I remember my first time in one after paddling one year, I just couldn't imagine being in one in any turbulence. My skills are good now and I find it easy and enjoyable to paddle it. But a new paddler will be quite comfortable in any NDK boat. That's the difference. Matter of fact, there's a tour group that takes people out who never held a paddle in their life in Romanys.
However, I can fall asleep in an Explorer in some rough water but you better not fall asleep in a Nord.
pintail either.If you wanna sleep in the pintail its best in a static brace..It really wants top roll. Ive built in some really nice big carbon-thighgrips, that increases control quite a bit. For me the pintail is less stable than a nordkapp. A Nordtail might have been nice. Pintail but with a nordkapp hull /a deeper V form.?
a clip from the Pintail in a strong cold southeasterly wind. the land its always some funnelig effects here so this was hard paddling, ighthouse a few miles out mesured wind up to 35 knots..Not spectacular or anything but one can see how the pintail moves when into wind.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyn3QkpvgiU
so much about the paddler A person often thinks in terms of “I could handle the conditions in this boat, but maybe not that one”. And I think there can be some degree of truth to that. An Explorer is so often described as one that takes care of you. My little anecdote. The one time I’ve called for outside assistance, it was the Explorer paddler that simply couldn’t manage the conditions that day. And there was not a large perceived inequity between the paddlers’ skill levels, whether or not that perception was correct. Everyone could demonstrate a roll. Everyone had done rough water rescues together. Everyone had been playing in and surfing small waves in inlets together. Two important points I think:
The kayak didn’t take care of him.
It wasn’t the kayak.
To a large degree, I think the ability to manage rough conditions, and the ability to manage a kayak with looser stability, often go hand in hand. Maybe to the extent that more skilled paddlers don’t perceive the advantages from a more stable kayak the same as less skilled paddlers do?
absolutely… There is no question that the most important component of a rough water “system” is not the boat but the paddler.
Some of the best rough water paddlers paddle Explorers…and some of the worst! That is a function that the boat is so popular, and that I think that there are a lot of the “wanna be” types out there who buy one and think they are going to paddle like Nigel Dennis in it.
As a reasonably skilled and experienced rough water paddler I would agree that better paddlers perceive less of an “issue” with looser boats and therefore it may not be a huge factor for them; however, I would still contend that even among good paddlers the Explorer really does take care of you. The need for this degree of security is not as big of an issue for a truly skilled paddler, but still can be appreciated in some instances.
Sleep? No, but… …I always found that the Nordkapp and Pintail paddle the best when you’re loose and relaxed, allowing the boat to move around under you and do it’s thing. Both boats seem to have a sense for the water and left to their own devices, they’ll keep you upright.
That said, as I’ve mentioned above, this is very dependent on the seat height in the Nordkapp. With a high seat and no load, it’s not a boat you can easily relax in. With the seat lowered, it’s as stable and comfortable as a couch. I still remember how much of a revelation is was after I lowered the seat in my Nordkapp a full inch; it absolutely transformed the boat. I went from being nervous in it to being completely comfortable literally overnight, simply due to that one change.