sea kayak for small paddler (woman)

Continuing from previous thread
"I was hoping the Avocet LV would give me more speed and would be a more fun kayak for ocean paddles."



Given this and size info of the OP the Avocet LV would provide a close connecting fit, increased potential glide speed and nimbleness especially when heeled on edge.



Shorter length kayaks such as the Gemini will take more work for the same speed and longer such as the Etain will be heavier than the OP prefers.



The Atlantic LV is a slightly smoother primary stability Avocet but with the higher deck will be a more roomy fit as knees will be more upward with the 12" high deck height vs the lower Avocet LV. You like Orange? I happen to know of one available to go south of the Mason Dixon line.



Another option that fits petite paddlers is the Lincoln Schoodic. Low deck height, very straight tracking, quick 16’ at 42lbs. The base layup is a fg/Kevlar mix. It does come in a carbon layup at about 37lbs. Want to adopt a demo model?



Shipping costs what shipping costs. @$450 from NY to FL. Other options would be to sweet talk a P-Netter, attending the Sweetwater symposium, to help you out or if you know 3 friends between NY and Naples that want kayaks and I’ll then have an excuse for some vacation time, load the roof rack and make house calls.





See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

fb.me/theriverconnection




15’x20"
15 x 20 would have been perfect. Every time I see a Petite paddler thread I wish Wilderness Systems would make a Tempest 150 for the smaller folk.

Eliza better for her than Chatham
Smaller all around and very efficient. Cockpit designed for a womans body. Better tracking yet excellent on edge. First composite Eliza’s weighed 29 lbs in carbon / glass with soric coring. First three built by Stoddard Aerospace. Still have one of the originals. Superb rough water boat that surfs great for a sea kayak. Poly Eliza very different kayak than the skeg equipped composite version.



No idea what weights are now for a composite boat but they were being made in Thailand by Cobra Int. and were very well built.



Good luck with your search OP. Many good choices. Paddle many and buy what feels right, regardless of the logo. Then go use it.

quick question
Marshall - you said: “Shorter length kayaks such as the Gemini will take more work for the same speed and longer such as the Etain will be heavier than the OP prefers.”



I thought the Avocet was a higher rockered boat than the Gemini, which I guessed would have made the Avocet not as much faster than the Gemini? My girlfriend has a Gemini RM and I have been impressed with how fast it can go (she is much faster than when she was in her Alchemy S or Chatham 16). I haven’t been in an Avocet to compare. Sound like this is not your experience?

50 Pounds???
Wow!!! That’s too heavy. Even for macho me. You got to be a power lifter or something, for the gals I see launching their 21’+ outriggers here on the beach by themselves would think it crazy to paddle anything weighing over 20 pounds. However; if you can lift, load, unload from a SUV/Pickup and carry it yourself 100yds, w/o help, to the water; you’re amazing and have my respect. Otherwise, just stick to 16 - 25 pound boats, which you can handle yourself and show-up the boys.

Current Designs Suka is for sm paddlers.
I’m a 5’6", 160 lb male and couldn’t fit my thighs under the braces on the one I tried to squeeze into.



The Epic 16x may seem to large on paper, but they show up used in the southeast much more often than here in the midwest and they are very efficient boat and easy to keep moving, so it wouldn’t hurt to test paddle one, if you get the chance.

Rocker
All depends how much rocker profile the kayak has. Your GF has which Gemini? The ST or SP? I don’t have the Gemini sitting here but I did just measure the rocker on the Avocet LV that’s here and at where the rake of the bow meets the keel, there’s 4" whereas at the stern it’s 3".



The rocker of the SP is greater for the length of the kayak and the ST has a straighter keel. I’m guessing she has a ST?



The rocker of the Alchemy is huge. I taught a skills class in MD and one of the participants had an Alchemy cockpit down on his roof rack. The bow and stern toggles touched the hood and trunk of his Honda. I don’t recall the keel line of the Chatham but it has a lot of overhanging bow shortening it’s effective waterline for flatter water speed.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

fb.me/theriverconnection

RM
Is your measurement only getting the overhang? Doesn’t that ignore any rocker in the center of the boat?



