Does anyone have any input on QCC Kayaks? I’m thinking about a 400XL for mostly flatwater use with occasional ocean trips.
Good reputation
but, the 400 has a real high deck and is hard to reenter if you fall out.
search archives
There are many threads about QCC boats. Do a search of the archive here and you will find a lot of information.
where are you located?
I have a couple friends looking to sell their kevlar QCC 400s located in Wisconsin.
There is a QCC cult here, but a 400
is a seldom seen boat. 500 and 700 seem to be the favorites.
It did take a little effort
to get back in. But, for my intended use- creeks, lakes and poking around the Chesapeake- it’s perfect. At my weight, depending how much I lie about it, the 400 is a better size than the 500. Because I like to tootle around and look at wildlife and generally not have to pay attention all the time, it’s a better choice than the narrower 600 or 700. I can foresee also having a longer, narrower boat someday but, for general purpose use I like the 400 a lot. I don’t know how the experts feel about a fat 15’-3" boat that doesn’t have pointy ends out in the ocean.
And, there can’t be a cult- we don’t have any QCC hats or coffee mugs.
Please Send
my email to your friends with the used 400s for sale, (miller.mark.b@worldnet.att.net), or send me their address.
I dont know if the 400 would be a good addition for me but I am having to rent a third and fourth boat more and more often for my kids. And I certainly like the 600 and 700 that I already have.
thanks,
Mark
I have a 700 and my wife has …
…a 600 and their quality and service is second to none.
If they ever get tooled up on their “new smaller” version of the 600 we will be getting another one.
It is the only kayak that I know that you can purchase with a full 30 days satisfication guarantee. If you don’t like it for any reason they will take it back including the shipping cost.
I don’t know about the 400, but two years ago I got my 700 the day before a thirteen mile race, and entered the race without ever having been in it. - Handled like a charm and still does.
- the hatches used to leak, but they finally got mine squared away.
Cheers,
JackL
My first boat
It’s probably the best camping kayak made. Lots of volume, handles better loaded than not. Very stable but still fun, beautifully made. Having said that, I moved to a P&H Sirius within a year and I haven’t looked at the QCC since then(mainly because it’s 50 miles upriver).
If the paddler you’re buying it for isn’t going to get into the performance end of kayaking and is looking for pleasure trips or camping trips, then it’s ideal (I get lots of scraped knuckles trying to jam camping gear into the Sirius, and I have to leave my armchair and the cooler at home…grinning but not kidding). As for me, I wish I’d let Phil talk me into the 600.
Lyn
QCC 400
Love my 400X. Great for exploring and the fishing I do. Smooth and quiet. User friendly and very well built. A quality product from a very reliable company. I’m 5’6" and 175 lbs., fits me well. Enough said…
Interesting…
Your comment about the QCC handling better loaded than not. We found on our first Yak/Camp trip that both the 600 and the 700 became more docile when loaded with all our gear.
Yep, we even loaded two collapsable chairs and took them along. (Primitive camping sounds great, but we like our cold water, hot coffee, lounge chairs, hot food, and air mats. Guess we are spoiled.)
Mark
done
I sent them your email address as well as a link to this thread. Hopefully they’ll be in touch with you.
it’s not a short fat kayak.
I had a Necky swallow for awhile,similar dimensions a bit less freeboard. I was out in the ocean a lot with it. There’s nothing wrong with a comfortable handling kayak in bouncy water.
I have hats AND a mug
But I had to get my own made. It’s my favorite paddling hat.
As a single user not selling I’m not really infringing the QCC logo - just giving Phil free advertising. If I was selling them - another story - so don’t even ask.
If Phil was interested, I could have a site up to sell hats, mugs, shirts, and much more in minutes. I asked him long ago, and he was not. OK with me as I have my hat and mug while I wait for the long awaited official QCC gear from the source.
I don’t have one (yet)…
but I did have the good fortune of stopping by QCC a few weeks ago and meeting Phil and some of his crew.
It was really something to see the folks there building boats completely by hand. The time-staking care put into the construction of each one is something I never imagined. Top that off with the guarantee they offer and i’m sold on a great product.
Russ Johnson
www.wi-paddlers.net
Great all around boat
I have a 700 and a 400, the 700 is the newer boat so it gets used a lot more, but I think that the 400 is an excellent all around boat. I,ve used the 400 on the rivers of Flordia and out into the gulf. The people that I paddled with in the gulf all had 17 & 18 footers, wood and composits. Had no trouble keeping up with them. Same in Maine paddling to the islands in the ocean. And a good little boat in lakes and streams, makes a good fishing yak, carries a load for camping. I’ve had people from petite women to men 6’ plus and 220 pounders use it and no one had any problems with it. What more can I say?
It’s just a great do anything boat!
ps. also a great sailer!
I recently received a 400
and while it is a wide high volume boat it is very responsive and I can keep up with all my kayak buddies in their long/skinny boats once I get it up to speed 
Also, very comfortable cockpit so you can move around in. The seat however is not comfortable and Phil sent me a new backband to replace their’s. It is getting better but I need to tweak it a bit.
I bought mine for fishing and camping in FL gulf islands so it’s pretty perfect for that kind of use. If you are more performance oriented the 600 or 700 may be a better choice.
QCC 400XL
Thanks to all for the input on the 400XL. I already have an old PWS Sea Otter (stable cruiser) and a 2 year old Necky Looksha Sport (surf/rock boat, just the opposite). I guess I’m looking for a shorter swamp, pond, river and lake boat and the 400 seems to fit the bill, although the rudder sticking up like a fin and not retracted to the deck when not in use is kind of strange…
A different view; from outside the "QCC
– Last Updated: Jul-27-05 9:59 PM EST –
...Cult".
I have my flameproof wetsuit nearby and ready if I need it, so here goes...
Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, so I'm sure that there are many happy paddlers who feel that their QCC boats are the most beautiful watercraft they've ever seen. That's great, as we should all love every aspect of our boats; including their sweet lines.
Since I've never paddled a QCC boat, I cannot fairly comment on anything other than my aesthetic aversion to their looks. Frankly, I think they're relatively ugly (eek! ducking and covering). *Please* do not take the previous comment for anything more than it is; an entirely subjective personal opinion. I'm sure that someone out there thinks that my preferred type of boat is ugly too (though for the life of me, I can't imagine why! :-)).
Inspiration comes in as many forms as do our individual seafaring souls, and I, for one, cannot ignore, in addition to all the supposedly more "practical" criteria, the unspeakable inspiration that comes from seeing what this beholder's eyes consider to be the droolworthy sweet lines of a fine boat; be it a classic wooden sailboat or a kayak. Of course, I am indeed just as concerned with seaworthiness and performance as I am with sheer beauty, but I want it all! :-)
Why, I wonder, is this aspect of our love for our boats hardly, if ever, discussed here as we discuss in great detail all the other things we think might be important to us as we consider this or that boat design? Perhaps it is because this is such a personal thing for each of us, and we just can't find the words to describe such an indescribable feeling. Fair enough, if that is the case, but I still wonder anyway. :-)
Melissa
BUTT UGLY LOL
Finally someone said it…