need norkapp advice

If nordkapp jubilee feels good to paddle but

want quicker turning/manverability & a bit

smaller boat would a nordkapp LV do the

trick. Do mainly day trips & some 3-5 trips

once in a while

The LV…
Is definitely quick turning. It may take a little seat time to get use to it depending on what you’re paddling now, mine has settled down after a month and a pure joy to paddle. I figure I can do a weekend and I don’t skimp on my “kit” and carry all my water… I’m 185lbs.

Best to try one on if you have any girth.



http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/556189297wTwYwz

boats from the past
Have experience in pintail, ellesmere,sirius(which

I didn’t like), caribou, greenlander pro. 160lbs

5’9" & paddle a bit of rough water in superior

but no ocean waters. I’ve been looking for a

tight turning boat with a bit of speed & thought

this might fit the bill. jubilee nordkapp feels

like its sitting to high on water, turns good

but after pintail they all turn slow. But I

haven’t paddled LV yet but seems like it might

be my next boat, found pretty good deal on demo.

Could you rock garden in LV

You’re good to go.
It out turns every other Kapp and sits low. I was amazed at the tight turns and it has better tracking than the Pintail. You should love it.



I had it out last night in a following sea. I couldn’t see what was going on but it took care of me. :slight_smile:

maybe a new boat
Only problem is to demo its quite a drive, I

just might commet & buy without demo. I know

this isn’t smart but it sounds like its right.

You came from caribou, after a bit of seat

time it felt fairly stable? You mentioned it

felt good in following sea. also sounds like

its pretty quick.

Nordkapp LV is responsive

– Last Updated: Jan-05-07 2:06 PM EST –

The 'kapp LV is a nicely responsive boat. The Nordkapp LV turns easier than an Aquanaut or regular Nordkapp.

I too feel the regular Nordkapp sits too high when unladen but found the LV pretty wonderful. I am 6' 170 pounds and am much more comfortable in the LV than the regular 'kapp.

The Sea Kayaker review is pretty informative, especially when read along with the reviews of the H2O, Aquanaut, and Explorer.

As far as rock gardening goes, I imagine the LV would be fine. Though we often hear of Avocets and Romanys for such use, the last session in which I participated with Steve Maynard and John Carmody was dominated by Explorers.

nord lv compared to aquanaut
Lv turns alot easier then aquanaut, I would

imagine speed similar. I aleady have

greenlander pro so was looking for pretty

turny boat for tighter places. Explorer nice

boat but still a bit stiff.

Tomorrow’s Test
I have been paddling the LV mostly alone getting seat time and the twitchiness seems to have been me overcompensating for the primary stability. My boat is light and I have refused to add weight in it. I have never flipped it unintentionally and it is infinitely more stable and forgiving than my Isthmus was.



Tomorrow I will paddle about 15 miles with about 20 other boats so I will get a feel for it’s speed.



Turning, I launch off a dock and this is the only boat I’ve had that if I am not careful when leaving the dock the stern will swing in and hit the dock.

I would still
make the drive and demo it. It will be worth it. I have a full size nord and have paddled the LV quite a few times. I didn’t noticed a huge difference in turning between the two. Setting my nordkapp on a hard edge brings it around about as quick as I could expect an 18’ boat to come around. But that’s just me.



I’m kind of confused about the amount of freeboard between the two because the LV is only an inch difference in depth? The only place I really noticed this was the position of the thigh braces when I paddled the LV. I just seemed to have full contact with the braces, full time, whereas I have a little bit of wiggle room on the full nord.

Stern rocker

– Last Updated: Jan-05-07 2:51 PM EST –

It seems recent(?) Valley models vary in ease of turn and tracking primarily by changing the amount of stern rocker.

Setting an Aquanaut and Nordkapp LV side by side, it is quite striking. My Romany is often sitting next to Avocets pre and post launch and the manner in which the rocker of each boat is executed is an interesting contrast.

I
didn’t find the LV all that small. It turns great…but then all the HS models do.



hate to say it…You need to test drive it yourself.



If you are looking for a faster turning boat, for whatever reason. or a shorter boat, for whatever reason…No one can realy tell you how fast is fast enough or how short is too short (or too long)



as far as rock gardens go…that can be a skill thing as much as a boat thing.



Don’t buy any boat just because of the name.



The LV is a nice boat…it’s just not really that much of an LV.



There still exists very few boats in the world today to fit people, that really know how to paddle, but are in the 135 or 140 pound range.



I would have liked to see a Nordkapp, based on the Jubilee frame or a H2O, only have it around 20 inches wide and about 17’ 2" or 17’ 4 " with a 11 " deck height…that would be a nordkapp LV.



This one is still 21 inches wide. and the deck height is built for a large person…still hoping that it will be built…then my wife will want one in a HM (she doesn’t want a skeg or a rudder)The HM is best done with the rocker present in the Jubilee.(My opinion only, YMMV)(The HS is better done with the rocker of the H2O YMMV)



Best Wishes

Roy

“turny”, but not "turnyest"
I have both the Jubilee and LV. Are you looking for a slight departure or something a bit different? A good loose boat is the Capella 163 if you’re looking for something a bit different. It can rock garden, surf and is still pretty fast. If you’re just looking for a boat that still feels like a nordkapp but definitely paddles better un-laden and is a little more manueverable, than the LV shoul do just fine. Cheers.

Agree on the size
I briefly test drove a Nordkapp LV, on flat water only but I was also enjoying a brief hour window of not being sick as a dog so it was all I could do. As to its fit for someone 130-140 pounds, me based on how good I’ve been about the gym, average height female, it would still require some real padding to get to the right fit. And the volume is still a bit big. But it came closer than the regular size Nordkapp.

Lv & jubilee stability
So as far primary & secondary stability

they should be about the same?

Me not best
I’d have to have been in the LV and the Jubilee closer together in time to be sure if/of any diff’s in primary. The Nordkapp LV did have had more primary stability than the Rumour I tried right after…

Sea Kayakers stability curves. LV.
http://www.seakayakermag.com/PDFs/2006/June06NordkappLV.pdf

"better tracking than the Pintail"
That narrows it down! L

hey fadedred,

– Last Updated: Jan-05-07 10:44 PM EST –

close to the boat you describe is actually listed on the Valley site.
I inquired about it on this thread; http://paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=590932

Peter O. from Valley was kind enough to inform everyone of this typo error that will be corrected shortly.

But it sure seemed like a fine boat (especially with the ocean cockpit).

Well said fadedred
Really well said…refreshing actually.

Jubilee is an expedition boat
just note that the Jubilee was built with expeditions in mind, to fully understand this kayak you should put at least 100 pounds of kit in it…the newer nord’s are built with the realization that most US paddlers use kayaks as day boats