She has an RM, which I had heard was supposed to be the plastic version of the SP, but everyone who has paddled seems to agree that it is not as sports play as they expected.



I just grabbed some images off the web that show the Geminis from the side (ignore the length difference - the images were different sizes and I didn’t get it exactly right when resizing) - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4637993/ValleyGemini.jpg. ST on top, RM in middle, and SP on bottom. Looking at how flat or curved they are along the bottom, it does look like the RM is closer to an ST. Looks pretty flat on the bottom until past the hatches on the ST and RM, where it looks like it starts curving up before the main hatches on the SP.

Measurement point
Hi Peter,

I took the measurement from point of where the rake of the bow meets the end of the keel, dry not wetted under load.



Your link didn’t work for me but I found a Gemini RM photo and the hull looks closer to the profile of the ST model. Just by eyeballing the photo the waterline length, laden, of the 14’10" Gemini is likely about 13’8" wetted whereas the Avocet should be about a foot longer. Keep in mind, I could jump into my demo model of the Avocet LV but at 200lbs. + kit I’m going to set it much deeper than the OP would. The OP stated that more potential glide speed than her Samba was what she desired and keeping the weight

Tess, don’t try to make sense of it
No one else can. Apparently Datakoll is a real person but his ability to communicate usefully is not there.

length/weight
The 16-17 foot length raises a question, since a 16 foot elfin stemmed hull will have a ~ 13 foot waterline. I would bet a 16 foot plumb stemmed hull, while potentially faster than the elfin boat, would offer more skin friction than most 125 pounders would find comfortable to drive.



Carry weight is another consideration for the more compact among us.

Swift’s Kiwassa 12.6 LT in Low Volume can be had at 27 lbs. The faster Saranac LV 14 comes in at 31 lbs. Both plumb stemmed, David Yost designs, www.swiftcanoe.com

Impex
Look for a used Impex Mystic or Montock. Highly over looked boats.

Scroll
What Celia said. I just scroll right past his posts.

Samba --> Fathom LV
If you like the Samba, but want something a little longer, slimmer and faster without adding much weight, how about Eddyline’s Fathom LV? It’s 21" longer, 1.5" narrower, and only 4 lbs. heavier. The basic hull geometry and handling characteristics are essentially the same, but it would be faster.



The full-size Fathom at 16’ 5" would probably a be a bit too big for someone your size, but the LV should fit like a glove. (I have a Samba myself and love it.)

I’ll sell her my Fathom LV.

patience
is key if looking for used. If you get set on a boat it may take a while to find without shipping expenses. What is the top end of your budget? I bought 3 used kayaks but it took well over a year to find one of them Libra XT tandem. They were all excellent deals. Don’t settle or rush and you will have it for years. New gives you the option of getting it quickly. Good luck on the search. google is good when searching but many ads will show up and they are sold.

Waterfield Trans AM

– Last Updated: Feb-23-16 10:14 AM EST –

This kayak is on Craigslist, in your area. The kayak belongs to Jay Rose, who runs the Naples Kayak Center. The Waterfields are Japanese imports. There are very few in the US. A limited supply, was imported by Northern Light Paddles. They weigh less than 40lbs. Black may be hot in Florida. NLP may have a few white ones left.

http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/col/boa/5443613904.html

http://www.northernlightpaddles.com/kayaks/waterfield-kayaks/

I’m probably the only one here
Who wants to buy that black Trans Am and put this decal on the deck:



http://tinyurl.com/jk79d2f

Thanks medawgone
Thanks … I’ll take a look. Yes, black would be too hot for FL, but I’ll take a look anyway.

16’
http://abitibico.com/en/products/performance-touring/montauk-16?results=897,96,898,900,899,904,903,902,901,905