I am in lust - Outer Island

yup
The cockpit opening is smaller on the Greenlander but there is more room once you get in it seems.



Sorry bout the confusion.

It’s all in the works…
It’s all in the works. Can’t quite do it by “just add water and …” but your new boat is in the lineup.



See you on the water,

Marshall

www.the-river-connection.com

Probably more bouyant, but good fit.
I’m 5’7" and had lots of play on the foot pegs. You should fit better than those longer than us, but you’ll ride higher than it was designed for. You may need ballast, or it could be a good gear hauler for you that fits well also (a rarity for small people).

Does anyone know if any other mods are going to accompany the ocean cockpit? A little rocker or seat moved forward to trim out correctly for a skegged boat?



Jim

Ocean cockpit – getting in and out
Paul,



To get into an ocean cockpit you simply sit on the aft deck with your feet in the cockpit and your legs fairly straight, place your hands behind you and slide in (kind of like sitting on the edge of a bed and sliding into a pair of pants). To get out you reverse the procedure.



This is very fast and easy but you can’t just plop your butt in the seat first. This CAN make getting in/out from a high dock more difficult, but it is not a big deal (consider that the Greenlanders regularly get into their tight cockpits from high rock-outcroppings). This can make paddle-float outrigger and “cowboy” reentries more difficult but I’d rather perform a reentry and roll anyway (if I was sucked out of my kayak); it is no problem reentering an ocean cockpit in a capsized kayak (just use the same technique as above and enter with straight legs).



For seakayaking, most of the “ocean” versus “keyhole” debate comes down to personal preference and bias. For seakayaking I love an ocean cockpit. For whitewater, I’d prefer a keyhole since pinning is a concern (and I have had the frightening experience of having a kayak pin while creeking and start to fold on my legs before I broke free).



Greg Stamer

too easy
Wow! That just looks too easy.

Greg, you creek?
Damn! I knew you kayak surfed but finding out that you creek totally raised my already high opinion of you. Now if you told me that you also playboated… that would blow my mind. (Of course that would also dampen my dreams of being the worlds best Greenland style playboater.)



Alex

Modified strip OI
Contact Jay Babina about modifying his design…am sure he will help out…a great guy. There are a number of folks who have modified Jay’s boat. There are some folks who have built smaller OI’s…if you post this question on either one of the following sites…I suspect they will be more than happy to share their results with you:



www.connyak.org (CT Kayak Association) ask for Joy or Den…as I believe both modified the OI to make it smaller…



I have paddled with three folks who built smaller OI’s…and I know of one guy in CA who built a larger OI…is relatively easy to do when building



or…



www.kayakforum.com



bob

see “modified OI” below…
sorry about the wrong posting location…

bob

toesnorth:
You might also want to post on:

www.kayakforum.com



and raise your question about a small strip boat…you will get MANY responses…about the OI and other options as well. However…Jay’s boat is great and definitely can be modified.



Bob

Thanks for all the information
I have asked on the forum there are some good ones mentioned for small paddlers and we’ve built a few of them. The OI just caught my eye and I think we will dicuss the size issue with Jay Babina. We haven’t met a designer yet that wasn’t willing to discuss their boats and help with building suggestions.

try a compass in the front hatch cover
Yes it is not totally recessed but a compass in the front hatch cover can be quite low profile, it is about the right distance, and with a spare cover you can swap it out for all those paddles where a compass is not needed for less weight, etc.



IMO although the stock seat is well made and pretty comfortable for many folks,



CONSIDER the redfishkayak.com pre-molded foam seat. It is not only very very comfortable, warmer in cold waters, but it allows you an insanely increased stability for all manner of boat control in rolls sculls, braces and big seas. It also allows on the go sliding forward and backwards with use of 3M dualock to adjust for boat trim to increase decrease weatheror leecocking. Simply a great way to go I found last season.

In the late eighties…
I had just learned to roll and enjoyed paddling a Noah Jeti on intermediate WW in North Carolina/Tennesee. Back then a “playboat” was a Dancer (and I still have an old Dancer hanging in the garage). Eventually sea kayaking and kayak surfing captured my attention, not because I didn’t enjoy WW but because the drive from Florida was too far to justify when there was usually good surf within an hour of my house.



Now someday, when I relocate…



Greg Stamer


would someone compare
would someone compare the O.I. by Impex to the Arctic Hawk Pro by Wilderness Systems…I would appreciate the views.

YES!!!
Kayaking is finally beginning to look like cycling. A biker has many saddles to choose from. A kayaker has pretty much had to modify or make his own. A biker can adjust the saddle height, angle, and fore and aft position. Other than Phase 3, a kayaker just gets what he gets.



The industry is growing up.

go paddle one for a few hours
you may decide she is a strobe light honey.


both nice kayaks!
Those are two of the faster greenland style kayaks out there. I paddled both wood and kevlar versions of both the Outer Island as well as the Arctic Hawk. In regards to volume, the Arctic Hawk has much more volume and is better suited to camping trips. The Outer Island is much more aggresive in regards to a low back deck and low volume so it is easier to perform Greenland techniques in it versus the Arctic Hawk which is more of a moderate design. Don’t get me wrong, the Arctic Hawk rolls/balances beautifully but I don’t see an elbow roll in it’s future. My impression is that the Arctic Hawk is for larger paddlers while the Outer Island was comfortable for smaller/medium sized paddlers due to foot restriction. The Arctic Hawk tracks well without a skeg and carves turns much better than the Outer Island. For a larger person who’s interested in an all around kayak, I would recommend the Arctic Hawk. For a medium sized person who’s interested in rolling and straight ahead speed, I recommend the Outer Island.

hmm… when?
Where would you relocate too? Heck as long as you have one or the other (surf or whitewater) to keep you excited, it’s all good. Move to Wisconsin! It’s like Greenland but with more cheese! :slight_smile:



I did find it funny that the Dancer was considered a playboat. Of course the RPM was also the “Radical Play Machine.” I look at my short and slicy playboats in my garage and it’s hard to connect those to the “playboats” of old and even harder to connect them to the SOF qajaq that is hung up on the wall right next to them.

schizopak, thanks for the reply, a ?
i’ve got the Actic Hawk composite by WS…here is the question, I’m 6’1" and 188 pounds,am I a ‘larger’ paddler.

To me the AH is a hard entry, having to straigthten my legs to enter…is this normal for most? maybe i’m just used to getting into a Nordkapp Jubilee or QCC700 with the gaping cockpit.

I have the same entry challenges in my favorite boat, a Lincoln Eggemoggin, having to sit on the rear deck and slide the legs in…

Now you are making me re-think
I am 6 ft and 200 lbs. I have never even seen an Artic Hawk except on their website. I was able to get into the Outer Island but as I said, I would ned to get rid of the seat and put in a lower foam seat and probably bring it forward 1 inch or so.

Ok. so who in Florida or North Carolina has an Artic Hawk?



I am going to be driving up to North Carolina next week. Does anyone know if confluence / wilderness systems has a showroom or is there an outfitter that might have the Artic Hawk to sit in anywhere on the way up?)



Paul





Paul

Paul, NC is a big state (duh), which
which part of NC are you heading into…if it is extreme Western NC then I might be close. My home is 5 miles from the NC line, a hour from Boone, NC…just a thought.

I’ve contacted/been contacted by an OI/AH owner (has had both) for me the OI has no advantage over the AH and several disadvantages…