I’ve got one as well…
Bryan,
If you’re ever down in the twin cities (for a pool session or whatever) and want to try out my Nordkapp LV, you’re more than welcome. I’m quite fond of the kayak and I think Valley really out did themselves with this one.
Alex
NDK Strength
I have an Explorer LV that is partway along the road to the Elite layup but some extra reinforcement - it was ordered to be a bit of an experiment in layup by a dealer with a long relationship to Nigel Dennis, to get a lighter boat with equivalent strength. A chance, but I figured it was worth taking an it has worked out. It was stated as having a slightly thinner gel coat than their older tanks but a healthy dose of diolen reinforcement on keel, bow stern etc.
From what we can tell, that’s what I had gotten. I found out about the reinforcement along the keel line when I dropped the stern on a concrete boat ramp this last May. Lost the gel coat for an inch and a half length and some up the side right thru to the keel. My knee wasn’t so great, but the boat was fine. I paddled it back home and dared look more closely, and just had to do a multi-layer gel coat repair. Maybe by next season I’ll even do the finish sanding.
Composite
usually the experts are the ones who know nothing. I am NOT referring to you Celia. NDK boats are crude in technology, but tough. The most underestimated fabric in this industry is “fiberglass” the most over-rated “kevlar”. NDK kayaks have safely transported people through some of the roughest conditions. That fact is indisputable. Could they be lighter and even tougher? Sure. Would you pay for that? ?
As for hammer tests check out this freak bashing a kayak with a lead shot hammer!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dtk818WSiU
I want a boat that tough.
Of course, it’d be nice if it fits me well and handles well for me and is fast as well.
Thanks
Thanks, Alex. I’ll keep that in mind. Let me know if you head up to the shore sometime.
Perfect Boats? Found MINE
Yea, I’ve been trading kayaks, collecting kayaks and canoes, and paddling every once in a while for numerous years.
I’ve “settled” on an Explorer as my primary kayak. My faster boat is a Guillemot Night Heron woodstrip. My all-around/river kayak is a SEDA Vagabond, etc.
I’m NOT a great paddler, just enjoy efficiency and turning performance in ALL conditions, including surf. That said, the Explorer is a great combo of ease to paddle (not the fastest, but does VERY well for a kayak which tops out about 1/2 to 1 mph slower than the likes of Night Heron, QCC 700, Current Designs GTS, etc.)
The Explorer is the shi_! It’s just a great all-around GREAT kayak, ad nauseam. I paddled a Romany the same day I purchased the Explorer. Romany is MY choice for a play boat, but the Explorer does almost as well without sacrificing SPEED and/or efficiency (as much).
There are faster kayaks, but not many which are faster AND perform as well.
Glenn
WITHOUT GLASS CLOTH IN THE KEEL
How many here have seen Jed’s Romany???
I love my Romany and greatly respect NDK boats, but sometimes…
vs 4
I appreciate the posted review here . . . .but am trying to determine if the Impex force 4 is a wise alternative to consider.
Force
There’s a Force 5 review in the Dec 2007 SeaKayaker. Same hull as the 4 so most impressions would apply, as to speed, handling, etc.
My guess just looking at the hulls in profile is that the Force would be more like the Aquanaut than the Explorer. I believe that’s been said here before by one or two people as well.
Mike
good post
My explorer fell from the ceiling to the wood floor. I had to perform extensive repairs - on the floor.
Absolutely
– Last Updated: Nov-14-07 12:24 PM EST –
If you are looking to buy a boat for camping or long day trips there are several boats which should be on the short list to demo seriously. Which one will best fit your style/skills, paddling conditions, physically and mentally only you can decide. I would say the Force series, the NDK Explorer, the Nordcapp, the Aquanaut, the Nigel Foster boats, the Chatham series, the Tempest series, the Seda Ikkuma are all boats that should be considered. I seriously doubt there is much difference in terms of being tough, but there are differences in personality which need to be evaluated. Whether the differences are good or bad really depends upon your abilities/needs not what someone else says.
Despite all the stuff in this thread, I have seen or heard from friends of boats taking significant impacts with minimal harm and minimal impacts causing significant harm and there does not seem to be a relationship between the brand of boat and the result either way.
