Initial impressions of the Rebel TOC Kayak;
I took out the TOC kayak for the 1st time. Very different from most of the 3 Dz kayaks I have tried in the past, except for 2 of them One was an old P&H fiber glass that was very narrow and over 18 feet long, and the other was a Skin -on- frame kayak owned by a friend of my Sister. The TOC does remind me of both of those 2 to some degree.
But in short, the TOC is easy to use and edge turns well, is quick to accelerate and pretty confining to sit in. It’s quite narrow so it may not be the best kayak for some but my wife bought an Illaga which is the same length and narrower and she did wonderfully well in it. So it depends on many factors which as the “best” choices for various people.
I fill up the TOC completely but not to the point of getting squeezed. I am 5’ 6" tall (well…short) and I weight 185 lbs. I am more muscular than fat and my legs are quite thick. I have size 9 feet. I fill the seat completely the the part of the seat that it hangs from the combing is possibly the only place that may give me a problem. Time will tell. I FILL the seat and there is a light but noticeable pressure on the sides of my thighs at the “hangers” of the seat pan at the center point between my hips and my knees. . I wish that were made a bit different. But to be 100% fair to Rebel, I must admit that my thighs are 24-25 inches in circumference at that point. So someone with slimmer thighs, even 1-2 inches ,would probably not feel that pressure point.
The water was quite cold (still a bit of snow around the banks) and the wind was very stiff with no calm water to get on, so for the 1st trip it may have been a bit more complex then many other paddlers would choose to deal with, but the lady I got it from (Jacqueline, the owner if Vitamin Sea Paddle Shop) was only going to be with myself and my wife that 1 day, so we went in spite of those winds. It was out only day we could all go together. Sustained winds of 25-30 and 3 times the winds got much faster. In fact, before I got on the water, about 1.5 miles from my lunch point I was hit by a gust of cross wind that shifted the rack and 2 kayaks over in my pick-up bed about 2" despite the fact they were tied down with 8 ropes. It caused my little Toyota truck to move over about 6 feet sideways on the highway. So this was a windy day for sure.
I did capsize it 1 time after about 90 minutes on the water and by then my hands were so cold I lost the grip on the paddle and also found the wet-exit from the “Ocean Cockpit” needs a very different set of body movements, so it was uncoordinated. I roll just “ok” failing many times, and can’t roll without a paddle so I had to exit.
You HAVE TO get the spray skirt off the WHOLE combing, including that part behind you or it pulls you back, and you HAVE TO slip straight up from the seat pan a small amount (maybe 6") and then BACK about 18 inches to get your legs out. But I got out. It took me about 10 seconds I guess. I was so cold I just asked Anna to tow me to shore and then got warmed up some. It was only about 75 yards from shore so that was the quickest way out of the water with such limited dexterity in my hands .
The wind was stiff all day and at one point to stopped all 4 of us from going forward 100%. We were paddling at full speed and power for 2 minutes about 100 yards out from an island and could see the top of the island against the background of tall mountains and we were dead in the water. It was like our kayaks were tied to cement pillars. My best guess is that series of gusts were topping 40-45 MPH and may have been more. Jacqueline is very much an expert paddler and coach, and it stopped her too, so at least I felt Anna and I were not just being wimps and were too weak. Jacqueline is NOT a weak paddler. In fact she’s a long way from it. But it didn’t matter. The winds said “stop” and we did. In about 2 minutes it dropped to a point we could continue. So for the first time out I got some deep and lasting impressions.
I did find the TOC does and excellent job at resisting weather cocking. I did use the skeg a little in going back to the launch point, with the wind at my 7:30-8:00 position, but only used it (or felt I should try it) for maybe 1000 yards. And to be completely honest I know I could have gone it with no skeg at all, but after going into that wind for 3 miles I was ready to make things a bit easier. Not needing to use any corrective strokes with the wind behind me made the skeg very welcome feature. I deployed it fully and found that was too much. The stern lee-cocked so I retracted it to the 1/2 way point and then the TOC tracked like a road car.
As of now, I would say this kayak IS going to have a learning curve for me. I believe it’s going to be the best kayak I own for rolling, and it has enough capacity in it’s compartments to pack for a few days out. It’s very good in strong wind and all the chop that comes with it.
And I’ll give a few thought later on the Illaga too. Anna seems to have swallowed the bait and got very interested in the GL style kayaks and bought an Illaga when Jacqueline got here. I’ll be posting some of her impressions soon (or get her to do it)
Anna had never sat in a GL kayak before yesterday and this was her 1st experience ever in training to roll. In 30 seconds (yes 30 seconds ) under Jacqueline’s tutoring she was doing a balance brace and recovering on the back deck and doing it in rough water.
I think she’s REALLY going to like this. She’s a total natural. I am so proud of her! 
So we now have 3 Rebel kayaks on the wall braces in my shed. I have only 6 hours of experience in the TOC as of this writing, and not even 1 minute yet in the Jara, so more impressions will come in the coming weeks and months about the TOC, the Illaga and the Jara.