what
about a 3 piece Nordkapp would you like to see a picture of? I have one.
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/ice.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/ice-paddle-5-1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/3p-Nordkapp-1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/4-on-a-car-1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/Ice-Profile.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/friday-13-paddle-1-1.jpg
Best Wishes
Roy
What the…
My God Roy! Is that a Euro-Blade in your hands in photo #1?
Gasp! 
Chris G
Yes Chris
I was a traditional paddler for many years, before I became a "Traditional" paddler
prefer the Greenland blades these days
Hate to carry the one piece ones tho.....love my take aparts:)
Best Wishes
Roy
This is my opinion on sectionals
The biggest issue with 3 piece kayaks is moving the bags. One has a sense of 19th century Victorian era expeditions with the camel trains and porters, merely by moving the bags from the car and through the doors to the ticket counter. Then there is the cost, variously interpreted by airlines. Once there, the vehicle proposed to move “the bags” to the water needs to accommodate them in addition to your gear. Once at the water the assembly with a 4 bolt design takes between 20 minutes to 35 minutes. The reach to the forward bulkhead is the issue.
The Tide Race, Nigel Dennis and Rock Pool kayaks use buckles. I have no experience with those. They appear to be much easier to put together. I will say that the 4 bolt design is very stiff. Care must be taken to ensure a very tight fit or you will ship water into your bulkheads. That happened only once. I am assuming that the buckle design folks wanted to eliminate penetrations into the boat which is another reason to do that. Another issue to consider is the added 10-12 pounds to the kayak due to extra bulkheads and hardware. A wise paddler indeed one would be if they carried a pair of ratchets and extended heads in the day hatch.
On the water it paddles like a single piece hardshell. There are no further issues. I’ve put the Nordkapp Jubilee HM through some snarky places, including large surf, tide races, high winds and rocky areas. That boat, now owned by Chuck Freedman, is a fantastic boat. It did everything I asked of it. There were no skegs, rudders or anything to deal with. It went where I pointed it. It was nimble enough (heeled over) for me to get my 3* in it and serve as my solitary all purpose boat.
Where the 3 piece concept comes into play is the length of your trip. If it’s over 2 weeks on the water, then the misery of moving the bags from your door to the destination begins to fade. The hatches, the smooth interior for dragging dry bags in and out, your gear to use at sea in a day hatch all are fantastic on a “your boat wherever you want to paddle it” style trip. Folding kayaks can be a pain in the neck when it comes to surf imploded hatches on the roll top and clip hatches, sliding gear in and out along the frame members, no day hatch and the necessity of a sea sock. Plus they leak a lot.
Most folders have no trouble with a Garcia bear resistant food canister. The Khatsalano, my folder, does. They are a very wise piece of equipment anywhere along the BC or Alaskan coasts. The Valley accepted one in the rear hatch. Most folders are very tough, at least the ones made by Feathercraft. I’ve put as much abuse on it as I have any hardshell and it is one tough cookie. It is a delight, an absolute jewel, to get from my door to the launch of my choice. Night and day different than the sectional concept. Plus, the Khats is fast to paddle, but slow to assemble.
If I were space challenged as in a living environment, I would have the 3 piece as it gives me the option of removing only the rear section, propping up the cockpit and front section in a corner and very fast assembly. The more impediments to the paddle, the less paddling. Additionally, I have few restrictions getting it to some oddball place that looks great to paddle, other than my logistical skills and ability to recruit some folks to help out. My take anyway on the concept of 3 piece kayaks. It works, it shines in certain areas and is pure drudgery in other areas.
Cheers,
Rob G
Thanks, Stick. Kajaksport boats look…
super nice. I have three Valley boats now and seem to enjoy the fit and finish; hard to change.
If you get a KJS Viking section in your store, Id be interested in it. I gaher that most stores do not stock sectionals routinely; only special order.
Fadedred, enjoy the pics, Nordy HM
I’m looking for something like that boat, yes. Wanna sell yours? Trade you for a Prijon Calabria with Prijon rudder plus a Dagger RPM whitewater boat.
Sweet photos, TSC. I like the color…
and thanks for the assembly info. Sounds like a wicked long extended socket wrench is mandatory.
Nice summary, RobG. Perhaps I shoulda
…bought yours when I was thinking about it in 2006. My loss, TSCs gain.
Lots of info in your post, it’ll live in in Advice archive plus I intende to reread. Thx
Just a 10 inch extension
Thanks you two for posting pics
Roy, the one with the iceberg hanging on the left is an awesome shot.
Like many here I’m in love with kayaks for many reasons but I can’t come up with an excuse to get a sectional but I’m fascinated by the concept…
So Roy I think you have the Nordkap sectional and a Khat…if suddenly you were to head off to a place of your choice to paddle and shipping the kayak was free…which would you choose?
