I have one the same. I think it’s horrible.
Seats are a very personal thing. I like the Infinity seat, my wife doesn’t. She likes the seat in her boat, I don’t. We both like the seat in my Boreal Design. She hasn’t tried the Tiderace yet.
Yes Gregofdelaware, I believe that’s correct. Dealers are fine and that’s how they earn a living. I would fully intend to go through a dealer. BUT---- not posting weights, all dimensions inside and outside , mechanics of the skegs and rudders, pricing, and making it impossible to find out what these are on each kayak without asking a dealer each and every question about each and every kayak so you can make an informed comparison is idiotic of a web designer. If I were a dealer and I had to answer about 6 to 10 questions about every single boat to try to sell one boat I think I’d be a bit mad at the company that forced that one me. A quick look shows me 16 different kayaks and wanting to know volumes, measurements, and weights as well as how the rudders and skegs are made and how they work, seats and adjustments, bulkhead construction and sealing, and find out what’s the same in every one and what is different on every one-----on the phone for a long time with a dealer who could be doing something productive in his shop would REALLY make the dealer earn his money. And 100% of that burden on him is because P&H doesn’t tell anyone the details of what they are trying to sell to them and what it would cost. That makes no since at all.
You can’t buy a brand new car without going through a dealer either, but the car companies, Chevy, Ford, GMC Dodge Toyota, BMW and don’t deny you information on the web sites. when you go to a car dealer you can already know what your options are and then you can ask about availability and delivery times, as well as see what the bottom line is, for each deal. So I have NO problem with a dealer at all. I intend to do just that, but I am a bit skeptical about a company that withholds a great deal it’s important info about it’s products however.
I see the Fort Collins dealer and I think I’ll try them, but that’s still a very long way to drive just to talk. Having all my “nuts and bolts questions” answered by a web sight would make me far more inclined to spend the time and money to go to a dealer so I could make a deal.
I am a custom gunsmith. How much business would I get if I told people my policy was that you had to set time aside and spend money just to speak to me, and i would not give you ANY idea of what my work would cost you, and I’d them tell you to speak to my agent about the details of what I can do for you but I am too good for you, and can’t be bothered to answer any of your questions or give you any estimates of cost at all. Does that sound like a good business plan to anyone?
High Desert is that the seat on the CD or in the Eddyline? I don’t know if I’d like it or not. I see no problem is it is 100% reliable, but if not I can see it as a major problem. I’d not feel too bad if I got a used kayak and fixed the things I didn’t like, but if I am going to spend $2000 to $3200 I don’t thing a defective or flimsy design is reasonable.
Your thought and ratings are…? Fire away ladies and gents. Good amnd bad. I truly want to know the details.
I just saw a yellow Fathom on the Eddyline Kayak Owners Group (Facebook) for sale. $2150, kayak, pfd, cockpit cover, spray skirt, etc,…. It’s in Oregon
Have you considered Delta kayaks? I have never paddled one but I have looked at them in person and they seem to be well made and well thought out, and light.
https://www.rei.com/product/886209/delta-kayaks-delta-17-kayak
That’s the Eddyline Infinity seat. I believe the very early version used a single wingnut/bolt to lock in the sliding feature but it was quickly changed to use (2). I’ve adjusted mine and never had it slip. I’m a fan of the adjustability/trim it allows. I am unaware of any durability issues with that seat system. Eddyline uses it in many boats and has produced a TON of them.
Sorry, I didn’t realize it was that dysfunctional for you. Works fine for me, so there is something odd. I can provide a screen shot of the specs at least, for the Volan:
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Wow Gregofdelaware. You are seeing things my computer won’t allow. Maybe I need to retract my claws on this issue. It may be my computer system and not P&Hs web site. That page of specks would not come up when I tried it on my computer. I just want back there to be extra sure and nope…it won’t go past 2 pages when I try. I can look at the main page and the map of dealer locations and NOTHING else.
I click on the topics and nothing happens at all. It says “customize your kayak” but the page is totally dead. It also says “find a dealer” and when I click on that it shows me a map, but none of the links work to find the dealers web sites. I can copy and paste them, and go to them without a link, but the only thing I could do would be to call them on the phone because none of them have anything on their sites to view P&H kayaks and see specs. I tried 5 of them.
So thank you for that screen shot. It’s proof that the P&H web site works (for others) so the cyber problem has to be on my end.
Mowog73, I had not looked at delta. I clicked on the link and saw what REI had. I then went to the Delta site and I see a lot of things the that would be quite interesting to me. I may have to give them a hard look. Do you have one? Have you used one in the past. What do you say about them?
JCH-ski. Can you post a link so I can see what you saw? PM me if that’s better for you. $2150 seems a bit high, but I am not really sure. The brand new Delta I see at the REI store is more, but not much, and the PFD and cockpit cover, spray skirt and so on may be enough to get me to look carefully.
Hmm, well when I have had problems with websites I think one of the first things IT has had me do is clear my cache on my browser. Often that works, though it also removes all the saved info I might have liked having for convenience. It might be worth trying that…
After you click on a P&H boat scroll down. Otherwise you see nothing at least on my phone.
their website works fine for me also.
