Thsu far, there is not much discussion or reviews of Current Designs new "Brit" style kayaks - the Infinity and Cypress. CD advertises them as boats "for British design aficionados." Perhaps they are too new still with not enough presence yet to be compared to Valley, P & H, NDK similar boat lengths. Curious if anyone has tested them out and would offer their impressions?
I'm not sure if those folks up there in upstate NY got to see these at the May Paddlefest.
The Cypress I just bought one! It got in to the local dealer yesterday and I pick it up Wednesday. I first paddled it at a demo day in late 07. Fell in love with it. Comfortable and stable. Iāve been paddling the demo while waiting for my boat to come in for the past 2 weeks. Love it more now than when I first paddled it!
This boat are quick, sleek and speedy, nimble with lots of storage room. The day hatch is HUGE. I can open it get what I want, and close it with one hand.
Going to write a review after Iāve had it for a few months.
But I do have ONE BEEF. That is how long it took to get a pre-made boat (ordered May 30th and just got here July 19th. Communication between Company, and rep & dealer VERY POOR. Dealer & local rep did everything possible to keep me happy. I was left with the feeling after calling CD myself that they could care less. Very bad customer service considering this is my second CD boat.
LOVE THE BOATS! NOT FOND OF THE COMPANY. IF YOU BUY A CD BOAT. find a dealer that has what you want in stock or be prepared to wait indefinatly.
Why a Current Designs? Iām wondering why youād get a boat from CD instead of one of the more proven Brit designs. If you like the Brit boats then my experience is that it is much easier to find a P&H or NDK dealer. The Brit boats I see most often are the Romany and the Explorer and they seem like great boats.
I guess CD feels that they want to cover this market as well since the ruddered boats based on Baidarka designs are less in favor now.
I really like my Solstice GTS but if I didnāt want a rudder Iād look elsewhere.
Becauseā¦ I guess the reasoning behind getting the CD boat, for me, was that I am already paddling a CD boat (Kestrel 140) and really liked the quality of the workmanship in the boat I have. Plus, the Cypress handled better (at least for me) than the other boats I tried. I really liked it and once my heart was set on it, everything else I tried just didnāt have āitā.
I was after an open water boat, but the more Iām paddling the Cypress, the more I can see I can use it just about anywhere. I just really liked the boat.
Its just one of those things that just felt right from the first moment I sat in it and then paddled it. Iām very pleased with my choice.
Really expected better customer service though. And after this experience, I could see why others would shy away from dealing with CD.
Iām sure the other boats mentioned are really good boats. We also had a CD dealer local that I feel very comfortable doing business with. Not so with the others mentioned.
Not a Special Order I chose a boat that was in their stock and ready to go. One reason I did this was to avoid the huge lead times associated with custom boats, plus I had an event coming up that I wanted the boat for.
Howeverā¦ If you ordered it during a downtime for production of that model, you likely got good service.
Kayak manufacturing, especially composite, is a small business for most companies, and they have limited production runs to avoid overstock. And the more popular small manufacturers are constantly backordered. Rotomolded rec kayaks are their bread and butter, not composite sea kayaks.
I bought my Caribou when Brian Henry still owned CD and they were still made in Canada, and the customer service was great. Since he sold the company, I donāt know what has changed, but the time it took to order your boat isnāt outrageous.
I had to wait 5 weeks for an off-the-rack Bell canoe this past winter, and the only reason I got it that quick was that Bell had them in stock, and a truck was coming east anyway. The shop didnāt stock any at the time.
Bet it wasnāt CDās fault CD couldnāt do anything because they probably had the boat built and ready to go but had to wait for a trailer headed east. Shipping a single boat is costly and usually the boat will end up damaged unless itās on a special trailer. All the boat vendors have schedule delivery trips, so it sounds like you had the poor luck of hitting a large span between deliveries. And six weeks isnāt bad considering that CD is probably still filling preseason orders that dealers placed last year.
