I’m looking for a lightweight kayak that’ll fit in my car (it needs to be 10’4" or less). I’ve visited a few local dealers in the Tampa Bay area. After looking and looking, I fell in love with the Eddyline Sky 10. It seems to be a new enough model that there isn’t much information out on it yet.
Does anyone own one of these? I’d love to hear your opinions. I’m female, 5’5" and lightweight, and would be using this boat for the slow-moving rivers and estuaries close to home. My other choice was the Emotion Bliss, but it’s too long to fit in my car. I really prefer not to use a roof rack.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Maybe this will help
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=chat&tid=1442725
Not from an owner, but someone who tested it. I’m interested in this as well for my rec adventures.
Thanks!
Yes, that helps very much! I did a search on the message boards for the Sky, but didn’t see that post. That’s an encouraging review. I also contacted Eddyline to ask if they think the Sky 10 is a good fit for my intended uses.
I’d never seen an Eddyline boat in person, but I was floored by how gorgeous they are. They kind of make poly boats look like Tinker Toys.
I hope to hear back from Eddyline soon, and the local dealer said I could schedule a private demo with the boat if I want.
You’ll hear from them
I’ve written them a few times, and usually they get back to me within minutes (no exageration). I haven’t seen an Eddyline for real yet, but have read great things about them; paddling and quality, and I love thermoform (I have 2 Hurricanes right now, but I want to move up, for a variety of reasons). I’m also eyeballing a Journey for my bay trips.
History of Eddyline
They have a link to a short “History of Eddyline” video on their website. Looks like a very nice light weight boat and a great company to deal with.
Got a reply already
– Last Updated: Oct-10-11 6:20 PM EST –
You were right! I received a prompt reply from Eddyline. Here's what they had to say...
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"Thanks for your interest in our kayaks. Regarding the Sky 10, I am personally confident that you will find it tracks exceptionally well for a small kayak and very similar to the Skylark. I believe the only thing you will sacrifice between the two models is a slight difference in top speed. However having said that the hulls of both boats are so efficient you would find them both faster than most kayaks of their size.
Of course there is no substitute for trying them out, but I will be very surprised if you are disappointed. Please let us know your findings."
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I think I'll demo the local boat just to be sure, but I really think this might be the boat for me. I've owned one canoe and one kayak, and sold both, either for being too heavy or too long and cumbersome. I hate to admit this, but if a boat is awkward to carry or transport, then I don't go to the trouble to take it anywhere. I'm probably lazier than the average person. I just want something light, tough, and easy to maneuver. It'll be a plus for it to fit in my car!
Haven’t tried the Sky 10
But my wife paddles the 12’ Skylark, its bigger brother. I can tell you that Eddylines are very well made and well outfitted, are lighter than equivalent rotomolded boats, and as you’ve noticed, are much prettier, too. For a 12’ boat, it paddles very nicely. Stable, but not a slowpoke. Cost a bit more than roto, but worth it.
Skylark vs Sky 10
I’m Facebook friends with the person whose review I linked here. She told me that one a person who went with her to test paddle the Sky 10 owns a Skylark and was impressed with the 10. Sounds ideal. The Skylark seems to be a multi-use boat, but since I’m also interested in a bigger boat for certain conditions, I want a small rec boat, but not a beginner boat, like my old Wilderness Systems Pungo 100 was. The fact that it’s not your typical ultrawide rec boat is another plus.
I agree
I have nothing against shorter boats, but you do tend to hear of them moving like “bathtubs” if they’re on the wide side (30" or so). The fact that the Sky is only 26" wide is nice.
Demo
I hope you’ll give your impressions when you demo it. My closest dealer is about an hour or so from me, but I’m not looking to buy at the moment, so I don’t want to test paddle and either torture myself, or tempt myself to buy something which I shouldn’t right now.
Hi Natalie,
the Sky 10 is not at all a bath tub; it is a delight to paddle, but it is not going to be as fast as a longer boat. So if you plan to do much paddling in groups where people have longer boats, you’ll be working to keep up. If, on the other hand, you paddle mostly alone or with people who have shorter boats, as I do, the Sky 10 would probably be perfect for you.
Is your local dealer Aardvark in Crystal River? Matt and Sue are terrific. When I get serious about buying a Sky 10, I will see about renting one for half a day from Matt before I make that final decision, and that might be a good thing for you to do. Check out Matt’s comments about the Sky 10 on Eddyline’s website.
