Hi
I’m relatively new to kayaking, but have been boating (sailing) my whole life. I’ve been looking for a kayak that better fits me (I’m 6’ and 185 lbs) and have been using a kayak that’s too small.
I want something for 1-2 hour trips, and would like an efficient kayak for use in protected waters. I don’t need any storage compartments.
I found this one close ish to me. Just wondering if anyone can ID it. Looks like around a late 70’s or early 80’s (and I’m assuming fiberglass) boat. Maybe it was used for racing of some kind?
And the price is very good.
I also got some more pics of the boat. Seems like both the bow and stern have a cap over them, with the rear cap having an (added I think) skeg and eyelet.
My main concern after reading about these white water boats having the skeg added for tracking, is how bad will the boat be in flat water.
I kayak in the intracoastal and on a pond. Will it go in a straight line just fine, and be efficient?
Should be good. I have an Epic with a small rudder that drops down. With the rudder down and pointing the boat straight versus retracted the difference is huge. The fin in your pic is much bigger.
The Epic tracks straight when you stop paddling with the rudder down. It turns quicker retracted by paddling on one side than it does extended and turned hard over while also paddling on one side.
Final pic of the boat. A full side shot. Something else I’ve heard is these whitewater boats are not efficient in flat water because of the hull shape (too much rocker). This boat doesn’t seem to be that bad, but the bottom is curved.
Another important concern is that if that skeg is too large, the boat will leecock badly, which can create serious safety issues if you’re trying to turn and paddle into an offshore breeze. There’s no way I would buy it without test paddling it, specifically on a breezy day.
Thanks for the input. I’m going to go look at it this week. One thing I noticed is the skeg is attached to a piece that has been fitted over the rear of the boat. I’m thinking that if it is indeed too big, I could probably modify it and make it smaller. That piece also might be completely removable.
When I sent the pics to my uncle to look at (a more experienced boater and kayaker than I), he mentioned the same thing about the skeg being a bit big for the boat.
In using some different kayaks, I’ve seen the difference a small keel can make also. The kayak I normally use is an unknown brand (I think maybe it used to be a rental kayak, made in the mid 1990’s). Anyways, it has a small keel (approx 1cm deep) that runs the length of the boat. It is a much better tracking boat than my daughters kayak, which is a newer Pelican. Hers has a mostly flat bottom, and gets pushed around a lot by the wind. Once I get a different kayak, the plan is to let her use my old one:).
looks like an old hollowform and somebody added a skeg on. It will be plastic if it is a hollowform as it was one of the first plastic ww boats (1973). Look for oilcanning ( caved or pushed in places) in the hull and in any case be prepared to buy some mini cell foam to make the seat more comfy and think about rigging up a lower back support/band to help with posture.
Yes it will go straight and be efficient but will take a little finesse as the boat is rockered just a tiny bit and has a displacement rather than v hull. It was built for speed to win ww slalom races. Adding comfort, the cost of reoutfitting and getting a skirt may not make it the bargain it seems to be.
Do you know about the durability of the Hollowform plastic boats versus the newer roto-mold boats? I mean, it’s made it around this long I guess.
Also, if there is oil canning, is there anything that can be done to fix that, or should I just walk away at that point?
So, I ended up finding another Kayak locally and buying it. The one I posted in this thread had too many possible issues, and I wanted to get something I could keep for a while. So I bought a Wilderness Systems Sealution 16.5’