Nigel Dennis has said the Explorer was designed to be a user friendly boat that enables average paddlers to paddle in advanced conditions. An admirable design goal and I doubt anyone would claim the boat did not meet that design goal. As a result it is a fine tool for those who go in harms way or coach and it provides a level of comfort desired/needed by what seems to be a major class of "serious" sea kayakers which are middle age yuppies of modest athletic ability. Other boats may do the same or may not. Some are like a nice trail horse and some are like a charging warmblood. So the question is what kind of rider are you, what kind of horse to you like to ride, and where do you ride? If you know the answer, then you can pick the horse. Of course you will become a different rider after awhile, and then you get to go through the process all over again.
…you will become a different rider…
– Last Updated: Nov-14-07 12:58 PM EST –
Excellent post Ed.
I realized the other day paddling my Nordkapp LV in some wind and chop that it is a boat that would have intimidated me a few years ago. I've also realized over the past couple of years of stretching my skills and experience that, even though I do not have one now, if told I would be limited to having only one boat for all that I do it would be an NDK Explorer. However, I am fortunate enough to have a number of boats, each of which is well suited for a particular range of endeavor for me at this time.
Yet, I know one very very good paddler who has paddled only an Explorer for years. He can make the boat dance.
And yes, The Force 4 is the closest in personality to an Aquanaut of any boat I've paddled. I've heard that a Chatham 17 is the closet to an Explorer.
Yeah
– Last Updated: Nov-16-07 7:19 AM EST –
We have a friend who found out after his Valley boat had had a close encounter with a truck rack in a parking lot that there was a serious inadequacy of solid materials behind the skeg box.
Apparently when the boat is hand laid it is possible to get it fully completed without adequate fiberglass behind the skeg or any cracks. Who ever said that those who make glass kayaks aren't skilled...
NDK Explorer…hard to beat!
Use a bigger bat!
Andy
Thank you Andy!
Didn’t want to be impropriotous but that same phrase has been kicking around my head since I started reading this thread.
made my day!
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
4 U Martin
I would look at a Force 3 vs. the Explorer LV. I think the 4 may be too much boat for you. The Force 3 would probably work better for me now as well.
~wetzool
Ordered a LV one a couple months ago
I’ve been holding off buying a glass boat for at least a year because nothing quite fit what I wanted. I love my roto Tempest 165 but every time I take a camping trip I wish I had a bit more cargo room. Too much stuff on deck and in the cockpit. I’ve already done the backpacker bit and gone to a down sleeping bag, ThermaRest Prolite pad, ultra-tiny stove, etc.
There are plenty of bigger boats out there–but not ones that actually fit me well. The LV Explorer is the same beam and about the same height as the T165 but gives me the extra space in length…AND the cockpit fits really well even without mods. I love how the taper of the coaming gives me leg contact over a longer area than in other kayaks. Rolled up so snappily I was surprised. At least three people had told me it would be harder to maneuver than the Romany LV, but since the latter is almost an overachiever in that area, I was satisfied with the Explorer’s maneuverability. The small cockpit’s great fit makes edging feel natural.
I ordered mine with the bulkhead moved closer to the seat, because I found that I really, really liked using a padded BH more than footpegs. Standard glass (heavy) layup, because the main reason for choosing this model is longer camping trips, including solo ones where some dragging might occur. I specified “NO FOOTPEG RAILS AND NO DRILLING FOR THEM”; that’s my concession to saving weight. If I change my mind later, I know how to install rails without drilling (did it on my wood kayak), and I would use the 7" rails instead of the killer 15" ones that are standard.
Am keeping my fingers crossed that they get the order correct and build it well!!!
sledgehammer demo on Chatham
that’s pretty cool stuff, and does demonstrate the qualities of an infused layup.
now i’m not going to say that’s not a strong layup but i will point out a few things…
he says not many real world situations will be as hard on the boat as his shot filled hammer??? bollocks! sitting in that boat with camping gear and playing around reefs (sharp and hard not like that mallet) and you will double those forces, against a much less forgiving surface. more ripping and tearing, less hitting and bouncing.
strong and light are not the same as “tough”. tough is seen over a number of years of hard use, along seams, bulkheads and other joints.
believe me though, if i could get a kayak design i wanted in that kind of layup, i probably would, but i’m not convinced it’s all that real world tough compared to less elaborate and expensive layups. what do you think?
Nordkapp LV for you!
John, I think the Nordlow is the boat for you - now more than ever 
I agree with Seakak and Salty.
A friend took off down the road one day after a paddle. And you know the rest of the story. But I’ll tell it anyway. Once past 20 MPH a certain curve or gear change launched his (unstrapped) NDK off for a rocket ride. The result?
Superficial cosmetic damge. Damn tough boat. I have stories of my own in mine, but this is Matt’s thread.
Dogmaticus