Respected central Illinois paddler Yanoer has purchased a new boat, and my congratulations goes out to you. Can't wait to see it in action. Should be fun to drive up and get it; like opening a new package at Xmas. Either a shiny new toy in there... or a lump of coal.
Anyone's experiences or thoughts on a fiberglass Perception Sea Lion would be appreciated.
Thanks cooldoctor1 and Tsunamichuck.
Posted by: yanoer on Sep-03-06 12:37 AM (EST)
for bringing the boat to my attention. This 1995 fiberglass Perception Sea Lion is not the first boat I'd consider for my 5'6" 150 lb body if I had the money to buy any boat on the market, but the price seemed to be right and it's only 120 miles from Urbana, IL, so I'll give it a try. I've test paddled a plastic Perception Shadow and either Sea Lion or Eclipse a couple years ago and if I remember correctly, the Shadow fit me pretty well and handled nicely and the Sea Lion or Eclipse was a little large, but still handled nicely. Both were very heavy.
Hopefully, this fiberglass Sea Lion won't be too large to fit well or too heavy to handle out of the water. I suspect that it will be at least 55 lbs, since the kevlar Eclipse that sold on ebay was 49 lbs.
I'm pretty excited and eager to pick it up and try it out. Hopefully, the seller will be available either Sunday or Monday.
Cooldoctor1, thanks for your persistent efforts to locate an appropriate boat for me at a price I was willing to pay.
Anybody know how much a 1995 fiberglass Sea Lion with rudder weighs?
Any quirks or weaknesses in the boat or rudder system that I should be aware of? The ad said "There are controls inside the cockpit for rudder controls." Does that mean that the control for deploying the rudder and retracting the rudder are in the cockpit or does it mean something else. I assume that the directional controls are via rudder foot pedals.
I had one for years
Very good boat and very well built. This is the boat that the Eclipse is descended from. Built for Aquaterra in Canada they were laid up much stronger (and heavier 60 lbs.?) than the modern Eclipse. I used to have the link to Rockwood Outfitters and I believe they built the Sea lion and several others for Perception including some white water kayaks in composite. Looks like they are gone now.
Others who paddled them here can tell you about the punishment they can handle. They used neoprene hatch covers with a very tough rand with a composite lid that strapped over. The replacement neoprene's can be hard to find and expensive. Most originals have dry rotted out by now.
It's a good big water kayak and has many world records to it's credit. The down side of this boat is that it has no rocker at all and is very rudder dependent. The good thing is that the rudder on this boat is heavy duty and very well made. care must be given to keep the rudder cable sleeves lubricated. once the cable freezes up it time to replace them, not a fun job.
The cockpit is the same size as the Shadow and the fit should be about the same. The deck is not as high as some Britt boats and the aft deck is very low. Again the boat has a strong tendency to weathercock but correct use of the rudder and good paddling skills will fix that.
Oh yeah, the seat pan in this boat was very good but you will need to do something with the back if it's the origional.
Photo.....http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=229623
Yikes! 60 lbs! Good thing they’re tough
beacuse at that weight, I’ll be dragging it a little and probably bounce it a little now and then.
The seller said that everything, including the neoprene hatch covers are in good condition and that there is NO rot of any kind.
It’s good to hear that the rudder is durable. Thanks for the tip on keeping the lines lubed. What would you recommend for lube and how should it be applied. I’ll only be using the boat on fresh water and not salt water, so is lubing as essential in my application.
Since the cockpit dimensions are the same as the Shadow, and my recollection is that the Shadow fit me well, the Sea Lion will hopefully fit me well.
The seller appears to have changed out the original seat back with some funky looking combination of a mesh web on the back supporting some square yellow cushion about two or three inches thick. I don’t see how it could work that well, but I’ll find out when I try it. I suspect that I’ll be swapping it out for a smaller & stiffer back band.
N.T., thanks for all the great feedback and the picture link. Hopefully, the boat won’t be too heavy to handle out of the water.
I still haven’t heard from the seller to make arrangements for pick up.
Keep the good feedback coming.
Foam pads + Thule rack ok for transport?
