Think it will be an Explorer…
I think I am going to just stick with the Explorer. This search has been a bit exhausting.
I think I would be happier just going with the safe bet and a boat I know fits me perfectly and I can use in any conditions.
I am wasting too much time experimenting. Of course it’s not really wasted time because it is time on the water and it has taught me a lot. I think I would rather just spend that time really getting to know my boat well rather than evaluating / experimenting, etc.
Think I am going to place the order for that Explorer.
Matt
Rather than place an order
Drive down to Barrier Island kayak or, if necessary, to Sea Kayak Georgia, and get one that is free of defects. If I were to buy another explorer, I’d never order one just because of the QA issues.
Why did you sell your other one?
Re : who makes the Explorer?
Hi …i was wondering who makes the Explorer? I’m a 2nd yr.novice @ kayaking .currently own a CD Solstice GT and a WS Cape Lookout. I’m currently looking for a shorter boat for back bays and twisty streams, so i have been reading as many posts as possible for hints to a good boat for this. thanks
John - you are a LUCKY man!
Lucky that SALTY and the rest of us have cut you slack so far!!!
I thought I WAS BAD…I am nothing compared to YOU!!! lolololololol
Enjoy what ever you buy - just remember that I get to buy it a month later for half the price!!!
Scott
NOT JOHN>>>>>>>>MATT!!!
Sorry John… I was laughing so hard I hit you with it instead of MATT…we brothers of the BLACK PEARL must STICK TOGETHER…
Scott
Or Va Beach
Matt,
We have some in stock that are beautiful right down the road in Va Beach.
-Tom
Virginia Sea Kayak Center.
The same guy
who peed in BNystrom’s cheerios: Nigel Dennis
The grass is always greener
Matt, I think you are torturing yourself!
Listen …
The bottom line is that somebody has to buy and churn boats so there are ample models available in the used marketplace. This is win-win-win situation. The manufacturer wins by selling lots of new boats, the first owner wins by getting to paddle a lot of different boats and dialing in what is best - imagine what it would cost to rent all of these boats for a few months to test extensively, and finally us poorer mortals win because we get to buy a previously been enjoyed boat (or fixer upper) at a much reduced price.
It’s all good.
~wetzool
makes a lot of sense
putting the focus on the paddler. Every time I saw a skilled paddler in one of my boats I realized it wasn’t the boat.
similar
my first glass boat was a Solstice and I wanted a more maneuverable kayak, even for use on the open bay. I went to a Necky Swallow and Perception Scimitar then a Mariner Express, kept the Express for 14yrs. Just about any kayak will be more maneuverable than the Solstice. Check out the Caribou if you still want a fast enough boat. There’s a lot of skills you can develop once you get something more responsive than the Solstice.
Nordkapp LV
Matt’s 'kapp is/was a Nordlow.
ya think??? (NM)
Choices
I owned an explorer for several years and now own a Force 5 - I’m a little bigger and to make the explorer work I chopped the seat and put in a foamy to sit lower. The 5 is a great fit. I think reasons to not choose the explorer would be build quality. ( I know I’m going out on a limb and risking the ire of many in saying it) In my opinion if you want to own one boat you can’t go wrong with either but neither one is the best choice if most of your time is spent playboating. Go smaller. If most of your time is cruising and you don’t want to be dettered by conditions, you know the Explorer or Force won’t let you down. They just aren’t play boats. I love my Impex, it eats up miles, I agree with the previous poster about the hatches, and I can go any where with it. I just would never describe an 18 footer as playfull. Life is full of compromises, sounds like you should have a quiver full of boats or buy a smaller more playfull boat that would end up being a little slower. Big Deal. The important thing is getting out there. At some point it becomes more about paddling than the boat. - Mike
I agree with jsmarch
If I were to buy another explorer, I’d never order one just because of the QA issues.
Get one you can see, smell and taste.
Greener Grass and Self Torture
I know a guy who was very overweight who got into bicycling. Every time I talked to him he wanted to talk about frame geometry or gear ratios or fancy components. He was doing some riding and he lost a ton of weight.
I kept trying to steer him to talking about drafting, pack riding, slow vs fast cadence. Didn’t work. The guy was not going to quit focusing on GEAR.
He passed the bicycle phase and went on to motorcycles. And gained all his weight back.
Maybe if we all worked together we can convince bowler1 to change his focus?
Money!! Bowler1, think of the $ you could save if you’d focus on paddling!
each stroke costs nothing
plant that blade “there”…perfect
the boat will do what it does but the blade and water conspire for magic sometimes, costs nothing.
I think Matt has the last laugh
probably a graduate student in psych or sociology doing research on internet forum evolution, and having a blast with it! Some of our posts will no doubt be in some powerpoint thesis presentation.
If he is for real, he’s one tweaked obsessive guy, albeit very likeable.
Yeah Man
Like when you learn how to angle your paddle just so and roll down and up in slow motion. Magic.