Does anyone have any experience with this boat?
What do you think of the quality of the layup? How does it paddle?
Thanks
Azul Sultan
– Last Updated: Aug-07-06 9:05 AM EST –
It use to be called the Sultan, but the Aura is the same boat. I paddled the Sultan for a while when it was built with the hybrid Kevlar/core Nomaxx material. I found the quality of build to be excellent then. They are now building them with an infusion process and several companies are having good luck building a lightweight and strong boat with this technique.
The Aura is a very fast boat and a little tender in its' inital stability. At the time I was paddling it, my paddling technique/skill was limited so putting it on its' side and seeing what it would do there is something I can't speak to as I wasn't really doing it much as part of my paddling repetoire then. The few times I had it in heavier water it seemed like it would perform quite well for those whose skill level are that of an intermediate or higher.
The boat was designed origionally by someone in Florida who at that time had some connection to the Nigel Foster boats and I have read it has many similarities to the narrower Foster boats. Slightly rounded bottom, modified hard chined sides and not a lot of rocker. Fast with a lot of glide. Equal to a QCC 700 in that department.
I like my Sultan
I’ve been paddling a Sultan for about two years and I like it very well. It tracks well and seems to have decent speed. It is, as noted by previous poster, tippy feeling at first. I have not paddled it in mega heavy water, but paddled it loaded through some wind that was blowing up two foot waves. It handled those conditions very well. On the whole, I am satisfied with the Sultan. Except as noted below, the material and workmanship seem very good.
My Sultan had leaky bulkheads. The front was okay, but the two in the rear both leaked. I have met other Sultan owners and they also said they had leaky bulkheads. I have caulked mine with silicone sealant and they are now mostly watertight. If you are buying a new boat, I recommend you fill up the day hatch compartment with water, roll the boat around, and make sure water is not working around the bulkheads. Do that at the shop (or better, have the dealer do it) and don’t even take it home until you are sure there are no leaks. There’s no sense buying a new toy if you have to work on it right away. And if your experience is similar to mine, you won’t be able to find anybody at Azul to help you with problems, so try to have it right before you take it away.
Don’t expect much in the way of customer service from Azul, unless they have upgraded their operations in that area. It is difficult to find anybody to speak to about problems.
~~Chip Walsh, Gambrills, MD
Williams Paradigm
Here’s a little more info on the Sultan lineage:
http://capital.net/com/nckayak/williams_performance_kayak.htm
Sea Kayaker did a review of the Sultan a few years back. It is a fast kayak that falls between the Foster Silouette and Legend in hull. It is a bit tender but responds well to bracing.
The decks are a bit high for my taste and the back band is mounted on the rear coaming - laybacks were not envisioned in the design of this kayak.
Azul Sultan
I have the Sultan made with the Nomaxx material. It is slightly tender and is faster than most touring kayaks (slower than QCC 700 or long Epic)- much faster than my Explorer. The Nomaxx material is very stiff yet the kayak weights under 49 lbs at 17’ 11". The rear of the seat is very close to the coaming, so laybacks are possible only if you hike your butt up off the seat.
Azul (Riot) has earned a reputation for poor customer support of their sea kayak line. Still, I really like the kayak and only paddle my Explorer more because I’m working on rolling.