Yeah, like that
my very bad. Mea maxima culpa nfm
.
paddle like a rockstar
the tour never ends.
QCC 10x
If you want fast, sexy and quality build.
Ignore the Brit boat bias in the previous recommendations. 
No thanks.
The plastic eliza is a horrible boat - don’t get me started. The composite I have heard is different.
Stay in Touch
Keep me posted on your search. I really liked the Suka too but have heard that there are quality/durability issues with Current Designs. I have a P&H Capella 161 and hate it. I like the Avocet for rock gardening and playing in surf but it is slow when I need to get miles in and way shorter.
Thanks!!!
Thanks for the great run down on boats. I demoed the Suka last fall and loved her. My boyfriend thinks that I need something in the 17+ range for covering distances when we expedition. I have a Capella 161 and don’t care for it and would love to sell if anyone is interested.
C
Shame on you for bringing a non Brit
style boat into the mix!
With that said, it has all those ones with the odd names above beaten by a mile in all aspects.
But then again, I am quite prejudice since “the bride” was in on the design of it and has the first one built.
Cheers,
JackL
Good suggestions
What about some longer boats? I love the Romany but don’t think that it will be fast enough. My Avocet is great in surf and rock garden play which is the majority of my paddling but is slow for straight out distance. I don’t care too much for the Capella 161 (actually have one that I would like to sell).
C
hmmm, by checking
Cate’s blog it appears that she favors rock gardens and rough stuff where possibly a QCC might not really be at home when it comes to maneuverability.
Just an observation…
Not many choices…
My wife detests computers, so I am acting as a proxy.
She is 5’3", and is finally up to 105lb (been working at building some upper body strength). Quite skilled (could be mistaken for an ex-slalom paddler), with experience from day paddles in Force 7 wind, to two week trips in outer coast conditions.
And she is frustrated by the poor choices for women hers size!
Currently, she is using a Vela. At the time she got it, it was one of the only boats to fit her torso, and not have excess wetted surface. But it never quite thrilled her.
For the past year, she has been trying out boats (given our situation, she can use boats for up to several days, to really give them a test).
The Eliza she paddled for 10 minutes, and will not get in it again.
The Romany LV she paddled in rough conditions, and loved it. Called it a “ego booster”. But in average touring conditions, she thought it way too much work compared to the narrower Vela.
The last two months, she was comparing a Force 3 against a Tiderace Xplore S. One thing really stood out- they were fun to paddle at 4-4.5kn (she is used to flatwater race boats, and the resistance of sea kayaks has always bothered her). Her heart rate at 4kn in those two boats was remarkably lower than in other boats. The fit for her torso was slightly better in the Impex, but she liked the manuevrability of the Tiderace. Given that her preference is to do day trips at a workout pace, or paddle a loaded boat on trips, the efficiency and gear storage seemed to make these two boats her faves. She did not like the resistance of the NDK Explorer LV or the Valley Aquanaut LV.
And then…she paddled an Avocet LV. While we have not done the speed vs resistance thing (heart rate against flatwater speed) in it, overall, the boat just made her giggle. Now she wants to sell the Vela, and get an Avocet LV. She thought it nimble, quick, and still decent gliding. And comfortable.
But mostly, she just really liked it’s personality.
Goes to show that, after going through the check list, a boat decision is often more of an emotional decision.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
sending you an email
so as not to get completely nerdy and lightly porny
w. references to splayed thighs and the like.
OK, so you made me sit in this kayak again tonight 
basically, the thigh braces on the Suka are the best I’ve experienced in the small paddler boats I’ve tried. the only longer & wider ones came on the Romany LV which has what one male
friend of mine called “whitewater braces in a seakayak” and being a WW guy he would know.
I also figured something out. The reason I felt like I was sitting higher has to do w. lower coaming height at the thigh. Instead of my whole hip being buried well beneath the coaming, I can sit like I see some greenlanders do! This is good! Much easier to go into a set up and get more body torque.
I’ll take all the help w. my roll I can get…
Why do you say that?
Do you have experience with the 10x in rock gardens? Or some other reason you can articulate?
Curious otterslide
was the Eliza a poly version or composite. The comp version is a really playful boat. Some very high skill paddlers really like the comp version. Very playful and surfs great. Poly version is a different boat, detuned with rudder.
I think it works for average sized women, which most are. “Most” women “need” some room in the cockpit, just not a huge hull. For truly tiny women I think the Mystic may be the ticket.
17’ for expeditions
Cate: Impex Cat 3 put it high on your list to try.
Not dissing any others, just praising the Cat3 for being exquisitely built, sized for trips but with a just-right cockpit for us. I found the outfitting proportionate and comfortable, yet simple and easy to maintain in the field. The ridged hand carries under the kayak ends are one of those little details Impex does so well.
This was my pick for exactly the same purpose. I tend to daytrip more and go on long weekends, and I don’t need a 17 footer for that, nor do my muscles need the longer waterline to push.
So it fell off my list for that reason. But an entirely worthy boat to consider. Impex is a Canadian/US builder and their customer service is
very highly spoken of. I know Joe of Impex from Ladies of the Lake last year and he typifies the can do attitude of making things right for the customer.
Darn
patience, Andy 
you’ll get your own customized version soon enough!
Quality Control Issues
I currently have a CD Andromeda Kevlar and find absolutely no quality control issues what so ever. Just too big for me. That’s why I am selling it. I am a big fan of CD…that is until I find something better.
QC part II
Lucky paddler that I am, I am just 40 minutes from an excellent paddleshop in Wyandotte, MI that racks a lot of CDs on their showroom floor, plus a nice selection of demos.
Looked carefully at a Rumour, a Willow, the new Cypress, various versions of the Solstice, the Raven, the Libra XT Tandem and the Suka (they sold their Suka demo last season to someone who lived in Oregon!) All of them composite. All of them are beautifully finished inside and out. I think CD has really upped their game in the last 5 years.
Another thumbs up
For the Impex Force 3. I have had mine for two years and it is still a more capable boat than I am a paddler. It is great at going fast and straight as long as you have the engine to move it. At the same time, it maneuvers well on edge. I demo’ed the Suka, Eliza (composite), Mystic and Tempest 165 (plastic and composite) but at 5 feet and 125 pounds, the Force 3 is by far the best fitting boat I have found yet out of the box. The Avocet LV is still on my list of boats to try.
The one other boat that put a huge grin on my face was the Montauk in K-lite. It felt really nimble and playful and pretty damn fast as well.