New additions to the family:
Nordkapp LV (not in the water yet).
Aquanaut
Nordkapp Poly.
For Spray Skirts: Seals lists a 1.4 for each.
A Seals 1.4 leaks on the Nordkapp Poly, and appears a bit baggy on the Aquanaut. Yesterday I happened upon a Seals 1.2. A garage fit makes me think it too may be just a wee bit large on the Aquanaut, and probably the Nordkapp Poly.
An IR size M provides a good seal for both the Nordkapp Poly and the Aquanaut, but it is on the small side for each.
I’d appreciate any recommendations on skirts you’re real happy with for kayaks listed.
I have a
Snapdagon Medium (glacier trec) that fits my Nord LV great. I bought it for a Caribou and use it on my AT 14 as well. It fits well on all of them.
I think all Valley composite keyhole cockpits are the same dimensions.
Congrats on your LV…
Thanks
It’s the wifes LV, but I lay claim to the other two.
I own an Aquanaut LV composite and
– Last Updated: Jul-24-07 1:11 PM EST –
I have found it a bit tough to get a great fitting spray skirt for it. Some others I have spoken to have indicated the same in regard to Valley boats. When I demoed the Aquanaut LV I tried using my existing Snapdragon Ocean Tour EXP, which is a pre- 2007 model. It has a 4mm neo deck, size medium and 3mm tube. The Snapdragon website indicated it was the correct size for an Aquanaut and phone conversation with SD confirmed it as the “right” size. My experience was that the skirt let in far more water than it did on the WS Tempest 165 Pro it had previously been used on (rolling/sculling). Based on this experience and the dealer’s recommendation I purchased the Aquanaut with a Seals 1.4 neo deck. According to the dealer/importer it supposedly “made for Valley boats”. Well the Seals is OK, not great, but no terrible either. It is adequate, but I would not consider it as tailor made for Valley coamings. The Seals 1.4 bags a bit and does let in more water than I would like, but probably not as much as my Snapdragon Ocean Trek EXP. BTW, the Seals 1.2 was too tight on the Valley cockpit!
In a follow-on call to Snap Dragon they faulted the design/geometry of Valley cockpit coamings. It is easier to show than to explain, but the Valley coaming cuts in at a point making it difficult for any skirt to track the cockpit edge and provide a great fit.
Note that in this year (2007) Snap Dragon replaced the deck material on the Ocean Tour EXP with their stretchier 3mm Supratex material (their website has not yet been updated to reflect this). I suspect that the stretchier neo fabric may fit a little better, so when I have a moment I am going to take a tracing of the Aquanaut’s coaming and custom order the newer Ocean Tour EXP through a SD dealer.
YMMV.
Snapdragon Medium Glacier Trek
re: Glacier Trek
Yeah, the Glacier Trek or any of the “Trek” skirts could very well fit the Valley coamings much better than the stiffer 4mm neo found on the original SD Tour XP series models.
To the best of my knowledge all the SD “Trek” decks are made out of the stretchy Supratex 3mm neo material.
Snapdragon Medium
I was going to guess a Snapdragon medium deck too - I have a Supratex skirt that fits my NDK (long keyhole) very well if a bit on the tight side, but also was a great fit for the newer Pintail with keyhole and glass Nordkapp that I’ve tried.
Another for Snapdragon medium
I bought an Ocean Trek neo/supratech a couple months ago. Medium deck. Fits a lot of boats well. Good basic spray skirt. Fit a borrowed Nordkapp Jubilee well. I think I paid $86 at Rutabaga though they show $95 now.
http://www.rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1000692
Paul
Seal Extreme Tour 1.4
The Seal Extreme Tour 1.4 fits our Valley kayaks pretty well, a composite Avocet and a composite Aquanaut LV.
bc
IR
Just go with the IR. Best skirts I’ve used. I think your aquanaut’s combing is the same as my avocet’s.