I’m thinking about purchasing another kayak to compliment my Epic 18X. I mainly use the 18X for 1 to 2 hour paddling workouts. I was interested in getting another to boat to use for short 1 to 2 day overnight trips on the Chesapeake Bay and I was curious about the Q700 since so many folks on this board have praised it. For anyone that has and any experience with the 18X and/or the Q700 what are your thoughts about this? Are the characteristics of the 18X and Q700 too similar to notice any difference? Am I better off getting a boat like an NDK Explorer or an Point 65 XP for this purpose?
Thanks!
Why not try the 18X
Is there a campng gear storage issue with the 18x? If there is room and not too low in the water, I would give it a test paddle with the gear and in poor conditions. It might do fine. SAR
My daughter has a 18x and I have
a QCC-700
The 18x is the faster of the two.
The QCC is the better made(quality) of the two
They both have the plumb bows and similiar lines
Cheers,
jackL
It seems…
that the layup on the 18X is kinda fragile. The carrying capacity in the bow and stern seem ok but the boat overall does not seem very sturdy for general expedition use. I had to make some gel-coat repairs on the boat within a few weeks of owning it. The combing also creeks when I put any kind of weight on it with my hands. It paddles fast very and it’s great for working out but it’s a little tippier than I like for long paddles in choppy water. My rear-end starts to ache after being in the boat for more than 2 hours with a gel seat pad. I think a sturdier and a little more stable boat in rough water will suit me better on longer trips.
Thanks Jackl
After looking at a few pictures of the Q700 it seemed to look very similar to the 18X. After paddling both boats did the Q700 seem to have better initial longitudinal stability?
I can’t help you on that one…
…since I have never paddled the Epic in rough water.
I will say that I have had the QCC in every type condition that you can throw at it and never ever felt that it was unstable in either initial or secondary stability
With that said, I have a friend that races a tippy 18’-6", C-1 racing canoe and he thought he would like a QCC, so he got one. He was petrified of it in rough water and sold it after a few times out.
So we are all different in our perspective on stability.
Cheers,
JackL
Water Walker in Maine
Water Walker in Maine is a small one person company that sells both QCC and Point 65 North boats. He might be able to give you a little feedback on your question.
http://www.touringkayaks.com/
Hi edarnaldo
I owned the Epic 18 Endurance. It was too fragile for me. It also was a little short on fit and finish. I cracked my combing too. You can’t use it to get in and out of the boat! I have owned the 700 for four years. I sadly was able to paddle the 18X in flat water only. I did race in the Gulf against several 18X’s several weeks ago. We had following seas (awesome fun) and I think they struggled with the limited rudder on the boat. I know that Epic is coming out with a better rudder for the boat and it can be retrofitted in your boat.
My 700 is a carbon/Kevlar boat with rudder and thigh braces. They kindly moved the rudder up higher on the boat and moved the forward bulkhead back making more room for gear.
On flat water, the 18X is definitely faster. In the waves, the 700 is awesome. The 700 has a lot more volume than the 18X, lots more room. Depending on the conditions, I sometimes have to brace but VERY doable. It picks up and rides waves great! I do a lot of kayak camping and the 700 will carry the world and still paddle very well. Stability shouldn’t be an issue, though, if you are very light weight and the boat is empty, in certain conditions, it might seem “lively”; think cork on the water.
I love my 700 and recommend it completely! Each year I go to the Charleston Kayak Festival looking for a boat that, for me, does everything as good as the 700. I still own the 700. They are very well built and designed. QCC’s customer service is as good as it gets!
If you are in the south, email me and I’ll meet you. You can try my 700.
Good luck!
Franklin
Thanks…
for sharing your thoughts on the Q700. I live in Virginia and I may take your offer to paddle your boat some day.
QCC 700
Since you mentioned you are in VA, there was recently and I think still is a QCC 700x for sale (kevlar) in MD. May be 2 hour drive for you. Good condition but I do not know the owner nor did I look into it too carefully when I test paddled it since my large feet did not fit in it. Check out the Gear Swap section on CPAkayaker.com and I thought I might have seen it on this site here as well.
I’ve also test-paddled the 18x some teim before and I felt that the 700x is more stable. The 18x has rounder hull and seems to me to have less rocker. I only paddled it in calm water and noticed the creeking cockpit rim too.
Cracking the gel coat I think would happen regardless of boat though - you got to hit something with it and while the 18x is a little on the thin side, the 700x is not that much stronger IMO in kevlar and especially in carbon.
The 700x feels somewhat stronger built though I think it may creek too if you press on it hard (as would most any other boat) -;). As the others said, it seems to surf waves very well downwind (not beach surf, just wind waves and swells). Very maneuverable for an 18 footer and the SmartTrack rudder I thought was very effective.
I think you will not like a slower boat than that if you are used to the Epic, so give it a try. The front of the deck area is also wider than the epic so you will not be getting as close to the boat with your paddle I think.
compliment is what way?
do you want another fast boat that can carry 25-75lbs of overnight stuff or something totally different for aesthetic reasons?
I’d like to…
have a boat that is relatively fast, well built (such that I can haul overnight gear without fear of it falling apart) and decent stability in rough water. Aesthetics are secondary to what I’ve stated above.