Thanks Again to Everyone who posted
I appriciate all the info and reflections. I’m not good with buying big ticket items and may be over analyzing, as some have suggusted. On the other hand…
sounds like you knew the answer
to your initial question before you posted.
I’ve had boats with Valley type hatches and they were not “perfect” boats either, nor where they “BAD,BAD BOATS”.
You pays your money and you goes paddling, or not.
MikeT
I beat myself up for months before
buying big ticket non-essentials. You are not alone.
Weekdaypaddler, call me
– Last Updated: Aug-31-08 11:29 PM EST –
Dear Dennis,
I think your interest in the QCC is dictated by fit considerations. What would be a high volume boat for most is not for you and me and my buddy, Mark.
My buddy built a Pygmy Osprey Triple with a 30" beam, and he and I wedge ourselves into the cockpits- no foaming necessary for a very snug fit.
See if you can access the photos:
http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/betmkaplan
Mark has a big frame, just like you and I do. Some of the posters here don't think guys as beefy as we are go paddling.
Some also don't know what a rock garden the Delaware can be in some places, even at spring flow levels. So you might want to keep that rotomold boat as a beater- you remember how battered my Penobscot is.
I do suggest you find a QCC boat and try it before you commit to building an Osprey- not to discourage, but to give yourself the perspective.
My knee is still not right, but getting better. Still can't paddle tho, Doc won't release me.
Take care, and call me after your Sabbath.
Marvin (Kaps)
Difference is…
… you don’t trash one of the companies on your shortlist during the decision process.
On a site where some kayaks with major flaws and quirks have rabidly loyal followings - and some pretty piss-poor kayaks will rate 10s - I think the fact that several QCC owners will gladly discuss any small negative issues may give some the wrong impressions.
The demo offers say it all.
You’re way off on this judgment
– Last Updated: Aug-31-08 11:40 PM EST –
QCCs aren't for everyone - no brand is - but "bad boat"? Couldn't be more wrong there.
You're also out of line making negative claims like that on a public paddling forum about something you have no firsthand knowledge of.
You're jumping all over common minor complaints and making way too much out of them. Your reactions are both swift and over the top. This came off as BS to me, and why I suspected you were just here to bash QCC and not really looking for info/help.
Try one, then decide. You have options through other owners (who overall have the highest loyalty/referral levels I've seen). Then there's the 100% money back no questions return (30 day test paddle) policy. Does that really sound like a company practicing "deception" to you?
If you're at the QCC/Pygmy/Whatever stage in the search process though (brands vs specific boat models), I think you need to leave the nitpicking for later, after you've redefined your needs and wants in for the next kayak considerably, and refocused your search accordingly.
Particularly if you're significantly heavier than average as BETMKaplan's message below seems to indicate (QCCs vary hugely in cockpit volume/shape - but all have the same 16"x30" coaming size, which could be a deal breaker right there).
Lots of good kayaks out there (but the list can get short for really big guys). Choosing one can leave you a bit confused/conflicted, but it should be a fun process.
Thanks Kapps, I’ll call on Tuesday
Check Mario’s post where he says
2) Any kayak not equipped with Valley or other rubber hatches DO leak.
Thanks Jack, avoiding making a
costly mistake is just the thing I am trying to do with the help of my Pnet paddling buddies.
That was just a quote from jack L
I always thought that a public board
was put up for the purpose of open and honest discussion.
How else can people find things out about a company? Reading the QCC website, they will “discontinue a person as a customer” who they can not satisfy. That sounds like stacking the deck to me.
If you read the manufactors specs, every boat can do everything well. When is is going to stop so we can get an honest write-up on what a boat is good at and what it is not?
What’s “honest” about…
… calling a QCC, which you haven’t seen or paddled, a “bad boat”?
Yikes!
Fit considerations
Take some time considering what conditions you will be paddling in and what kind of skills you would like to develop.
A 30" beam would be like paddling a bathtub. If you are interested in developing good boat control including bracing, rolling, sculling, etc and/or will be paddling in rough water, you would be well served by a QCC or other traditional sea kayak design that FITS YOU PROPERLY. You won’t know if it fits you properly until you have spent some time paddling it.
As for the hatches leaking- I have yet to see a boat that is 100% dry all the time. The Valley and Impex kayaks both use Valley hatch systems and are the best out there.
listen to rusty 125
– Last Updated: Sep-01-08 8:37 PM EST –
Dennis,
If you have been around p-net for "four years" you must have observed that people who ask about which kayaks might work best for them generally supply certain metrics in their posts (i.e. height, weight, skill level, when/when/how paddling, current/future paddling goals, etc.).
Please re-read my first response to you; and that is exactly what I have been saying from the very start.
But somehow this thread has veered off onto an unhappy tangent for all involved and focused on QCC (e.g. leaky hatches, honesty of company, scatches easily, etc.)
However, in a good way the focus now needs to be put back onto you where it belongs; that is, with your trying to figure out which kayak you want to buy.
Try this search engine http://groundclutter.com/search/
Enter search terms: "kayaks for big guys" there are 7160 results, and it will take a little time (i.e. 68.77 seconds) to load. Lots of food for thought here for you.
And probably the most useful thing for you to do at this point is to get off the internet and spend some seat time in several possible boats - IMO.
And when (and if) you figure out which boat will potentially work the best for you, please let us all know how it turned out.
Good luck!
Mike
Thanks Again everyone, I have enough
info to go on now. I’ll read them again and again and make a decision most likely, after I’ve tried out a couple of them.
Hi Kapps, is that a Pigmy in the link?
actually…
…it sounds like you’re discontinuing yourself. Just a bit of redundancy on their part.
Pygmy’s are great but you may find
a bit of water in the hatch compartments… No big deal. This is an example of “CONFIRMATION BIAS” and just more internet bullshit.
Subjective
"When is is going to stop so we can get an honest write-up on what a boat is good at and what it is not?"
The problem is that if 10 people paddle a boat you’ll get 10 different opinions, all perfectly true from each paddler’s perspective. Which is the “honest” one?
For example: I like sea kayaks with snug cockpits, that turn easily, and that have low decks. Someone else may like a boat with a more open cockpit, that tracks well, and that carries lots of gear. If we both paddled a new boat and gave our opinion which would be “honest”?
It’s not so much a matter of good and bad boats – it’s more a matter of what’s right for you and what you want to do. I’ve paddled some boats that were very nice but completely wrong for me.
The Sea Kayaker reviews are reasonably good at combining objective and subjective information.
Unfortunately, there’s no substitute for butt-in-boat time. The only way to know what you like is to paddle some different boats. You’re the only person who can decide what’s right for you.
The QCC 30-day test paddle is a pretty good deal.