For my money…
…my plastic Eclipse touring kayak is as good as any touring kayak that I would ever want, but I enjoy racing, so I got a QCC for it’s speed.
The odd thing about the high end QCC is the fact that it would be useles for me for touring/camping, since the hatches leak like a sieve, while the cheaper tupperware Eclipse’s hatches have never leaked a drop in nine years.
Speed from the composite, and good touring from the tupperware.
cheers,
JackL
I own two skin boats
A baidarka, I built in a class, and some funky naugahide thing (sp?)I bought for a second boat to take out my girlfriend and friends. My baidarka is almost 17 feet long and weighs under 40 pds (most are lighter, but I used the thicker gauge ballistic nylon). It’s a red cedar frame (w/ yellow cedar ribs) covered in a skin of ballistic nylon and coated w/ a two part polyurethane for water proofness. I paddle lakes, the Sound (I live in Seattle) and rivers in it. I don’t know how available skin boats are in your area, but I highly recommend them. They are light and tough, and if anything does happen to the skin (which in the case of ballistic nylon is unlikely), easy to repair. I know of a book on building them. If you are interested, just holler.
Ok , thanks for all
the replies. Due to funding and overall use of the boat I intend to buy I think plastic will be the way I go. Roast me if ya want but I tend to get rough with my paddlecraft. Thanks again all.
Enjoy
As long as it floats, it’ll do the job.
Apples to apples more or less:
I had the opportunity this summer to paddle, back to back, a composite Capella and a CappellaRM. Though there were some definite differences between the two, the hull shape and seat outfitting were more or less the same. I paddled the RM first and found it twitchier than my Magellan, but not unmanageable. The composite Capella on the other hand felt really smooth and predictable. It definitely felt faster too, but the RM did not feel sluggish either. The composite was truely the nicer boat to paddle, but not $1700 nicer. I rented the very same CapellaRM later this summer and after twenty miles, it felt neither twitchy nor slow at all. I’d love to have one.
I think you’re making a wise choice for your venues and the rough treatment it will most likely endure. Are you considering canoe or yak or other?
Glass is able to be formed to
a much finer tolerance than poly, So the boat you get whould be much closer to the designer’s optimum.
This does not matter if the design itself is not up to much.
Own composite, plastic and folding
kayaks. Got really good deals on the composite boats so that is why I have them.
was thinking
a nice sea yak. I may look into the walden passage I found for $500. See if now it is fall if the price fell anymore. Still need to find a location to store it too.