And the winner is: Otterslide!
When I said “surf” a ways up the thread, my thought was more on the standing wave side of things than catching one at Westport or Waikiki, (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It is tough to find a sea boat in the Romany/Explorer niches that excel at doing so many things well. They are out there, but I haven’t paddled them all. Enjoy that new Ex, Karl,tis a great boat.
Dogmaticus
Re-enjoy
Not my first Explorer!
Sold my old one a few years back, really missed it.
Gotta sell something outta the stable, though.
Anyone want a P&H Quest in good condition?
karl
My 04 Explorer
is a beauty. It was built shortly after the QC improvements began.
David
Wondering…
Most who have Explorers say they would never give them up, except for another Explorer. Why did you give-up your first one?
odd rationalisation
The reason I got rid of my previous NDK-
It did come with some defects, in fact, on it’s maiden voyage, the aft compartment took on 1.5 gallons of water in 45 min.
But at the time, I worked in a paddle sports shop, and one of my duties was boat repair. So, I fixed that leak, then tweaked a couple of other problems, and the boat served me well for awhile.
So, why did I sell it? Two reason. One, as an instructor, I get tired of “best boat” arguments. IMO, it is all about skill and judgement. My first sea kayak was sort of a turkey- not very fast, very poor in wind (especially after I removed the rudder!), and yet I had it for some time. I could paddle it in surf, big wind, even raced it (before I got a surf ski). Terrible boat. But it took me a lot of places, and allowed me to learn a lot. Summation- I just don’t get too hung up about boats, I will (and have) jump into anyones boat I can fit into and paddle it.
Second reason is kinda goofy, and seemingly contradictory. Before entering the paddlesports world, I was a skier, worked in the industry, could buy skis cheap, use them for a year, sell them, and buy the latest “hit” model, plus enough extra for a couple of pints. The juicy rationalisation was that someone else got a good deal on a recent model, and I always stayed fresh with whatever was new (I also had access to a lot of other skis, but taking one out once doesn’t give the full story).
I transferred that behavior to the paddlesports world, but now I find that it doesnt work so well. I rarely sell a boat (even in good condition) for what I got it for (wholesale or better), and that means I take a loss. No reward of a pint or two is what did it.
So, I decided I want to have an expdition boat (I own several boats, BTW) that I will keep for a long time. For me and my style, I like the Explorer above all others.
And, despite having to fix my own and several client’s NDK’s several years ago, as previously stated, I have seen quite a number of new NDK’s in the last year, and all were excellent.
And if my new one isn’t, I will fix it and abuse it for years.
karl
and…
it was an Explorer HV?
if I remember correctly the sheer volume of the HV was a bit much for your boyish figure.
steve (who also had a HV for a while)
They’re kinda like old Brit sportscars
– Last Updated: Apr-12-06 8:18 PM EST –
You buy 'em cuz you've fallen in love with the way they paddle, but you never leave the put-in without your little BCU on water kayak repair kit.
Whats a few leaks among paddlin' partners. I'm sure my NDK boats wish my technique didn't come with so many defects.
Does anyone know if Snowy still runs the kitchen at Nigel's centre? We all thought he should put her in charge of QC. Would have certainly solved that issue.
Cheers
kinda like old Brit sportscars
Simon has often used the Jaguar analogy.
I think of my Romany as a Triumph Spitfire. Yes, it is not built as well as my Valley boat and now the bulkhead between the cockpit and day compartment is leaking, but what a fun toy!
I think of my Aquanaut more as a well built XKE. It is faster, smoother, and is comfortable in any conditions, but not as nimble or forgiving…
What I like about your response Karl
and something rare on this site is, your message about a given boat being best “for you”. I get tired of all these “best boat” statements, many from people who probably haven’t paddled many boats— People seem to have to convince themselves that whatever they have is “the best”! I’d be happy in any number of kayaks within the category of boats that I like. I think sea kayakers love guru’s too, and will flock to whatever their chosen guru paddles and evangelize accordingly. I don’t name my boats of get overly emotional about them. I paddle them, beat the hell out of them, and give em away. I’ve never owned “the best, or perfect kayak”. There are things I’d change about all of them. My favorite, FOR ME, is one that will never be for sale. So when I hear “nothing surfs like a Romany” I have to laugh…A lot of boats surf as well, or better “FOR ME”. Glad to hear NDK’s quality is getting better. Nice boats.
Ever driven a BMW?
assume implied/inferred
Mostly we are giving our personal opinions from personal knowledge and/or experience. I assume that when someone writes such and such is the best, that they mean “for me” or “to me.”
Sometimes ‘IMHO’ is used to imply the same.
Not being a religous person I am hesitant to speak in absolutes.
German firmness
Yes, I have driven a BMW and its handling was certainly firmer than a Spitfire or Jaguar.
So the English sportscar analogy still holds for me regarding the Romany or Explorer. I’ve driven a BMW more recently than a Jag. so, as far as the Aquanaut, I would have to get into an XKE again
Had a classic 3 series
for a short while and loved it! Why, what boats are zee Germans making these days?
My solution to variable quality…
… has been to buy my NDK boats used rather than new. OK, the real reason is that I’m so cheap But, both Explorers I’ve bought on the used market have been good. I suspect whatever problems they had were taken care of by previous owners. And, why did I buy two Explorers? First one was way too heavy for my aging body to lug and load on the car. I weighed the second one before buying and saved myself 10 lbs. So, yes, they can and do vary a bit. But, on water… really nice!