Do you have a van? I’ve thought about getting one, so I could keep my boat in it all the time.
Crystal River
Aardvark is not my local dealer. I went to Osprey Bay in Clearwater, FL. Does the Crystal River location have the Sky 10 available for demo or rental? The Clearwater location only had one boat, on display, so I’d be nervous to demo it and potentially cause any damage to it. If Aardvark has one ready to demo, I might be tempted to go up there this weekend and try it out.
Yes, they do.
We made an appointment and Matt brought the Sky 10 over to Hunter Creek, just a short distance from their store, and let both of us demo it to our heart’s content, no charge. I think he would also rent it or let someone use it on a tour, but you’d need to check with him.
Here’s the website:
http://www.floridakayakcompany.com/
The drive
is unfortunately too long to Crystal River (over 2 hr one way), so I’m going back to the Clearwater dealer tomorrow to look at the Sky 10 more closely.
Not a van
Sorry sissy, I forgot to answer your question. I have a Toyota Rav4, but surprisingly it’ll fit a 10 foot boat! If I recline the front passenger seat and knock down the 2nd row, I could get my old Hobie Sport in there easily. (Not that the Sport ended up sticking around… too heavy).
Hmmm,
Have you thought about just going ahead and getting a decent rack system? Putting a wet dirty boat (and sometimes it just isn’t avoidable) in the car doesn’t sound very appealing.
One of my best paddling buddies has a RAV4, too, with Malone racks. She’s only 5’2" but she puts a rug over the spare tire thing and slides her Skylark (or her Necky Sport, or Necky Manitour 14) right up the back. Stands on the tires to tie it down.
I’m just saying, you could do it, if you wanted to. But whatever works best for you is the way to go. We all have different priorities.
I hope you’ll post again after you demo the Sky 10.
Second what Sissy said
I can get a 17 ft, not light layup, kayak on and off the roof of the car (wagons, one is on the taller side) by myself using a kayak cart for the trip to and from the car and the Amagansett Roller Loader to slide them off and on. The boat slides up on its hull and gets angled to the right proition after it is up there. With J racks you’d just angle it sooner than with the stackers we have.
I’ve said this before - the longer boats are easier than the 10 footers because they are long enough to rest with the stern on the ground and the nose up near the rack. I’ve seen people get boats up and down off the roofs of sedans using blankets and foam blocks as well, also sliding rather than lifting.
Having perimeter line helps to hold onto the boat as well, but at a light enough weight you could probably just grab the boat along the cockpit coaming to slide it.
If you are used to heavy old canoes, this wouldn’t be as obvious. Since the only way to be able to slide them is to flip them first, then hope you can balance it while you get it lined up to slide… kayaks with their hulls being guided along something behave much better.
Celia,
I was wondering if I’d be able to slide my kayak up the back of my Elantra sedan into my new Malone J-loaders, or if it would be better to do it from the side. From the side, of course, when I have someone to help me but that’s only about half the time. Have you done it this way? I’m probably going to try it this afternoon–have to put the thing together and on the rack first.
Yeah
– Last Updated: Oct-16-11 11:18 AM EST –
I had a 30-ish lb Kevlar canoe that I used to put on a rooftop rack. I don't know if I overdid the paddling or what, but oftentimes I was so fatigued after paddling that it was tough to get a boat even that light 6 feet up onto the roof.
On the other hand, I used to paddle my Hobie Sport everywhere, then put it into the car. I never had much trouble with the boat being dirty or wet, as I would wipe it down clean before putting it in the car. I have these large absorbent mats with rubber backing (made for aquarium maintenance) that I covered my car upholstry with. You would not believe how much water they catch. They always worked well for protecting my upholstry.
If I have to, I can definitely break down and buy a rack. I'd rather not have to, though. I don't have much upper body strength and had a really difficult time handling even the 30 lb canoe onto the rack. I know somebody might say "Get a hullivator" but I'd rather put that money into a good boat than an expensive rack.
I do appreciate the suggestion! You mentioned that we all have different priorities, and for some reason I'm really particular about getting a boat that can fit into my car, rather than having to use a rack and tie down.
So you didn’t test it yesterday?
I’m sure you would have told us. I’m just anxious to read more reviews, especially if they’re super positive like everyone else I’ve read.