I have Prijon seyak. Now I’m planning to buy faster plastic sea kayak than Seayak.
I could give up little bit final stability compared to seayak, but I tested Prijon Prilite T505, and it has not enough final stability for me.
What are your recommendations? I’m mid-sized paddler (177cm, 74kg).
Pete
Does it have to be plastic ??
If you want something faster, why not go with a composite boat which would be faster than plastic.
Cheers,
JackL
? Valley Nordkapp RM
http://www.kayak.co.uk/boats/info/valleynordkapprm.htm
18’, minimal rocker… Final stability? Well, I thought it was pretty stable but easy to edge and roll in the Nordkapp Modified, though some folks say this boat is supposed to be tippy. I am 5’3" and 140 lbs.
sing
Aquanaut faster thusfar
So far in Sea Kkayaker tests I believe that Aquanaut and Aquanaut RM have less drag at and above 4.5 knots than a Nordkapp H2O or LV. So it is likely that the RM Aquanaut is faster than the envisioned RM Nordkapp.
Prijon Barracuda…
…goes so fast the water on the deck turns to steam.
Well maybe not quite THAT fast!
Very little primary stability, though, but fine
after you get to speed. it’s a boat that loves
to run.
Second the Prijon Barracuda.
– Last Updated: May-24-06 7:45 AM EST –
See the review in June 2003 Sea Kayaker Magazine. If you email me I will email you a copy of the review
cooldoctor1@yahoo.com
Takes some learning, but it sure is fun and fast.
www.wildnet.com
If your goal is to just sit in a boat, no learning to meet the needs of the boat, then need to pick another boat. A fellow paddler has just bought an Aquanaut RM and really did not find it tippy and it is working out well (I will hopefully get to see him paddle it this weekend).
The Barracuda, on the other hand (see Advice thread "Ballast: He Ain't Heavy, Brother" on page two) requires proper technique, trim, perhaps some weight in rough chop, but is very smooth and glassy on inland waters, where I paddle most. I have found it to be a challenging but very fun boat, smiles per mile are going great, and it is really fun to edge and turn... I'm getting good at making this boat swing!
And you know the proven HTP plastic. Loads depends on where you are using it. If you goal is expedition sea kayaking on great lakes or ocean, I would stick to the Seayak. For other waters, this should be fine. Check out the reviews. I deducted a couple points but I am a harsh critic. I gave the Calabria, which I think is the ideal all around boat, a 7.
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1126
Prijon Barracuda
Fastest plastic boat on the water. My Friend and I race boats pretty regulary and have equal ability. He could keep up with me pretty well for 10 or so miles while i paddled a glass boat.
Highly recommended.
MDM
engine size
Ok, the barracuda should be fast.
But for instance, my wife was only a minute behind a male paddling a barracuda in a 28 mile race recently. She was paddling a Prijon Kodiak.
I was also paddling a Kodiak instead of the Q700 in that race and was waiting at the finish line for 20-30 minutes (I’ll have to look it up)for my wife to finish.
4:45 vs 5:17
yup. half hour diference in engines
Maybe I’ll trade in the kodiak for a baracuda for those races where plastic makes sense.
williamrs: The Kodiak is fast too
– Last Updated: May-25-06 3:56 PM EST –
I have never paddled a Kodiak, but it is really an expedition boat that is wide, stable (a relative term) and great for distances (eg world class paddlers John Turek and Renata Chlumska use Kodiak's exclusively).
If you desire speed above all else, and can load for shorter excursions (a couple days versus a couple weeks for the Kodiak), the performance of the Barracuda makes sense. This is praticularly true on inland flatwater. Or for racing. How the Barracuda manages, laden or unladen, in heavy ocean chop I do not know. I can email you the review of the Barracuda if you desire.
There was a hull efficiency study--was linked here on pnet several months back, and if anyone has it please relink)--that was a research lab test of the top 120 kayaks (all your fav names, CHatham, Valley, WS, etc), and the Prijon Barracuda was ranked #20 overall for hull efficiency and speed (at 4.5 knots, the standard used in the test, as I recall). I believe that it was the highest ranked plastic boat. It beat most all of the fancy composite boats (all but 19, I guess). As I recall, and I could be wrong on this, the Kodiak was the second fastest Prijon and it was still a respectable 38 or something. The Seayak was slower, and the Calabria was even slower, something like a piggish 83 (but it seems faster than that to me).
The Original Poster, who already owns a Seyak but is looking for a faster plastic boat, will, in my opinion, be able to tell a noticable difference between it and the Barracuda. And with the two boats, should be able to handle most all conditons from rivers (not creeks, perhaps) to flatwater, to oceans. A nice quiver of two practical and slightly different boats.
:)
Now the only real question is what color you plan to buy?
yes the kodiak is fast.
Our first boats were/are kodiaks. My first race was in 2004 Colorado river 100 in texas.
Fastest plastic boat first place
Second place overall at 17hours over the 100 miles.
the reason I bought the q700 was the aprox. 0.5 mph increase in cruizing speed, and it will sprint a lot faster than the kodiak.
Barracuda and Kodiak
The Barracuda may be a bit more of a sprinter than the Kodiak. I believe that over short distances the Barracuda would be faster. The Kodiak is meant to cover large distances efficiently. I would argue the farther you travel, the closer the times would be.
This arguement also assumes the tenet that the engine would be equal in both boats.
Just my $0.02 Cents.
MDM
dagger cortez
ive never even seen one but it is considered to be a fast plastic design by some