Force Opinion
I have a Force 4 and think very highly of it. To me it has a livelier feel than an Explorer, turns as well, overall seems more responsive, and is more efficient in terms of holding a solid touring speed and ease of doing higher speed runs to beat a storm or whatever. It is just a sweet, comfortable boat that maintains its poise even when things kick up.
Not to detract from the Explorer, but with the newer designs out there like the Force and Cetus the standard refrain “get an Explorer” may become heard less.
Silhouette
I know a few people who have them and they all love the boat, always seem relaxed in wind and wave, tend to be among the faster paddlers, and have even used them on extended trips. That said, they are smaller men or women and accomplished paddlers who can enjoy a spirited/high performance boat. Seems Foster’s boats have a reputation, and I suspect many come to them with a preconception they are spooky boats.
blasphemer
i’ll pray for your salvation.
happy fourth, e!
Dispensation?
Can I get a dispensation as I also like the Anas Acuta which has to be the most archaic commercial sea kayak around?
May you have big swells to go with your free time this Fourth.
Reputation
That “spooky” reputation is not deserved, but I know what you’re talking about. They’re just different from what most kayaks are like, and that’s a good thing because it gives people a real choice.
Personally, if my better half ever wants to sell the Silhouette, it’ll become my boat. I really like it. All I would change is to remove the stock seat and backband, and replace them with something lower and more comfortable for me. Beyond that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
popham
max fl around 1300-ish…we’ll see.
it’s “spooky” if you’re not relaxed…
As another Silhouette paddler, it is a boat that I absolutely love and stability in that kayak is found simply by keeping your hips loose in the boat. Paddlers who are extremely stiff overcompensate for the kayak’s tendency when sitting still to gently rock from one chine to the other and proclaim it to be too tippy.
For me it’s an ideal boat and every time I sit in it, I know I am becoming a better paddler. 
Personally, I’m not an Explorer fan as I find that kayak to be excessively boring. I’d always recommend something along the lines of a Force 4, Nordkapp LV, Legend, or even a Tempest over the Explorer. Of course I’m not a stereotypical “BCU paddler” either.
Cetus?
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the P&H Cetus
From wetplanet.org
http://wetplanet.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=6686814a06f2ab1baa443ec0e7624f6b&topic=545.0
Here’s the complete thread from nspn
http://www.nspn.org/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID3/7115.html
Here’s the review bit of the thread
Friday, I paddled the Cetus for the better part of a day at Popham Beach.
It was not a “big day” at Popham but we sought out the roughest stuff we could find, played in standing waves, surfed zippers, got worked by breaking waves,paddled in current etc.
My first impression of the Cetus was what a superior surfer it was to the Explorer. I’m not an accomplished surfer, but I had an easier time maneuvering the Cetus into position to catch a wave, it accelerated better, and once on a wave I could more easily fine tune the boat with edging, stern rudders etc. These impressions were seconded by Mr. Carmody; we had switched boats and he found that, back to surfing an Explorer after paddling the Cetus for a few months, the Explorer felt like a blunt tool.
Throughout the day the Cetus was utterly stable in bumpy water; I didn’t come close to capsizing or needed little in the way of recovery braces; I had one surf etiquette capsize (when two boats are surfing towards each other in a zipper, who is upwave and who is downwave? better to capsize and discuss afterwards…) and it rolled up as easy as pie.
The Cetus edges very well. I’m not a great edger, and I had my spraydeck in the water with little trouble. The boat felt like a big, very fast Pintail.
So, in short, I would call it a superior rough water boat, maybe the best (definitely the fastest) I’ve ever paddled. I would, however, think about the boats tracking; for me it was very skeg dependent in beam and rear quarter winds : On a 2 mile crossing in my Explorer with a rear quarter 15 knot wind and a broken skeg, I would not be happy but I’d get there okay. In the Cetus, I would be concerned. However, Mr. Carmody has found no special problems in this area , so this may just reflect some deficiency or quirk in my own paddling. It might be best to say that the Cetus requires “more advanced boat handling skills” in beam and rear quarter winds.
To combine this degree of speed, stability, edging, maneuverability and carrying capacity in one design is remarkable. The designers of the Cetus, I think, caught lightning in a bottle with this one.
