Well a month or two ago I was looking at maybe buying a qeust to replace the Orion, but its volume is a bit too high. Now I am possibly looking at a Bahiya as a I am the perpetual boat slut and the Bahiya is a sexy well built boat. So anyone with paddling experince in both please speak up. I currently do most of my paddling teaching kids and adults in day classes. I am currently looking into branching out into longer distance trips though (getting my license in january will help with that). So thanks all in advance
Hi
paddled the bahiya is some surf and really enjoyed it. It is the boat I have selected to replace my sirius.
I, unfortuately have never seen the old p&h boats in person…would love even to see em that i emailed p&h and requested any old pamphlets they had regarding those boats. I paddled a capella prior to the sirius and used the sirius as my guide boat for three years andnow on to the bahiya…please let me know how it works out for you
jim
Sirius
Why did you give up on the Capella? What do you prefer in the Sirius and Bahiya.
I love the P&H boats. I have paddled most of them except the Sirius. I have tried the Andromeda, which looks similar, but I didn’t like it much. I own a Composite Capella and love it. I also like the Quest.
Bahiya is a
big kayak. Sirius is still plenty big too. Bahiya is not the quickest edge to edge turner. If you consider that look at some other kayaks as well, foster legend/silhouette. Also maybe consider the valley avocet or the new impex force boats. I would also look at the currituck while you’re at it.
keep the orion.
it’s such a great and unusual boat.
there’s nothing else quite like it (ok, i know about the gulfstream but it’s not as similar as you’d think.)
i miss mine often.
Well, I’m a pretty tiny guy
I stand at five foot six inches and weigh only 140 pounds. I found the Capella to be a bit too big for me, but God knows as well as all the paddlers here know that I am the biggest advocate around for the capella. I loved it, and still do. But when I got the chance to paddle the sirius, which I found to be much smaller and more comfortable than the capella…I stuck with it. Now, I have a chance to get a great deal on a P&H Bahiya (which I paddled only once - enough to get a pounding in some heavy surf). I seem to recall really liking the boat 
But, after reading some of these posts - I fear purchasing the Bahiya may be a mistake?? Again, I am pretty small and am looking for an active boat, something that can take some rockhopping and still have a strong expedition base. The sirius was a great boat, I never had it on anything longer than five nights but I have my doubts it could take sufficient gear for anything longer - which I hope is in my very near future.
I was afraid this would happen, I had thoughts that the Bahiya might be too big for me, but it seems to be the most reasonably sized expedition boat. After watching Justine’s This is the Sea and This is the Sea II, I took special notice as to what was being paddled. Mostly NDK boats. Some P&H and some where not familiar to me.
My original boat list of interest was:
P&H Sirius - which I have doubts about its ability to carry substantial gear for week long + trips. The bonus is that I paddled the sirius as my guide boat for three years
P&H Bahiya - I am now unsure as to the sizing of the boat for me - it does seem the most reasonably sized boat out of the expedition boats I am aware of - I did really enjoy paddling it and had no problems with edging and turns.
VCP Nordkapp Jubilee (I beleive) - this boat seemed to big for me and I would have to load it with gear everytime I took it out. I also thought that my small frame would cause difficulties in the performance of the boat?
NDK Greenlander Pro - I also paddled this boat for a brief session, it was on the twelfth of January here in Newfoundland and I did not want to roll it. Braces and edging felt great - not quite sure what to make of its stern. Seems to have a great resume too, but does’nt attract or excite me as the above listed boats do.
Sorry for the rant…guess its one of those days…
jim
Thanks
Thanks for your comments. Nice to hear impressions from a fellow P&H fan.
I’m bigger than you, and I still had to pad the thigh braces quite a bit on my Capella, but I love the boat. I think it’s the best all rounder I have found. It does everything pretty well. I don’t know why they don’t lower that front deck a little though.
look at
– Last Updated: Dec-21-05 2:11 PM EST –
Nordkapp LV (your too light for a Jubilee) and the NF Silloette (too small for a Ledgend)....and the New force boats from Impex and at your weight look at the outer island (impex)
Boat dilemma’s
The Nordkapp LV?
I am familiar with the Nordkapp H20 and the Jubilee. However I have never had the pleasure of laying my eyes on a Valley boat. I should say that I am a very closed minded paddler sticking with certain pieces of equipment by certain manufacturers over others. Most everyone knows that I am a huge P&H fan, but am dying to try out a valley boat.
Can someone with xp please outline the changes between the nordkapp hv and lv?
Wouldn’t even a LV Nordkapp be a bit big for a paddler of my size? Dont you think? Or would it be possible to ballast the boat?
