I was thinking of buying one and was wondering if anyone has paddled one and had any thoughts on it??
How stable are they??
speeder
I found it very stable - both primary and secondary. If you come from a rec/touring kayak you might find you need to work harder to make it go straight. How/where do you plan to use the Speeder?
I just wrote a review today
but it probably won’t be posted for a day or two. I just picked up my Speeder this week and paddled it for the first time today. (I was clear in my review that it was based on only the maiden voyage and that I would probably be updating it later.)
I had it out today on a large lake with some wind and lots of boat wakes. Waves and chop were about 1.5’ give or take.
It felt tippy when I first got in. Just needed a while to get acclimated because later it didn’t. In fact, later I experimented - stopped paddling and just floated on the waves, just to see if I could. Not a problem. Good secondary stability; cuts through the waves nicely. Fairly dry ride even w/o sprayskirt.
Weathercocks a bit at certain angles. For a while, I kept paddling 'round and 'round a small island just to see how it handled with the wind/waves at different angles and quartering was definitely the worst. I was able to correct for it, but it was exhausting.
Anyway, you just asked about stability, so I’ll leave it at that. It’s stable enough.
I should add, it lives up to its name - it’s FAST. I’ve never “flown” that way in a kayak before. Way cool.
cathor
Do you own one, or did you just test paddle it?
I’ve tentatively decided I’ll paddle mine on the lake but only when there’s very little wind (maybe crack of dawn paddles, or late evening) and only on limited horsepower lakes or in protected coves. It’s a joy to paddle as long as you’re not fighting wind and waves. Does that agree with your impressions?
speeder
I used to own one. I think most beginners would be somewhat frustrated due to its tracking. I still wonder if mine had a slight hull deformity that made this worse than it really is. Would not be the first time with roto boats.
I am glad you like yours though. That’s all that matters. Keep us posted on your experiences as you get more time in the boat.
Make sure you paddle one first
You may or may not like it. I did not. In fact, I’m not sure why one would buy this boat. It is neither a straight-goer, nor does it seem to like turning, it aint stable and it does not seem to be designed for ocean use. On a river I’d pick something else over it and on flat water it may be fast enough to cover good distances but there are better choices for this…
It seems that the thing requires too much correction to go straight but on the other hand is not maneuverable enough as it seems flatt-ish (not much rocker I think). The front looks like it will cut thru waver rather than go over them and will catch currents too. I think it has no skeg and that would most certainly be a problem in winds/waves thoguh I have not had a chance to paddle in anything but calm water.
It felt tippy compared to other boats I tried on the same demo day. Primary stability is definitely lower than boats like the Tempest, Quest LV, Impex Assateague or Force 5, etc. Did not feel comfortable enough in it as a beginner to test its secondary stability much (where the aforementioned boats I had no problems edging without hesitation); it has some widening up towards the deck, so it may provide nice feedback at extreme edging, but I do not know - did not try this. I also paddled the Prijon baracuda the same day and I felt that was not less stable, and it is known for being twitchy!
Take all that with a pinch of salt as I only paddled it for a very short time during a demo day.
It’s a downriver boat
You understand that the Speeder is downriver whitewater boat, don’t you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RD9Q_W7q7M
Speeder stuff
http://resource.brookbankcanoes.co.uk/pdf/speeder_feb07.pdf
http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/categories/articleitem.asp?cate=9&topic=27&item=74
marketing
I think the problem lies with how the speeder is marketed. I have no doubt it is a great classical downriver kayak, but it is being positioned as more than that. If you don’t plan on using it for downriver trips in class I-II then I think there are better kayaks out there in the price range.
I know that’s how they market it
(as a downriver whitewater kayak) but I thought it would be reasonably good on flatwater also.
I took it out again today. Revised impressions:
I took it down the tributary of a lake. Protected cove, no motorboats, jet skis, etc. and water was 90% flat, very little ripples. It was fun to paddle there. FAST, stable enough (more primary stability than the 'cuda in my opinion), tracking was okay, turns surprisingly well.
But when I went out on the main part of the lake (waves, boat wakes) it performed no better than yesterday, even though the waves were not quite as high. I could go directly into the waves fine, but anything else was difficult to keep it on track… it wants to turn like a whitewater boat. If I didn’t work hard to correct, I’d turn completely around within a few strokes. Very frustrating and exhausting. My verdict is: this is DEFINITELY NOT a lake boat. (I know, I know… I was wrong, sue me.)
No, I didn’t demo it first. Sometimes I take a chance on a boat, but I don’t ask anyone to subsidize my folly, so I’d appreciate not getting lectures - not that anyone here would do that, oh no. 
Now I’m trying to decide… do I want to sell it? (I don’t keep boats I know I won’t paddle much.) On the other hand, it’s an excellent workout boat IF I just take it out into protected areas and/or on days with virtually NO wind. Or downriver trips might be interesting… I think I’ll try it there before I do anything (else) impulsive. I don’t paddle “real” whitewater, but Class I-II isn’t out of the question. Hmmm…
Adding a skeg?
– Last Updated: Jul-14-08 11:22 AM EST –
Do paddle it a few more times before making a decision. It took me almost a month (but I'm a beginner) to get comfortable in one of my boats and to begin to appreciate its qualities. At first it was tippy and turny to a point I could not relax and I had to use the skeg all the time. Feels much better now and I now see that this design was on purpose and I can use it to its advantages. May be you will discover the Pyranha's "qualities" in due time?
I wonder if adding a skeg would fix the one serious flaw in it for me - being affected by waves/wind. There are skeg kits that might be worth the experiment. When I sat in the boat at the demo, I liked the seat and foot room and if the directional control can be improved and you like the rest, I think you might enjoy the boat much more. In my first boat, the Tsunami 145, if it had a skeg or rudder it would be so much more enjoyable to paddle in wind/waves - as it was, it would weathercock too much and require almost full effort paddling on one side of the boat to keep it on track even with leaning...
Everything has more…
…primary stability than a Barracuda, you noodge.
Blonds.
Who you callin’ a noodge?
And you’re right - everything DOES have more primary stability than the 'cuda. Well, with the exception of surf skis.
Skeg?
I was thinking of that too, but I guess it would have to be one of the kind (like Necky uses on their rec kayaks) that is screwed onto the back, as opposed to underneath. Looks more like a rudder than a skeg but has no directional control. It might work.
Hey, is there a Pyranha rep on this board? I might write to them and see what they recommend.
It’s all relative…
Don’t forget the ICF kayaks
ICF kayaks?
I hate to be a noodge, but what’s ICF?
ICF
International Canoe Federation. The ICF sprint boats are not the easiest kayaks to paddle…