. I have a Westside Wave Exceed (19’x18") and a Fenn Mako six surfski (21’x17") and I have to concentrate so hard in an ICF boat that I wear myself out within 500 yards.
What I was trying to say is the OP can test paddle boats we all know are fast. Like the Epic 18x . If it is to “tippy” for the OP then move on to other style boats. My 20.5 inch wide boat seems super stable to me. Then he can go to other models like a Chesapeake 17 or the like. But I would first look at fast plumb bow design boats FIRST.