I prefer the Nordkapp with the normal skeg system as opposed to the integrated skeg system. For example, on the webpage for Great River Outfitters, they show two nordkapp’s
- The Nordkapp S-h20
- The Nordkapp Jubliee
I think the H20 is more my style
Any comments on the Nordkapp H20 LV? Or did I just make this boat up?
Jim.
Nordkapp
Me thinks the New Lv Nordkapp would be based off the H20 which hull wise i didnt think was that different from the older hulls. I thought the only real changes had been the cockpit and hatches. But my shop doesnt deal VCP so i wouldnt have any first hand knowledge. I personally love the Sirius as well as my Orion, and I’ve never paddled the Bahyia though it really draws my eye. The Orion’s beam is just kinda getting to me, while its an absolutley wonderfull boat I just want something bit tighter at 5’9 185 pounds. Jim have you ever looked at a Kajak Sport Millenium, a friend of mine has a viking its little sister and wants the Millineum for storage even though he’s actually a bit smaller than you, same hieght bout 125 pounds. He handles it just fine and from my own experince its one of the better distance trip boats ever built. Wow Ive just relized how much Im rambling. So ya thats about all I have to say
Magical Beam
Well, I really like the beam of 20 inches. I find it to be a very comfortable beam for me, and I am not particularly interested in increasing to a beam of even 21". However, I am looking at the boats in the expedition ‘field’, in which I squeeze the Sirius into for me.
Even boats at 21 inch beam I found to be large. The capella being at 22, for some reason felt better to me than the NDK Explorer did. But then for that matter, the Greenlander Pro felt better than the Explorer also.
The Kayak Sport Millenium has been brought to my attention through several articles and I have seen some post recommending the boat. I , as mentioned above am not overly happy with increasing from a 20 inch beam. The only boats I found around this beam were:
- P&H Sirius 20.5 inch beam
- P&H Bahiya 20.5 inch beam
- VCP Nordkapp LV H20 21 inches - I dont want to be going over 21 inches in beam
- VCP Anas Acuta 20.5 inches
Thats my wish list
jim
Kwikle probably knows better than I, but
my limited experience in the Bahiya was that it is a smallish boat, very tight. i’m 6’5" and i could only spend 15 minutes tops in it. very edgy with low all around stabilty. look at the SK review and the stability curves for that model: says it all. i found it turned very well on edge, a real sporty performance sea kayak for a skilled medium sized paddler would be my take on it.
Thats the idea I had created regarding
the Bahiya, hoping that would make me a pretty good candidate for that boat. It sounds like the idea of the boat was to make a small expedition boat, something to compliment their Quest. I’m excited to try it out again as soon as possible, if I dont decide to just buy it and not bothering testing anything else.
jim
I am horribly addicted to P&H and would prefer to contiue paddling their boats…
nordkapp LV
they dropped the deck, shortened the h20 by about 6 inches to make it an expedition boat for smaller sized people…I haven’t seen one yet, but there was one at the show in Utah a few months ago…should be out this spring…by the way Valley is run by former P&H and pyrana guys
in order to check out the spects for the Nordkapp LV you have to download the 2006 cat
Silhoutte
Hi Sirius,
You can add the Nigel Foster Silhoutte to your short list of boats. It has a 20.5" beam, the sme as your Sirius from P&H. It is a little longer though at 17’10".
It has been a few years since I’ve paddled the Sirius but I remember that, at the time, it was one of the nicest kayaks I’d paddled. This past season I spent some time paddling the Silhoutte and Legend kayak by Nigel Foster (Built by Seaward Kayaks) and I think you should give it a try if you get a chance.
Who do you guide for on the Rock by the way? I’m from Atlantic Canada as well…although I’m currently out in BC.
Cheers…Joe O’
Thanks, I took a look
at the Valley Catalog.
Beautiful boat, and I can’t wait to have the opportunity to test paddle one. Still though, with the availability of a Bahiya for a GREAT price, and being here on the island as compared to finding the nordkapp and having it shipped in…the bahiya seems to be the better idea…
Oh, to have them both
jim
road trip
hmm…not a bad idea
I wanted to do some BCU and some ACA training while I was ‘out’ too
get the Bahiya!
for other, though silly reasons… it’s got a great name. very unique, rare boat. if you are in it’s size range, probably a howl to paddle. i read a review of it on some European site from a Scandinavian group who took one out on a long big water trip and they raved. not sure how i found the review before though… it’s also a very cool looking craft. for my size, i’ve put a downpayment on a Nordkapp and I am hoping that it fits the bill i described for the Bahiya but in my size range. what is the price for it? what colours?
i’m anxious about it
the bahiya that this friend will let me have, is for almost half of a brand new boat, it was a demo for him and one that didnt’ see the boat any more often than four times. he is a friend and there is a very small market for the boat.
I hope i fit its size bill, at five foot seven and one hundred forty pounds
jim