Well I found my problem. Actually my friend the professional computer tec found it and it took him about 30 seconds.
My wife installed a VPN and it has some setting along with some other program Wade told me about inside my computer that blocks a lot of content for certain countries to help prevent pirating (all over my head, and I am not sure of what he told me exactly, but something would stop the page)
So I could get to the P&H 1st page and the map of dealers for the USA. The dealer page is a US page, so that worked, but the English page was stopped dead. He opened a program page and removed a “filter” and the P&H page now works perfectly.
It was a bit embarrassing.
He is SO FAR over my head in computer knowledge that when he’s asked me about things on the phone I had no idea what he was saying, so he drove over here from about 16 miles away and it took him 30 seconds to find and fit it.
I am grateful,-------------- but red-faced.
Glad you (or he) found the problem. Those things can be quite frustrating. But no one knows everything, so sometimes you need an expert…
“Sometimes”?
For me it’s many times.
waterbird, I can’t find a way to reply to you. The reply “button” for the letter is not working
Szihn, No, I do not own a Delta kayak, nor have I ever paddled one, just seen them at a dealer and was quite impressed with the kayak features and how light they are.
A good friend that has a kayak touring business in New Brunswick uses and paddles Delta kayaks, a switch from Current Design kayaks, which to me means they must be a pretty good boat (I bought my Current Design Solstice GTHV from him 25 yrs ago).
I was considering a Delta 15.5 GT for my wife (weighs only 49 lb) until I found a used CD Solstice GTS kelvar for sale.
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If you don’t commit buy X amount of product from CD they pull your dealership. Few on Long Island disappeared. Deltas look nice.
Does make you wonder how many boats “X” is.
Everyone who knows:
Please tell me about Deltas offerings.
[quote=“szihn, post:1, topic:111015”]
I am looking for any feedback from anyone that has experience with this kayak, and all “pros and cons” I can get. [/quote]
I just sold mine, after maybe 3 years of ownership.
I originally got a Fathom because, being new to sea kayaks, I felt confined and claustrophobic with normal-shaped cockpits. The Fathoms have a much higher foredeck, so feel much roomier.
Eventually I realized that this was actually something of a disadvantage, as it caught the wind more and made me feel less connected. I ended up adding a fair amount of padding to make up the difference. I’m 5’10", 180lbs, 31" inseam.
[quote=“szihn, post:1, topic:111015”]
Because of where I live, getting to sit in one and paddle it are not realistic options, so it seems so far anyway. Just driving to a place to do so is going to cost me about $390 at the low end in gasoline, and a loss of work worth about $800-$900 minimum, so paying close to 1/2 the cost of the kayak just to go see one is unreasonable for me.
I have been told by one lady that some of the P&H boats may be better choices and they are a bit less money. I am all ears and will gladly consider advice from anyone that has real experience with the Fathom or any of it’s competitors. Tell me what you can about the Fathom and any other kayak in the 15.5 to 17 foot range you’d recommend. I am not locked into anything yet, but I’d prefer a skeg to a rudder. [/quote]
The Eddylines use a strange skeg actuation system…it involves a piece of plastic tubing for the cable sheath and it uses sharkbite fittings to connect them together at both ends. I found the Fathom skeg very easy to jam, and when it does it pops the sheath out of the sharkbite fitting, leaving you pretty much screwed on the water. A pull string is a necessity, IMO. If you’re alone…you may have a problem. Keep that tube well-lubricated internally and that skeg out of the sand!
P&H boats may actually be more expensive, unless you’re looking at their rotomolded models to compare with the Eddyline tri-laminate.
The tri-laminate is the Eddylines best and worst feature, IMO. It looks GORGEOUS…like a car paint job. You get all the good comments at the put-ins. However…if you decided to start banging around rocky beaches and such, you might find yourself crying when you scratch it. Eddyline says their boats are easy to repair…but I don’t know anyone that’s tried.
You mention the seat…the Fathom has a very comfortable seat, with a bit of padding, as others have mentioned. I found that the mechanism that holds it in place, fore and aft, slips. Eventually enough grit and dirt gets in there that it will hold somewhat, but at first I couldn’t keep it in place for love or money.
The seat back is also quite high for a sea kayak. This becomes an issue if you ever plan to learn layback rolls. I don’t know that you could convert to a back band.
The Eddyline hatch covers are waterproof-ish. They’ll never be as good as Valley hatches, but are better than/equal to many other manufacturers.
The Fathom has a LOT of primary stability, and edges relatively well. It’ll never be a surf boat, but I don’t think many would complain. Since the deck is so tall, it makes low-angle paddling somewhat more difficult.
Eddyline uses a sexy footpeg adjustment system that allows you to adjust on the water fairly easily without having to be a gymnast.
In summary, I don’t think the Fathom will be many paddlers’ “forever” boat, but it’s a decent step up from rotomolded recreational boats if you’re moving into seat kayaks.