An Explorer for a newbie
I chose an Explorer as my first “real” kayak simply because its been everywhere and done everything. Since I want to eventually learn to go everywhere and do everything, I want a boat that has already been there. If I can’t do something, there’s no way I can blame anything except my own abilities. From my perspective, its a perfect “no excuses” kayak.
I mentioned the Cetus 
“Of course, there are some BCU Alphas who have been talking up the P&H Cetus as an extraordinary boat…”
BCU Alpha
Is that like a medalist in the Special Olympics?? Just teasing
“Tippy” Foster boats
Agree with the above posts. The hull feels twitchy at first, compared to NDK or VCP hulls, likely due to the round bottom. That feeling goes away as soon as you start the boat moving. The twitchy feeling at rest went completely away after 2-3 days on the water. I feel just a comfortable in my Legend as in my Avocet, in any conditions.
Salvation?
Naaah, off with his head…
what NFK really need
NDK boats are popular for many deserved reasons. great cockpit fit, long cockpit easy to get in and out of all in a narrow sporty kayak. fit is at least half of it for many people. and the low back deck, which is shared with Valley kayaks. NFK boats have a significantly higher back deck and a less dialed in cockpit. even if they lowered the back of the coaming an inch, it would have a positive effect on rolling skills and boat sales. as far as speed goes, i’m skeptical that NFK boats are all that fast. is this idea borne out objectively? are there drag tests that indicate how fast NFK’s are compared to it’s peers?
Yes there are drag specs
From Sea Kayaker Magazine:
Nigel Foster Legend @ 4.5 knots produces 4.9 pounds of drag, @ 5 knots 7 pounds, and @ 6 knots 12.5
Nigel Dennis Explorer @ 4.5 knots produces 5.25 pounds of drag, @ 5 knots 7.92, and @ 6 knots 13.98
Drag…
Don’t let Salty know that we are discussing drag here or we may be in trouble…just kidding.
Agreed that the Explorer is not the fastest boat out there…but I can say it is faster than a Romany which is one of the reasons I am starting to lean towards it over the Romany (was out paddling with a group recently and was in a Romany while others were in Explorers and it was hard to keep up with people that were weaker paddlers than I am)
However…I will say this about the Explorer’s drag figures. First if you see Jim’s comparison above he is comparing it to the Legen which has some of the best drag figures in its class.
Next, if you were to look at the drag figures at lower speeds you would see that the Explorer actually has some pretty low drag at speeds below 4.5 knotts thus making it an easy paddle at more common touring speeds and also implying good acceleration.
I am starting to lean toward this boat as a general use boat in rough water…surfing and touring. I think its fit will be better for me than the Romany. It will not be as manueverable but should still be sufficient I think and will be an apt surfer. It may even surf better than the Romany given its better hull speed (not sure).
Not to mention that there are just so many people that use this boat for surfing. I noticed at the BCU symposium I went to recently that all of the out of town instructors chose to use Explorers over Romanys. To include Nigel himself who had the pick of any boat at the shop when he was doing the 4 star assessment where we mostly paddled the surf zone and did some surfing etc.
Matt
Matt
Got one…
I picked up a used one today. This one is well built with no QC issues. Hatches were completely dry after a couple of hours paddling and rolling.
I’m going to have to give it an extended trial to know what I really think of it.
Seems to have adequate speed and good tracking. Good maneuverability for a long boat. Good stability profile. Easy to edge, almost too easy to scull and roll. However, it is not the most lively and playful hull. I hope it is not going to be too boring to paddle. Time will tell. I think that it will come alive in conditions. Was easy to catch wind waves with today, but tended to want to broach.
Will hopefully try it in the surf this weekend. Think it will surf well.
Not sure where I will go from here…I have a Greenlander Pro as well. Great boat, but fills a similar niche to the Explorer. I may sell the GP and just have one boat as the Explorer seems quite well rounded…or may end up selling the Explorer if I can find a cheap Romany that fits me. We’ll see.
matt
Wont surf well…
Sea kayaks do not surf well…surf kayaks do! Get a dedicated surf kayak and get on with life. Sea kayaks can be OK at best for going out and getting in through surf, but for goodness sake try a surf boat and see the LIGHT.
Second that!
Once you take a surf kayak out you’d just as soon ride a big yellow school bus through the mountains than take a sea kayak surfing again. Much cooler to take the sportscar through the mountains. Sell the GP and buy a surf kayak. For the record I still surf my sea kayak on occasion, but it really sucks compared to my surf boat.
Dogmaticus