I’m considering buying a kayak and am currently looking at a 4 yr old 17 FT Wilderness Systems Sealution and a 6 month old 16FT Lincoln Schoodic. I am an amateur user and will primary use the kayak in the Virginia Beach, VA eastern shore, NC outer banks areas. I am 6’2" and weigh 210 lbs. Both kayaks are kevlar. What factors should I consider? Is the Sealution a good kayak? Was kevlar manufacturing done well 4 years ago? Thanks.
Here is info on Lincoln’s kayak.
http://www.lincolncanoe.com/kayaks.htm
Oceanside or soundside?
Paddling in the sound area is dramatically different than paddling in the ocean.
Kayak
The Lincoln kayak seems better for some one without much experience . The Sealoution
is a good design ,yet may be a bit tippy . The Lincoln is said to be a stable kayak.Their
boats are listed as being very light .Kevlar may age if exposed to a lot of sunlight . It
also may gain weight from cracks or leaks .
The only problem with the Lincoln , is not many people have tried the kayak ,it being a
new model of an obscure company .A dealer near me sells them yet I never tried one
out .They are interesting . John
Thanks
Thanks John. The Lincoln is going for twice the price of the Wilderness. I wonder if it will be large enough for my frame.
Sealution
I had a Sealution years ago andit was a good sea kayak. retty forgiving, handled well…easy to roll, pretty fun kayak to paddle. If the price is right…grab it!
Cheers…Joe O’
Kayak
Lincoln has a new model out that is a bit wider and has a larger cockpit.You should
check out their website .I found it through the “Jersey Paddler”.com site .Jersey Paddler
should be able to tell you more about both boats.They are the ones who warned me about
the Sealoution being a bit tippy .Another dealer also cautioned me about the latter kayak.
If you are going to be spending a good amount of time and money on a kayak , you
ought to try and get a new boat . It should be safer and last longer .John
Two rather different kayaks (maybe)
– Last Updated: Sep-28-05 12:24 PM EST –
Nothing wrong with buying a used boat in good condition. There should be no general problems with buying a well-cared-for 4 year old composite boat.
They are rather different styles of kayak.
The Sealution (a good boat that has been around for a long time) is probably better suited for loaded trips. You might find that the sealution will be more affected by wind unloaded. The Schoodic will tend to be more "playful" and more appropriate for day touring. Your weight should be OK for both. It appears that the Schoodic is like a NDK Romany or Valley Avocet.
The Sealution would probably be concidered to be a "large volume" boat. The Schoodic would likely be concidered a "low volume" boat (if it is like the Romany or Avocet). The current "trend" is for lower volume boats.
They should both be reasonable to use for day trips and multi day camping trips (with the Schoodic somewhat better for day trips and the Sealution somewhat better for multiday trips).
Lincoln…
I owned a Lincoln of another model. It was the Fiberglass & Kevlar lay up. It was light and very strong.
I moved up to a longer kayak, but would buy Lincoln again. Their quality was good to me.
Happy Paddling!