Four
2 old Solstices, 1 stellar canoe, the new Braveheart
Thanks everybody, it’s like Christmas for me
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No that belongs to the shop and that’s after I tried it at a nearby lake
I need a trailer though because we have a Roof Tent.
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Nice. Has the name and look of a “fun” boat!" Enjoy!
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Got here a day late just for the day
I let my husband try it too
We found a great wild camping spot
The dog had a good time
The boat turns so well I feel the Greenland paddle
Is perfect for it (more than my solstice)
I practiced edging and using the Greenland paddle
We had 25 knot winds on the return and it tracks nicely with the skeg down.
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A beautiful spot.
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It’s quite a pretty boat. Does it weathercock without the skeg, below a 10 knot wind? Does the wee hatch in front of the coaming impede your feet when you want to move them off the pedals?
What does weathercock mean exactly?
It tracks well only if the skeg is down if the wind is hitting me at beam
I sort of miss the rudder only because I’m so used to it but this boat turns and edges so much better.
I did not try much because we only had a few hours and didn’t want to be wet driving home.
ALSO the water was much colder than a month ago and I guess it’s because all the snow melted since we were here and the lake was a couple feet higher.
A SUP told me that it was 16 C which is hard to imagine this late in the summer.
A month ago it was warm enough to not need my wetsuit so I did not have one on.
The day hatch (?) isn’t very deep and
I think it’s just for your sunglasses or something small
There is something that the guy told me
Is made to “cut down” and it’s in the way getting in and out
Let me find a pic
What is that called?
The white phalange
The hatch closest to the paddler is not deep.
It’s the low volume model so I think it’s made for very close contact.
I can move the seat back a notch or two although it’s possible having my knees bent a bit will be helpful edging and rolling so I have not down it just yet.
I thought it was comfortable
But I have a custom foam seat in the CD and maybe I’ll do that back in Washington
The guys that does the seats does them for Sterling
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I picked this boat because my dream boat is the Sterling but this one was about half the price when I get the VAT off.
And it’s hand laid up in Finland and no way to get the Sterling here that I know of.
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A boat weathercocks when it turns into the wind while underway. This is not a bad thing; many boats with skegs are designed to do this slightly. Leecocking, when the bow turns away from the wind, leads to the boat ending up broadside to the wind and high potential for capsize. I’ve heard that one of the many styles of Valley Nordkapp (the HM with the built-in skeg?) had this potential.
Loading the boat heavier in the stern can change the trim and, if extreme, convert a weathercocking boat into leecocking. Kayaks famous for being neutral would include the Mariners (no longer produced) from the Broze brothers in the Seattle area. Personally I like neutral boats so I don’t need to fuss with the skeg. One of my kayaks is neutral below 10 knots - I haven’t tested it in higher winds because I am old and puny and avoid wind.
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Oh thank you for that explanation.
I suppose I’ll have to feel that out in the future because since I’m used to always being on the rudder (like flying?!) I am just learning to paddle
“Evenly” if that makes sense.
So, I’m not there yet.
I was mostly paddling downwind and in to the wind but I turned some when the big ferries 
came by 
Because the waves were so large.
For me the best explanation of why a boat weathercocks goes like this:
The boat creates a bow wave which tends to hold the bow in its grip. When the wind blows even slightly from the side, this acts as a pivot so the boat tends to turn into the wind (reader … draw a picture). The skeg when lowered, counters this effect. Loading the stern more heavily than the bow also counters this effect by lowering the aft hull a bit more. The lower you place the skeg, the more it counters the bow pivot.
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I don’t expect to load this boat much too
often because I made my husband get a canoe for
the dog child. If we go camping any distance maybe I’d take the CD because it’s hard to beat with a load IMO. He tried the boat out and now is a little unhappy paddling a canoe.
But you snooze you lose 
I was quicker at solving the dog issue than he was and now here he is out of his Solstice and in a canoe 
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The white things are thigh braces. I cut them off my modified ocean cockpit as I already have lots of contact with my knees up, and it made getting in much easier. I waited a few years before I did it though, but it made the boat better for me. I have to sit on the deck still and slide into the seat with my legs already in the boat as the cockpit opening is small.
I have my knees bent while paddling and edge to turn or course correct. Good contact with the sides and hull of the boat makes it act like part of your body. That is what I like so much about your type of kayak. You don’t just sit there.
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I do not feel I need them.
I feel I could roll this boat just using my hips, really
You definitely wear it and there isn’t a lot of volume
For some reason the GP felt really right, even my husband noticed and I hadn’t said anything
How do you cut them off? Without buggering it up?
I am not saying you should cut yours. You may find they work for you. They are there to give good contact with the boat. If I had a longer cockpit opening where I could sit my butt in the seat and then bring in my legs, I would not have eventually cut them off. However, because the cockpit length is short and the deck low, I have very good contact without them.
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I’ll wait but I bet they need to go and the guy at the shop told me I would probably file them down.
I see where they would probably be cut on this groove.
I’ll get them to do it after I paddle it a bit because I would think they file
It smooth
I tape the area to be cut to avoid chipping the edge. Then draw the cutoff line on the tape even with the edge of the cockpit. A Dremel tool with an abrasive wheel but wear a mask to protect your lungs while cutting. You can cut proud of the line then file down to the edge, Then sand to smooth and round the edge of the cut.
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I don’t envision you as old and puny.
Yes, that is where I cut mine. You could also just reduce the thigh brace part way and just make it smaller. Maybe cut it back halfway and try it out before removing more.
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