I have a Thule rack and the shallow “vee” shape kayak transport mini cell foam pads that I’ve been using for my Phoenix Isere and Old Town Castines, is this good enough for the Fiberglass Sea Lion?
I usually transport the Castines and Isere upside down (deck down) and that works fine for them because my roof rack bars are only 40" apart.
I don’t have any kayak saddles, cradles or stackers.
I used a spray Silicone lube
called LubriMatic in a blue can, but you have to watch. Some advertised silicone spray is more like white lythium grease, you don’t want that because it will attract sand and dirt. You want the clear spray that dries it’s much better.
The origional seat back in these boats was just a piece of white poly sheeting with tabs that fit into slots in the seat pan covered with a funky nylon pouch with some waterproof foam inside with a storage web pouch on the back. An adjustable 1 inch webbing strap held it in place. Suprisingly it worked pretty well but mine broke and I replaced it with self inflating back (much like a thermarest) and that worked very well.
Check the neyo hatch covers closely by holding them up to the sunlight. If no light shows through they are good. Sometimes it’s hard to see bad spots.
another pic…http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=321974
For 60 lbs …
you could get a RM Necky Chatham 17!
Advantages:
• damn good
• local (Central IL)
• cheap ($1,000)
• from someone you know
• will get you laid
That is funny! Laid.
He paid less for the fiberglass aquaterra. Plus you and I will have to try out one another’s boats. I know, i know, you think the Prijon won;t mathc the Chatham. I wonder what Ian would think about it.
Nice input from N.T.
Have a great Labor Day everyone. I’m off to a cookout today.
Bye bye Andre.
I guess my seat back is the original.
The picture of the one I bought and the picture of yours look very similar.
Thanks for the lube suggestion.
I will check the neo hatch covers carefully as you suggest.
Now, if only the seller would contact me and tell me when I can pick it up.
Yeah, yeah. I know, I know.
The Chatham actually weighs in at a little over 60 lbs and I was looking for a 50 lb or less boat, but I bought this one without researching it so I’ll go get it and see if it’s constructed and balanced in a way that makes portaging and loading tolerable.
As cooldoctor1 stated, I did pay less than yours, but this is 11 years old and still only 115 miles drive to the Chicago suberbs. $1000 for yours is a good deal, though.
I’m married, so I get laid regardless of which boat I paddle 
Foam pads will work for a wile
I used just pipe insulation on the bars. I would look around for some used cradles if you plan on long road trips.
I thought you were going to say
"I’m married, so I won’t get laid regardless of the boat."
Thanks, I do plan to get some cradles
of some kind for the long haul.
Scheduled to pick it up Labor Day morn.
I talked to the seller this evening and he’ll be home all day tomorrow (Labor Day) and the boat will be ready for pick up : )
Now I have to install the Thule Outrigger on my roof rack to help load this heavy boat.
Have a great Labor Day everyone.
NT
just agreeing with all that NT said…today almost paddled the venerable Sea Lion but chose the Vizcaya instead.
My Sea Lion was one of first kevlar ones by that same Canadian company Aquaterra used to produce the composites.
You will love the Sea Lion for so many reasons…never get rid of it once you get it.
I looked up what I paid new–$2100 but the weight then and now is worth it, 42 pounds and that is with that beefy rudder.
I never modded this boat, really no need since it was perfect for its intended use-still is-paddle camping.
Congratulations on your new boat.
and NT, yours is beautiful,thanks for posting the pics
Yes I quess I should say mine was glass
I haul my boats on foam blocks
and pipe insulation. Drove from Reno to Madison and back with that set up and 0 problems
Enjoyed being part of your inaugural pad
paddle, yanoer. And thanks Chuck_IL for buzzing me up. I thik you have gotten a whale of a deal on a very fine boat, as NT and others say. It is a very nice boat. I am sure yanoer will grace us with his initial technical and physical impressions of the Aquaterra Sea Lion.
I’m glad that you were there to share
the experience and especially glad that you had that 220cm Werner Shuna for me to use, because my two paddles weren’t working very well in that boat. I hope to get out Wednesday to try out some other paddles to find the one that works best with that boat.
Corryvrecken
Windswift