This is a boat I’m seriously considering purchasing, so after a few disappointing trips to local retailers I finally had the chance to paddle the Dagger Stratos 14.5L this past weekend. I did so on a small lake in calm conditions, fully decked out in cold water gear due to the water being somewhere around 6°C (43°F).
Overall, I really like this boat for being nimble yet not squirrelly. The fit was everything I had hoped for. Many boats don’t have a tall enough deck to fit my feet, not to mention having enough height in the thigh/knee braces so that I’m comfortable yet “connected”. Maneuverability? No contest, hands-down winner. A good sweep stroke on the outside, some edge, and a low brace could easily get the boat turned a full 180°. Tracking? It wasn’t horrible with the skeg up, but moving from a 17’ sea kayak with little rocker to speak of, the skeg is a welcome tool and I wouldn’t be without it. Unsurprisingly, with it down the boat behaves much better.
Also of note is that the skeg is a spring loaded “pull up by cord” design. It seems a bit cheap, but the benefit I see is that it will readily retract and redeploy on it’s own when hitting an obstacle, without any risk of kinking a metal cable. The control mechanism sits back pretty far, maybe around your hip, and this keeps it out of the way from being accidentally hit with your hand when your arms start drooping after a long paddle. I don’t know about the longevity of the cable due to the “pinch-to-lock” retaining system, but at least it seems like it should be inexpensive to replace.
Rolling and bracing in this boat is about as simple as I’ve experienced. I’m sure part of this is the great fit I had in the boat. It’s easy to hold on edge and still feel like there’s some “push back” (secondary stability, if you prefer). The boat is rather forgiving, likely due to it’s not-so-trim width of 24-1/2".
When trying a scramble reentry, I didn’t struggle much to keep my balance atop the back deck, and the large cockpit opening made it easy to slip into the tight cockpit outfitting.
I noticed that the bulkheads aren’t made of Minicel foam, rather a form with much larger cells. Does anyone that’s seen the foam on these (maybe other Daggers?) know how they’ll hold up over time?
For a day trip, this isn’t an issue, but considering how many weekend trips I take I’m not sure if this boat will be able to haul enough gear. Maybe a summer trip with minimal gear, but every square inch is going to count. Weight might start to be an issue as well, as I’d probably be at about 270lbs with gear - well under the 315lb max, but I doubt it would be much fun to paddle at that weight.
Two things I really didn’t like:
- The rear bulkhead is positioned quite far back from the cockpit opening. This makes draining the cockpit by raising the bow and flipping the boat difficult and leaves a lot of water in the cockpit.
- Both hatch covers (one round, one oval) went on with considerable difficulty and when they were finally on, they didn’t fit well. They seemed maybe a 1/2" too small for the hatch opening and I’d be concerned that with repeated use or rough conditions they might not stay on at all. Maybe they’d stretch over time, but this was not at all confidence inspiring for a brand new boat I helped take the plastic off!
If you’ve paddled the Stratos or have seen similar issues with other Dagger boats, I’d appreciate hearing your comments.