Swimmy Tim
Paddler
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2015
- Messages
- 11
I will be purchasing a performance touring kayak in the next few months. I'm looking for the ever elusive do mostly everything model. Decent in rough water, not a slug on flat water, for lots of day trip exploring and a couple multi-day journeys a year. Also, it should be reasonably comfortable (I'm approaching 50), minimal leaking, durable, reputable, and on and on and on you betcha. A stretch to achieve no doubt, but may as well aim for the sky I say.
I've discovered my trips tend to be more destination oriented (eg. to see something cool) then playing in the waves and rockgardens (I whitewater kayak and surf for that thrill). So I think I have nixed more playful boats like the Romany Sport and WS Zephyr off the list. I've also ruled out composite on account of the care required in handling around rocky shorelines and beaches. I'm 6 foot 4, 185 pounds, size 12 feet and reasonably experienced in west coast paddling. I am used to the tight fit of a whitewater boat. I don't want to carry a tank, but realize there's a tradeoff with weight vs. durability. See the sky aiming thinger referenced above. Oh ya thought seriously about P&H but I have read numerous problems with very leaky hatches and skudder issues, so ruled out the Scorpio.
The Tempest 170 and Delta 16 sound good on paper and review well. I'm concerned about leaky hatches and maneuverability in the tempest, and the durability of the Delta. I will be demoing both the boats mentioned above soon. Just looking for any advice or personal thoughts on these from the "in" crowd. Feel free to share any other random thoughts you have on sky aiming and kayaking. I should note that I've read lots of discussions on these boats and while there's snippets of wisdom, but maybe there's a fresh perspective out there in webland? I posted this on paddling.com as well.
Thanks!
I've discovered my trips tend to be more destination oriented (eg. to see something cool) then playing in the waves and rockgardens (I whitewater kayak and surf for that thrill). So I think I have nixed more playful boats like the Romany Sport and WS Zephyr off the list. I've also ruled out composite on account of the care required in handling around rocky shorelines and beaches. I'm 6 foot 4, 185 pounds, size 12 feet and reasonably experienced in west coast paddling. I am used to the tight fit of a whitewater boat. I don't want to carry a tank, but realize there's a tradeoff with weight vs. durability. See the sky aiming thinger referenced above. Oh ya thought seriously about P&H but I have read numerous problems with very leaky hatches and skudder issues, so ruled out the Scorpio.
The Tempest 170 and Delta 16 sound good on paper and review well. I'm concerned about leaky hatches and maneuverability in the tempest, and the durability of the Delta. I will be demoing both the boats mentioned above soon. Just looking for any advice or personal thoughts on these from the "in" crowd. Feel free to share any other random thoughts you have on sky aiming and kayaking. I should note that I've read lots of discussions on these boats and while there's snippets of wisdom, but maybe there's a fresh perspective out there in webland? I posted this on paddling.com as well.
Thanks!
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