Hey, New York Staters: Avocet 4 Sale
There’s a very nice purple Valley Avocet RM plastic on eBay right now for les than $1000 (retails for over $1600) from a guy who is going to “upgrade” to fiberglass, likely for $3000+ dollars and saving about 5 lbs over the plastic he is selling. But hey, there’s no better way to while away Labor Day weekend each year than with a six pack of Miller Lite and a big bottle of gel coat.
Anyhoo, neat triple layer plastic boat for sale in NY State.
Avocet or Aquanaut RM?
Cooldoc,
Are you sure it's an Avocet RM up for sale on e-bay? I did a search and all I could find was an Aquanaut RM (purple in Westchester Co, NY).
Still a good price on a nice boat.
Thanks,
Joe
Oops, yes, right, Aquanaut.
Valley Aquanaut LV and Avocet RM-tcvrider
You know the score, so tel one of your paddling buddies to snatch the eBay one up.
3 Piece Kayak
The 3-piece kayak offers the opportunity to experience amazing travel adventures, such as seeing your bow section fly past your head while attempting a surf landing on the West Coast of Australia.
See the 2 pics from the damaged boat and the SAS Emergency Rescue team who retrieved the kayak and my gear with me 2 days after I hiked out of the remote area where the accident occured, an area only accessible by 4-wheel drive.
http://marcusdemuth.com/kayakkit.aspx or
http://marcusdemuth.com/aussie06.aspx
However, I went ahead and just ordered a new 3-piece from Nigel Dennis, this time with 2 recessed clips on the top of the kayak, and 2 on the bottom of the hull. The clips will save weight, will make the connection watertight (no holes for bolts) and will (hopefully) make the connection more secure. The new kayak will also feature a wire skeg, with the skeg control located in the stern section.
When I took the 3-piece back from Australia to New York City, Qantas did not charge anything for the excess baggage (0$).
Continental charged $100 one-way from NYC-Santiago, and LAN Chile another $50 from Santiago to Puerto Montt. The ferry from Puerto Montt-Puerto Chacabuco charged another $25, the amount they would have charged for a bike.
When asked at the check-in counter what you are checking in, I realized it is an advantage for both you and the airline representative when you say you are checking in a “surf-kayak … yes, you are correct, it is like a surfboard you can paddle”. This way, the airline rep will look up the fee they would charge if you had a surfboard with you. It also speedens up the check-in process considerably.
Marcus
Thanks Marcus jeffporcaro.
That is great information about the surf kayak idea at check-in. Good thought.
Sorry about your experience with the prior NDK sectional blowing apart on you in Aussieland. Don't feel badly, though, it's likely not all sectional kayaks, just NDK shityaks.
Great tips and thanks for your input. I hope you can sell the rehabbed Explorer via Pnet ads to some rec kayaking dolt that hasn't read this thread about the blow-up of your yak, or the NDK boat threads that explain everything from lousy decklines and tape jobs to broken seats and see-through gel coats on Nigel Dennis yaks. They must be constructed in some UK high school shop class that has graduated from wooden toilet seats to sea kayaks, and is laughing all the way to the pub every time they sell one of those bad boys.
Don't give up. Try and get another sectional like a Valley. I will let you know if I turn up anything in the NY area.
Happy paddling, Marcus jeffporcaro.
3 Piece kayak
Hello cooldoctor,
thank you for your reply!
Yes, the experiences on the coast of Australia were more than I wished for, but in the end, it all worked out.
The 2 gentlemen from the Australian SAS (State Emergency Servises) introduced me to the craft of home-brewing after retrieving my gear and kayak and spending all day with them in the 4-wheel drive. Means, I had a splendid trip after all, and I am currently home-brewing my 14th batch of home-brew … thanks to the SAS!
NDK: NDK boats seem to have a bad reputation, my take is, that a Valley (or any other boat make) would have broken on this trip as well. I saw so many broken surfboards on the beaches of Australia, which did not have 100 pounds of camping gear and water stored inside them, and they also broke. I felt I was in good company (in addition to the SAS).
I just paddled with an NDK explorer around Ireland, 42 days of paddling, it held up fanatstic and performed amazingly well in the widest array of conditions. I feel I owe this boat a lot, especially after having paddled the West coast of Ireland with it. The first thing I did after returning home from Ireland was putting in a order for a new 3-piece in the Elite lay-up. I heard from one friend and from several people on this forum that they experienced QC problems with their NDK boats, but the result seemed that NDK always treated them with a new boat, or managed to fix the problems through the local dealer to the 100% satisfaction of the paddler.
Marcus
possibly
Tim Sonnenfeld in Marine City, Michigan may have a Sectional Nordy for sale, I’m not sure if he still has it or not. If you can’t track him down via internet search, shoot me an email and I’ll call him.
3 piece sea kayak
I have a brand new NDK Exporer LV–Black over Black red tapping and deck lines…never been used
3 piece sea kayak
I have a brand new NDK Exporer LV–Black over Black red tapping and deck lines…never been used
