As they say, your mileage …
… may vary. The few times I paddles with long boats I found I had to work hard to keep up with them, and they could could put on a burst of speed that I couldn’t match.
I’m sure skill levels was a factor, which could explain your experiences as well.
At the same time, though, outside of you, it seems everything I’ve read and everyone I’ve talked too accepts that, all other factors being equal, longer slender hulls have more glide and cruise faster than shorter wider boats.
Gotcha
I had a 170. Way too much boat for my 165 pounds. Sold it.
stability?
– Last Updated: Sep-04-10 8:58 PM EST –
The Nordlow is a tender boat compared with most if not all others mentioned in this thread. At rest it does not much care about which way is up. The times I have been capsized in my Nordlow were when sitting still. It is amazingly solid moving through lumpy seas. Though, I have had some very deep high braces when paddling the boat in conditions and nailed with a beam or quartering 'rogue wave'. Regarding secondary, Douglas Wilcox wrote "...as you edge the Nordkapp LV it just keeps going over smoothly until sploosh. There is no warning when you are just about at the limit of secondary stability."
It is not a confidence inspiring boat. Play with a Nordlow, but buy an Aquanaut LV ;-)
Thanks for the info and advice …
… I want to try to Nordkapp just because it’s there … like riding the biggest roller coaster. But in the Valley line up, Aquanaut or Avocet look to be the right boat. The deciding factor would be of course fit, and then cruising speed … I’d give up a little play from the Avocet for a little more speed from the Aquanaut LV.
I called the dealer yesterday to confirm the demo today, and was disappointed to hear they have no Aquanaut LV’s in stock. Looks like I can go all the way through to buy one from their store on line, and the boat is at a big discount vs. their other Valley’s.
Demo’d the Shoreline
Nice boat, and North Shore seems to get a lot of positive reviews for their boats. Very similar, to me, to the Avocet. An inch shorter and wider. Seems to be more volume. Comfortable and easy to control.
I’m not sure I want a 16’ or less boat … I want some decent cruise speed, and if I decide to paddle with a group I don’t want to work twice as hard just to keep up. Same goes for getting where I want to go …
It’s all about compromises. No one boat does exactly everything I want.
Friend’s experience
I have a friend who had a Montauk but was unhappy with its speed so got an Outer Island but was then unhappy with its stiffness. He then got an Aquanaut LV and it suited him as a boat with good speed but decent responsiveness.
and now…
…there’s one less RP Alaw Bach demo available in NY. That’s because it ‘moved’ to Ohio. I really had hoped to take it up to Lake Erie today but the forecast is for nine to twelve footers.
Maybe tomorrow.
PLastic?
Would like to hear what you think of this boat.
And you shall…
…I’ll write up a review once I’ve had the boat out in rougher water than I did during the test paddle in the blue/green algae infested water of Lake Chautauqua. Maybe I shouldn’t have been rolling so much:)
But I can say that within a minute I was pretty sure the deal was done (trading in my Fathom LV for the RP). The difference between the Fathom and the Alaw was that pronouced.
BTW, I’m 5’6" @ 145 lb and with the adjustable seat the fit was great.
Rockpool TCC in UK
We have shipped more of the Rockpool Alaw Bach TCC’s back to the UK than we have shipped here in the US. European paddlers have raved about the boats performance and appreciate the technology. I am not sure why
Rockpool doesn’t list the TCC on their website yet, but I am sure they will soon. The Rockpool factory is renowned throughout Europe as the premier
custom composites builder of sea kayaks. Their small shop and limited production capacity has challenged a North American distribution plan and the introduction of the Alaw Bach TCC has allowed them to concentrate on the exotic builds.
Got a new boat…
First, my apologies to anyone who paddles the boat I bought. I am not worthy of the boat.
Yesterday went back to demo the Avocet again. Tried the Aquanaut LV, and the 3rd boat a few others mentioned here. I figured the folks at the shop would quickly talk me out of the 3rd one. To be honest, I was sort of hoping they would: after everything I’ve read about it, I was intimidated at the thought of being in the cockpit in water in that boat.
The response was more like “that boat is a possibility …”. So I tried to talk them out of putting me in one. I told them what I had read, reminded them on my skill level, etc. They basically said “forget what you have read”, “all that matters is how the boat fits you … everybody is different”, and “so if you get wet …then you’ll know that’s not the boat”.
Down with the boats, I started with the Avocet. Seemed a little faster than I recalled. Nice boat. The Aquanaut LV, to me, handled just like the full size. The cockpit fit more like the Avocet, but the it seemed to respond to edging the same way.
Now, to the last boat. I told myself walking over from the shop to the water that I would just pass on that one. When it came time to try it, I was not too eager. Even suggested passing on this one. But the folks helping me with the demo said pretty much what the guys back at the shop said: forget what you’ve heard and see what it feels like to you. So what if you get wet.
So I got in, figured I’d push back a little, shift some weight, catch myself from going over, demo done.
Someone said the right boat will sing to you. The Nordkapp LV felt good right away. A few strokes and I was moving across the cove. A little edge and sweep and she came around faster than the Avocet. The same spot and turn, with the wind, took a lot of of work for me with the Aquanaut. I paddled her longer that the others. Then took her back out for another try.
The boat felt right in a way that none of the other boats I demo’d have. If I had not tried the Nordkapp, I don’t think I would have pulled the trigger on a boat yesterday. If I had to, it would have been the Avocet, but without the same certainty, More like a process of elimination. It didn’t sing to me.
I tried talking myself out of the Nordkapp LV. I asked three instructors that were there. All basically said the same thing: go with the boat that fits the best.
So I bought it.
Took it out today in Wickford harbor. In fact I was a little afraid I would find out that somehow I had beginners luck yesterday, and I made bad decision.
