From point 65 Mercury to Delta 14 or Eddyline Sitka LT

Advice
#1

Hi all

In this difficult time, it is hard to get kayak demo. I would appreciate your opinion about the stability of following kayak. (Both primary and secondary)

Currently I own point 65 Mercury and feel very comfortable about the stability. I did try p&h delphin 155 before and feel very tippy and unsecured. I am thinking between Delta 12.10, Delta 14 or Eddyline Sitka. I figure I should feel comfortable for 12.10. But wondering if I can push to Delta 14 or Sitka for speed. I am Looking for comparison as most of review I can find state all these kayaks are very stable. Even Dolphin is stable which does not match my personal experience. I would appreciate comments from anyone has experience on two or more of above kayak so I can use your experience to extrapolate my potential feeling.

Thanks

#2

What speed are you looking for? I have an Eddyline Samba, now called the Sitka by the new owners. If you have a good engine, won’t be difficult to cruise at 4.5 to 5+ mph.

I find both primary and secondary stability quite good. I have two longer and narrower kayaks, so consider the Samba a play boat to relax in because it is shorter and fun to play with various strokes and turns.

It does have hard chines, so is easy to edge. First thing I did when I bought mine was to crawl around the boat to check its balance points, sitting on the stern to paddle while moving my feet in and out of the cockpit. Never got wet.

Like all Eddyline kayaks, cockpit outfitting is very nice. I did remove the pillar supporting the back band as it was literally a PITA.

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#3

Stability is a very subjective thing. Do you know which Delphin you paddled? There are two sizes, 150 (lower volume) and 155 (higher volume). If you were in the smaller volume version and were too heavy for it that would cause it to feel tippy. Generally most people who are comfortable in sea kayaks would find the Delphin to be a relatively stable boat, while the V bottomed Eddylines might be considered tippy by some also. It’s really hard to say how a kayak is going to feel for you unless you are able to test paddle it.

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#4

Perception of stability changes quite rapidly with time in the boat for many people.

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#5

Thanks for your comment. I am 200lb, the Delphin I try was 155 as mention in my original post. It was in my first class for wet exit and re-entry.

#6

I seriously doubt you’re cruising at 5 mph in a samba to short and to wide. Cruising to me means you’re average speed after 30 minutes of paddling minimum.

Kayaks need time to get use to. Type of water makes a difference also. Big and flat bottom in waves will feel horrible. Waves won’t pass under it easily. Bottom of the boat follows the water surface. Meaning you’ll be at the angle of the wave surface. Rounder bottom will let it pass and not follow the water surface as much.

I rented a CD Nomad once 18’10” x 21-1/4” I took it back in 35 minutes. I was exhausted from me making it twitch. The whole boat was vibrating from me. I have two now and they feel solid. I got in my Trident 15’ Ocean sot and that now feels unstable.