Comparing Three Eddylines

Advice
#1

I have been paddling a plastic wilderness systems Capehorn for over 20 years. At this point I am looking to move into a boat that is lighter and faster, for the primary purpose of joy riding on the lakes and flat rivers of central Oregon. Living in the Pacific Northwest, used Eddyline boats seem to be constantly for sale all over the place for really reasonable prices. I currently have an Eddyline Merlin LT, but it is rather too small for me and I mainly picked it up to use as a loaner (I am 6 feet and weigh 170 pounds). Still, I have paddled a few different Eddylines and tend to like them. So, at this point, I am pretty interested in three different Eddyline boats, two of which are no longer made. They are:

-Fathom
-Nighthawk (16 or 17.5… not sure which)
-Falcon 18

Since the Nighthawk and the Falcon have been discontinued, there is no way for me to just go to a shop and demo them (although I did paddle a Nighthawk once a couple decades ago, and I seem to remember liking it, but at that time I was fairly inexperienced, so I didn’t have much to compare it to).

So this is what brings me here. I am wondering if I might be able to find people out there with reasonable experience with any two of these boats (or if I am really lucky, with all three) who might be able to point out some of the most significant characteristics of each, as well as the differences between them. As I said, I am looking for something that will be fairly light and speedy. Having cut my kayaking teeth in whitewater, I have always tended to prefer boats that have lower primary stability for that “lively” feel. My roll is extremely solid and I am not worried about whether or not I could roll any of these boats, so that is a non-issue.

Used prices of these boats around Oregon are low enough that I have even considered buying two of them and just comparing them myself, although my first choice would be to just buy one (we are still talking about $800-$1200 a pop on the used market ). I have a feeling that I would be happy with any of them, since all of them are going to be zippier than my Capehorn. Still, I am very interested in capitalizing on the experience of others regarding these three boats.

As an addendum, some of you might have other boats in mind that you think I should be considering. That is fine, and it would be good information for me to have. Still, I would need to be lucky enough to have that exact boat pop up on the local used market, which isn’t an unreasonable prospect. But as it is, I can pretty much depend on any one of these three Eddyline boats being for sale on Craigslist or Facebook fairly locally at any given moment.

Thanks!

#2

I have an older Kevlar Falcon 18, but haven’t paddled either of the others. Do you know if the Falcon 18 you’re considering is the older composite version like mine? The composite had 10 inch round rubber hatch covers and no skeg. The later Carbonlite plastic version had hard, flush hatch covers and a skeg. I think there may have been a transition period where the Carbonlite version had round rubber hatch covers too though.

One observation on the Falcon 18 is that the hull has a quite a deep, sharp vee that gives excellent tracking but slow turning. It also has quite a pointy bow, and with that vee hull the foot room is rather restrictive. You have to splay your feet out at an angle to rest your heels on the hull and contact the foot peddles with the balls of the feet. And my size 9 water shoes just fit in the space.

#3

I’ve owned both the Carbonlite version of the Falcon 18 and a Night Hawk 16. I remember both boats being pretty comfortable. While the flush hatches look clean, they are a bit fiddly to use and keep sealed. Unless your primary use is flat-out touring, I’d pass on the big Falcon due to its straight-line bias. It’s not a bad handling boat but very much prefers to go straight. The Night Hawk 16 is a better-balanced boat in my experience. I don’t remember either being overly snug for my 10.5 shoes. The only Eddyline I still have is my 2nd Gen Raven and it’s a wonderful boat.

#4

I have a Fathom and I truly love it, but I actually may end up selling it because I have another kayak coming and I can’t store them all. My Shed holds 3. So I need to sell one.
I also own a Sea Lion Shadow that I may sell.

#5

I just got back from paddling in my Falcon 18, and I was mistaken about the foot space - it has plenty. I was thinking of another kayak. But my comment about needing to splay my feet outward is correct. I made the wood foot bar shown in the photo so that I wouldn’t have to angle my feet as much.

Foot-Bar
Foot-Bar800Ă—600 56.8 KB

1 Like
#6

The Raven with a lot of rocker is my all time favorite sea kayak.

#7

Thank you all for the input. The good news is that it sounds like any one of these three kayaks is going to meet my needs. I guess the bad news is that I still have to choose. In any case, I think I will likely just look at a few of them and pick up the one that grabs me the most. It may be that I end up buying two, if I get good enough deals and I am feeling that my pockets are deep. Happy paddling, everyone!

2 Likes
#8

I’ve paddled all three, and ended up keeping the Fathom. It’s a much more well rounded kayak than the others. Turns well, tracks well, and is easier to lug around than the others.

The 17.5 Nighthawk is HUGE. I’m 6’4 and 225 lbs, and it was like sitting in a bathtub. Definitely needs some extra weight in it to sit right.

The Falcon is cool, but it’s kind of a one trick pony. Fast and a bit unstable unless you’re really cruising.

2 Likes