Build Time Just got my new Impex Assateague K-Lite. Build time to delivery was two and half weeks. The fit and finish was flawless. They hand deliver every boat in Canada to avoid damage and costs associated with shipping. Not sure if they deliver into the USA. Job well done !
Thank you for the education I apologize to any CD folks out there. Guess it could have been worse. Did not mean to āhijackā this personās post.
I feel as more people try the Cypress and other boats like from CD, youāll see more of them on the water. Cypress only came out in 08. ( I paddled a pre-release demo in Oct of '07) It is a boat worth trying. Sea Kayaker Magazine had good things to say about it.
I really wasnāt paying much attention to what style it was. I was just after a boat I could really love for open water and some overnighters. I believe I have picked a GREAT boat.
Suggest the OP find a Current Designs rep in the area and see if they can locate one for you to try. If you do, I hope your paddling experience in the CD āBritā style boat will be as pleasant as mine was. I pick her up tomorrow!!
CD shaking things up While at GLSKS symposium a longtime Wenonah/CD dealer told me that CD would be discontinuing their Solstice series. This is a historic āsea changeā as the Solstice is their foundation series back when Brian Henry was the sole designer and ran things from B.C.
those who like their ruddered North American style CD kayaks, you have fair warningā¦ get 'em now while theyāre hereā¦
add-on to Celiaās post above:
Itās the Isle, not the Infinity, thatās the brand new large paddlerās Greenland style boat. (Easily confused names) The Isle is humongous, a veritable gear sponge. See Seth Dentās blog w. pix on the Isleās capacity:
As far as that particular style, the size range now goes Suka --> Caribouā> Isle.
I also demoed the Cypress. While not the ideal width or length for my engine, it had surprising acceleration and response. Itās a good expedition size, very stable, and maybe cuz of that lacks that little wild streak and playfulness.
CD is really building some fine kayaks. Iāve had my Suka for just about two months now and have gone over every square centimeter of the boatā¦ not a flaw to be found in layup or fittings.
Tried a Cypress at ADK Paddlefest. It felt big in the cockpit with too high rear deck for my tastes. Not as lively as my Romany or Nordlow.})
A nice nice boat however and I know a woman who is very happy with hers.
(Writ by wilso, we are sharing the laptop and I forgot to get it out of my profile.)
CD builds light boats I own a CD Caribou, a fine boat in itself, but I had put light weight near the top of my priority list and the Caribou came in at just 49# in standard fiberglass layup. Brit boat tend to be heavy and though some folks think heavy equals strong, I think this is a misconception. All other things considered, CDās boats are put together at a pretty decent level of craftsmanship, probably better than average.
the Caribou and itās rep/style got me into thinking about the Suka. Lots of people just love their 'Bou for performance, tripping, skills - and the light weight (under 50 lbs for a boat 17ā8") doesnāt hurt either.
Not at all to diss the British build - I personally donāt want to sling around any boat over 45 lbs.
My Suka is in Kevlar/FG. The CD site quotes 42 lbs plus or minus 2 lbsā¦ a friend weighed mine on some large scales and she came in at 40.5 lbs! I think that is in part due to the custom seam (not the standard H channel seam which is heavier) Pretty sweet for a 16ā6" boat
But you knowā¦ My new Anas Acuta weighs about the same as my Caribou. Valley at least has gotten the message that too much resin isnāt necessarily a good thing.
this is good! the other interesting thing is that North Shore kayaks (which Valley bought) now are vacuum bagged but, AFAIK, Valley has not gone there. CD in contrast has been vac-bagging for over 20 years. It is not the be-all, end-all answer but properly done can extract unnecessary resin w. a proportionate weight savings.
I respect Valley tremendously & want to see lighter layups. The Avocet LV (in fglass) I demoād felt very manageable weightwise but I donāt have a weight spec to share or compare.
NM