I’ve seen a lot of Azul Kayaks but I can not find a website. Does anyone know if they even have a website? I know they have a few reviews of some of their models on here but I’m looking for more information about models not listed on here.
Thanks!
Azul Kayaks
In the past when Corran Addison was an owner of Riot Kayaks, Azul sea kayaks were a part of Riot’s line. [skip forward in time] Now Riot Kayaks has a line of non-WW kayaks that are derived from the older Azul kayaks but are different and include recreational boats. You cannot buy an Azul kayak now except used.
Azul Kayaks
But my local shop still sells one model. http://www.sail.ca/en/catalogue/paddle-sports/kayaks/5516/atlantis-9-5/
What kind of paddling do you do?
– Last Updated: May-01-13 6:45 PM EST –
I and my husband have paddled some Azuls at demos. (sea kayaks) They never had the reputation of having the kindest stability, and at least with the models we tried turning was not their best talent.
But if you want to get across a pond in three strokes, these are your boat. Our experience with the models we tried (and I wish I could remember the names but the Sultan is the only one I am sure of) was that they were very fast in a straight one paddle. No experience in wind - can't help there.
Wide and Stable
It’s likely going to be like most any other wide short recreational kayak. If that’s what you’re looking for, go for it.
I like the drain plug on the dry aft compartment. Habit from whitewater boaters, eh?
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
Riot seem to have retired the
Azul web-site, but not the brand name entirely. The boat you link to is identical to the Riot Quest 9.5
http://www.riotkayaks.com/quest9.5_detail.php
Though there is not much information there to help you.
If you live in Quebec, these boats turn-up fairly often in classified ads on kijiji or LesPac. (usually over-priced)
retired last year?
here’s the last valid snapshot on the Wayback Machine
(copy/paste entire URL into your browser)
http://web.archive.org/web/20120406015125/http://www.azulkayaks.com/
You have to go back to early 2000’s
Boats like the Azul Sultan (a 17.5’ Brit style sea kayak) were the focus then. The site featured claims about the designer (whose name I have forgotten) and did not emphasize rec boats. They later dumped all the real sea kayaks and expanded the line of rec boats.
Azul
I owned a Paridigm, designed by Scott Williams and built by Findeisen . He sold the plug to Riot/Azul. It was somewhat like a Nigel Foster Legend but had a rope activated skeg that would jam on me
The Sultan was a inch wider beam than the Paridigm I believe
that was great
"The site featured claims about the designer (whose name I have forgotten)…"
Marketing obviously missed the mark!
Paridigm was a sweet boat
We still have one in the local area locally - that was one of the names I was trying to remember. Hardly a beginner’s boat, but a very sweet ride.
Scott Williams, an early U.S. BCU paddler (who did start the Tampa Bay Area “Sweetwater Kayaks” shop) designed the Paradigm with a deck that is almost a carbon copy of Nigel Foster’s awesome boats. It’s hull is not (to me) sufficiently like NF’s designs to cause further aggravation but it is a sweet paddling boat. It’s tendency to weathercock required addition of a skeg, and Richard Findeisen who built the earlier models was happy to retrofit them. Scott had the first several built by Findeisen under the name of Williams Performance Kayaks and then sold the design to Azul kayaks/nee Riot Kayaks who marketed a slightly redesigned boat as the Sultan (and later, I understand, as the Aura). It has long been out of production and I don’t know what is going on with Scott Williams, an avid paddler and intense and engaging personality but…I have three pristine Paradigms -all retrofitted by Findeisen with skegs. I have no use for such a fleet and if anyone wants one-such, I will gladly sell a pair (or just one)
How to contact you about the Paradigms?
Just re entering a bit of info /availability notice re a couple of original “Paradigms”. “Old school” 17.5 feet sea kayaks -built for speed strength, carrying capacity and a degree of wave play. The boat was designed by Scott Williams, an early BCU advocate in Florida, who also started Sweetwater Kayak company in Tampa Bay Area. Riot Kayaks bought the mold and used it as the nidus for their “Azul” branch. They got Scott to redesign the boat slightly and renamed it the “Sultan”. The sultan had slightly less tendency to weathercock but otherwise remained a fine boat. With the addition of a skeg the Paradigm became even more easy paddling and useful. By “useful” I mean seaworthy, remarkably fast and capable of handling any water and condition. I have a pair of original Paradigms in excellent condition that were hauled around the country by Riot as demo boats. They are for sale. contact me at gyst@cox.net
1 Like