I just rented a Tempest 170 to try something faster and skinnier than my current boat. It was not as stable but I expected that from a boat 2+ inches narrower than what I paddle now. I found that the boat didn’t accelerate as quickly as my Necky Zoar but that the top speed seemed faster. I don’t have a way to measure it.
But my big question is; does the seat adjust forward and backward?
I would like to bring a leg out of the boat while sitting and my knee hits the front of the cockpit. Moving the seat one inch would do the trick. I also thought that the huge gap behind the back band was a bit of wasted space.
Of course this could throw off the balance but when doing some tests, I found that the boat handled fine when I paddled, braces, and edged, while leaning back more than a few inches.
Any thoughts on the search position and the cockpit size?
Any thoughts on if I’ll do better than 3.2 MPH over 10 miles in this boat vs. the 14 foot Zoar?
Oh, and I can get a 2008 model that was a rental at a local hop for somewhere under $1,000.00. It seem like new.
Thanks.
Dave
check the motor.
I can consistently over distance maintain 5 mph (2 to 3 miles) with my plastic tempest 170. I can push it to nearly six for a moderate sprint.
A nice easy cruise is right at 4.5 mph for miles and miles.
Lots of people have chosen to move the seat back a couple of inches as they feel that the handling of the boat actually gets better. I haven't felt the need.
paul
I Did It
Moved seats back in Tempests. I let the dealer move the one in the poly boat. I moved the one in the composite boat myself. Much more comfortable pushed back a bit.
You BETTER average better than 3.2 over 10 miles or we will taunt you and taunt you a second time.
How much did you move it?
How far did you move the seat? I’d like to go back two inches or maybe 3. I’m skilled with tools so I should not have a problem if the boat is not… odd.
As for taunting, I look forward to going more than 3 MPH. After hearing others speeds, I’m sure I want a faster boat.
I might just go tot he kayak shop and buy the rental from the guy. The price is much more in my range at under $1000. It paddled straight so unless it sagged on the kayak rack or something, it should be really nice boat.
Dave
Tempest 170
Sometime in '08 Tempest 170 (plastic) began to sell with the seat farther back and the footpeg rails farther forward compared to earlier years.
I learned this the hard way after trying an '08, fitting nice, then buying a late '07 and not fitting at all...
The seat is not adjustable. I moved it by drilling another set of holes farther aft. The 4 holes are now about equally spaced from each other to give you an indication about how far I moved it. You do not want to move it all the way back as you will not be able to lay back on the rear deck if you do.
I also moved the foot rails similarly forward, bit only one hole on each side was needed as the rails had an unused hole in the right place to reuse the rear hull mount point in a new place on the rail.
That gave me the necessary room to fit. However, the simpler trick for you if you fit otherwise would be to jsut relax the backband fully - then you can go just about as far as I go now while entering/exiting, then seat as you would and tighten.
I think the seat forward is better as it gives you a little more room in the back for layback rolls. But in my position it is almost as good. Not sure how the balance of the boat is affected if any - my feet are pretty long so they already were tipping the balance forward, so I think I just evened it out from where I started.
As for speed, I've averaged just over 4.8 mph over 8 miles at a "race" pace in the Tempest. Keep in mind that was my first outing with that boat and may be I was on my first week with a wing paddle which is too big for the speed of this boat (requires too much power), plus there were some waves/wind chop from the wrong direction (either side or against me) so that slowed me down (and no, these were not helping on the way back as the return path was different).
Going at 3.5 mph you can go for as long as you want, may be 4 mph. But over 4 mph the resistance increases dramatically. It is not the fastest boat out there even though it is only 22" - at 17' length its waterline is significantly shorter than that, has rocker and is pretty square on the sides, so lots of resistance at higher speeds.
When I paddle hard it moves like a motor boat with a flat front, trying to come out the water and up rather than slicing thru like some faster hulls do...
move it
it won’t mess the trim of the boat up enough to matter.
leave clearance to lay-back.
steve
I Moved the Seat Back One Bolt Hole
With the poly boat the dealer drilled 2 new holes in the back and welded shut the forward ones. They did a very nice job. My buddy and I did no drilling with the fiberglass boat. We sawed excess plastic off the back of the seat and re-installed the seat one bolt hole back. I plugged the two forward holes with the bolts just to keep the water out. The seat is held in with two bolts instead of four but that seat ain’t going anywhere. Ahhh… perfect.
no taunting intended.
Group paddles are lucky to get 3.5 miles per hour realistically. While the tempest is not the fastest boat out there by any means, it was never intended to be a racer. It was designed to be a good all round sea kayak with predictable behavior. However it is not a barge and the comment about checking the motor was not intended to be a taunt but rather to try and get you to think about what you are doing. Is it the paddle? Perhaps a lesson or two for a forward stroke that minimizes arm paddling and emphasizes torso rotation? Dunno. It is just that your comment about 3 miles an hour or so seemed pretty low compared to what i have experienced and read (and I am no athlete…just ask Flatpick about that. …or anyone really. 
)
Paul
he’s NO athlete
but that said, Paul es correcto, the T is NOT a slug nor a race horse. I have done extensive heart rate monitor/gps tests with all OUR boats and many of THEIR boats and I can tell ya what boats are effecient and which ones are not. Well actually I’m NOT going to tell you…but the T falls right i n line with many of the boats in it’s class, far as speed/glide goes.
steve