Or any educated opinions about it? I will be trying one in three weeks, and it will be an eight to ten hour drive to get there to try it. Will be stacking it up against the Greenlander Pro, which I have already tried. I can’t seem to find much on the 'net regarding the Bahiya. Thanks for any help offerred. I’ll be checking in here frequently.
Thanks once again,
Jim.
I’ve paddled the bahiya a few times
– Last Updated: Feb-17-05 1:09 PM EST –
it's just ok in my opinion, I like the sirius better.
it's really more of a shorter narrower quest, than it is a longer higer volume sirius.
I thought it tracked really well, so well in fact that edging and carving turns really was too stiff and not very fluid.
Like all of P&H's kayaks it is very fast. I am not a racer, but it seemed like it took alot of speed to plow into my own wake where I hit a wall.
The fit and finish is really nice, nicest out there in some ways, wish valley, and seaward (foster kayaks) would take a leaf out of their book.
But the kayak was too high decked both fore and aft for my tastes. And for P&H it was just another straight tracking, fast, expedition hauler. When they have not one, but three of those already in varying lengths and widths. So all things being equal, I would rather have a vela or a sirius.
I wish P&H would make a much lower volume high rockered hull like the pintail or the anas, around 16'5 feet long. Around 20-19" wide and without that giant sloped deck up front. But I won't hold my breath.
Great, thanks for the reply
Thats my problem, right now I have the sirius, which i love, but i wish it had a lower foredeck. I have tried a p&h quest, a seaward quest, NDKgreenlander pro, NDK romany, NDK Explorer, seaward cosma, capella and none have hit the level that I old the sirius. I am going to be picking upa new boat, and by the sounds of it it will be another sirius. I was hoping that the bahiya, was, as you put it "a higher volume sirius’. I have had it out in swells over ten feet, and winds in excess of 70 km/h (playing along a beach) and loved everything about it. I want to make sure that there is NO boat out there more adapted to me. The beam on the sirius is 20.5 inches, which is actually 0.5 more than I would like. Another complaint would be the high foredeck.
Some of the other boats I was interested in were from Valley Canoe Products. For example the Nordkapp (in hindsight, I beleive this is a large boat) at 21 inch beam. The other boats in the VCP line would be the Anas Acuta, and the pintail. I would prefer to stay as close to a 20inch beam as possible.
I dont know of anyone here on the island that paddles a Valley Canoe boat, but given the history of the Nordkapp, I am left to assume that the VCP boats are of a high quality, and great design.
If anyone has any suggestions for a boat or company that I have not listed above, that would be great… I DO appreciate any help that is offerred.
Standing at five foot six inches and weighing only 141 pounds, I find even the sirius to be a little big on me… 
I would take a serious look
at the
- new Outerisland from Impex.
- The category 3 when it comes out too, (also from Impex).
I would also check out:
- VCP anas acuta
- VCP the new qajariaq.
- Foster Silhouette, from seaward (20.5 beam)
- or foster legend 21 beam.
- Kirton Inuk
- betsie bay Aral, or Recluse (both 20.5" wide)
- wilderness systems: arctic hawk.
- You might also think about a pintail.
These would be on my shortlist. But I don’t know what handling characteristics you’re after, speed, maneuverability, gear hauling capacity, and the combination of all these things.
When I bought my silhouette I wanted a fast, low volume, kayak with the low foredeck and low aft deck. I wanted two oval vcp hatches so I could pack it really easy, and I wanted a day hatch. I thought I wanted an Aral, and I would still love one, but I don’t think i would enjoy camping out of one.
I wouldn’t discount a 21" beam kayak, because sometimes there is more to the hull than the beam width. there is also the shape of the hull, round, hard chined, deep v, rounded, semi-hard chines and so on…
Keith
Thanks
Well the low foredeck and sterndeck are very appealing, the vcp hatches, I love. V-shaped hulls seem to be more comfortable to me…I am going to check out some of those boats on ur list. I find the sirius is okay with gear room.
I have never checked out the impex boats.
I’ll let ya know when I take a look aty em
I paddled one
at a demo day last summer. I found it extremely fast, and very stable for its narrow beam but like some of the other people who previously posted I liked the Sirius better. Of course the river that I paddled the boats on was completely calm so the only swells I got to test them in was a couple of boat wakes.
Great boats all
You can expect great things from the Valley and Impex boats, they are consistently regarded as some of the best. Can’t go wrong with either.
bahiya vs. greenlander pro
I spent an afternoon horsing around in a Bahiya and own a Greenlander Pro, so maybe I can be of assistance.
The Bahiya is quick – it accellerates well and turns quite nicely – though not as fast as the GP over the long haul (not so much a cruiser). Stability is good in the Bahiya – a bit less primary and secondary than the GP.
The Bahiya’s cockpit is far, far bigger in volume than the GP. THe front deck is much higher (I found it more comfortable for my size 12 feet which barely fit in the GP). The back deck is also noticeably higher, so it’s less comfortable for layback rolls. In my opinion NDK’s keyhole shape cockpit is the best going; others are too oval and not at all anatomical.
The Bahiya is lower volume (in the hatches) if you’re in to longer touring. I’ve managed to squeeze 3 weeks worth of stuff into the GP, but I travel pretty light. Might be able to get 2 weeks worth in the Bahiya. But there’s more volume in the very prow of the Bahiya; here, the GP is quite narrow, making it prone to pitchpoling in steep surf.
Our body shapes are quite different (I’m 6-3, 175). For me, the GP is about as small as I’m willing to go in terms of deck height and bulkhead length (I recently paddled the Outer Island and found that it had a longer, roomier cockpit). The Bahiya is bigger yet, and probably less controllable for a smaller paddler.
All and all, I’d call the Bahiya a playful, seaworthy boat that’s quite comfortable and well suited to day paddling, surfing and shorter trips.
If this sounds like what you’re looking for, I’d recommend trying it. P&H’s construction is quite nice as well.
FYI, Sea Kayaker Mag recently reviewed the Bahiya.
Bahiya
I have paddled all the P&H boats and my favorites are the Sirius and the Capella. Both the Quest and the Bahiya are to stiff for my taste although they might make great tripping boats. They are as you said well made. Other boats to consider are the Tempest 170 and the Impex Carrituck. Both perform well in “conditions”.
Hi, thanks to all
The three boats that I am down to now are:
- P&H Sirius ( maybe I’ll get a new one)
- VCP Nordkapp (not sure as to the details of the different hull types offerred)
- NDK Greenlander PRO
I have already demo’d the Greenlander PRO in early Jan in fifty km winds and loved its response, I havent found a place to demo the Nordkapp yet. I also have to figure what hull type will best accomadate my size.