I started out easy. Calm in the harbor, but a decent wind and gusts. After about an hour I went out past the breakwaters into the bay. About a foot or so of chop, boat wake, some decent wind gusts. Got some 2 footers from boat wake broadside.
Was able to get take in some wind, gusts and chop quartering off the bow, stern, and broadside.
This boat responds to weight shifts and corrective strokes effortlessly. Some have said she is unforgiving. Another way to look at it might be “precise”: she’ll do exactly what you tell her to do. It’s like a dial with no “clicks” to know what you set it to … you have to know by feel.
In the harbor, I found a sand bar that was shallow enough that I could play with shifting weight and edging, but put a hand out if I went too far. Helped know how far to go. As someone said, there is no secondary … it will effortlessly keep going. To a degree I agree with that. On the other hand, if you know where to stop and hold it there, the boat stays there. There’s no resistance. But if you go a little too far, and you feel yourself loosing it, the same amount of correction the other way and she goes right back.
Trying to think of the right word, what comes to mind is confident. I felt as confident of me handling the boat as I did in my Tempests in the same conditions. Thinking back to moving from a 170 to a 165 Tempest, my recollection is it took me several outings to gain the same level of confidence as I feel with the Nordkapp.
I know these were not the conditions other who own this boat use it for, so my experiences were in comparison pretty pedestrian. However, in my world, 1 - 2, and occasional 3 footers on Narragansett bay is where I’m at. Or where I left off a few years ago with my Tempest.
Felt like I had never left. And the Nordkapp has the handling and speed I was looking for. Over time I want to learn more, and want to have the skills for more open ocean. I could do this with the other boats I demo’d, but the Nordkapp LV sang to me.
Thanks to all who shared their thoughts and suggestions. Also thanks to the folks at Wickford Kayak Center. They were great to deal with, and worked as a team to help me find the right boat.
Congratulations!
The Nordlow is a very fun boat. It is especially good in chop and wind.
Enjoy!
Awesome!
I agree with you - takes a special person not to like Nord LV. It certainly is a boat that will take you places both geography and skill -wise.
My only beef - very light duty layup.
Thanks!
Looking forwarded to getting more time in the boat this weekend.
One thing I noticed the day after the first paddle is I could feel it in my legs … sure, I haven’t paddled in a few years, but I don’t recall that from the past. This boat is a lot more about edging and shifting weight. I can see where people using these boats for extended time in conditions could feel tired.
Light lay up is a plus for me
One criteria was a lite boat so I can carry it, get it on and off the car, by myself. At around 50 pounds this is about as heavy as I would want. The Tempest 170 and even the 165 I had a few years ago felt heavier. I know they are a lot lighter now as well.
For my kind of paddling, hitting rocks should be, with any luck, a rare exception.
The way I understand the process, its the same amount of glass and layers, but less resin because the layers are squeezed tighter. If that is correct, wonder how much strength is really lost?
Yes too big …
My first Tempest was a 170 … plastic. I was at 200 pounds, so it fit. Then I needed to get serious about health … wanted to paddle more, wanted a ligter boat, sp moved to glass 170. Six months later, dropped to 155, then settled back to 160. At that point I found the 170 felt big, getting blown around more in the wind. Also began reading about people getting boats too big … expedition boats for day use. So I moved to the 165.
I used the 165 a lot, and learned a lot with it. More of a learning curve. For the first few weeks I felt more twitchy in it than I ever felt in the 170, even when I was 200 pounds. And it always felt that way in new conditions … until I got used to it.
Felt a little of that in the Avocet I recently demo’d too. What surprised me the most is that I did not get that feeling in the Nordkapp LV.
Relax… stay loose
The key to not getting tired paddling a Nordlow is to stay relaxed and loose.
The more relaxed you can stay paddling the boat the less effort and greater fun.
More so than any other boat I’ve paddled the aphorism “Loose hips save flips” is very true in a Nordlow.
Besides the boat rolls so easily…
“how much strength is really lost”
– Last Updated: Sep-08-10 9:07 PM EST –
I think we need Salty or Peter Orton to answer that question.
I've often read that there is no loss of strength, however my 2008 standard layup Nordkapp LV is more fragile than my 2004 Pro-Lite layup Aquanaut. It also weighs a lot less ;-)
Learning to roll …
… One thing I’m going to learn to do this year, time permitting. Also need to learn more about bracing.
I felt pretty loose on the boat, and let the bottom half move with the boat while keeping the torso vetical. What seemed different for me was how much more control I had just shifting a weight vs. using strokes. Also was using more edging than I have used in the past to turn. And I did a lot more playing around with turns etc. Spent a good hour or more just weaving between moored boats, like a one of those car comercials weaving between cones, getting a feel for the boat.
Congrats!
The real test would be to see if you can still handle/enjoy it in the same conditions you describe, once you are seriously tired.
I have only briefly paddled the LV and it felt exactly as you described it. Great! I did flip unexpectedly and surprisingly out of nowhere in the beginning but it rolled back up effortlessly and had no problems afterwards. On the other hand, during a recent race I had (in another boat), towards the end of the distance I had serious fears of flipping over and not being able to comeup with my roll - nothing of that was present at the beginning of the race when I was still fresh. I would not want to be in that boat if I had no way out and in rough conditions. In comparison, my other boat offers decent secondary, so I can be less precise and still remain upright. Responsiveness is similar if not better (shorter boat).
For day paddles/play in wind/chop the LV would probably be perfect for me. But I think something a little more “well mannered” like a Cetus MV I might appreciate better after a few hours on rough water due to its nice stability for my dimensions. Purely theoretical on my part regarding both boats as I have not had a chance to get myself tired in either of them, yet -
but I have in some other boats and I think the effect will extrapolate here too…