Re: [Paddlewise] Boreal Design

Date:          30 Mar 98 16:11:15 -0500
From:          TeAntae Turner <tturner_at_diehlgraphsoft.com>
Subject:       [Paddlewise] Boreal Design
To:            Paddlewise <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>
Reply-to:      TeAntae Turner <tturner_at_diehlgraphsoft.com>

I had a chance to go to the Paddlesport '98 in New Jersey this weekend.
Very informative if not now giving me even more choices to consider.

One company whom I was impressed with was Boreal Design. Does anyone know
anything about their boats? That is, are they any good? Does anyone own
or has owned one?

Boreal Design is from Quebec, Canada and have dealers in Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Minnesota. For such
a  small operation their prices are competitive and there boats are very
good looking.

Thanks.

Tee

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I have a Boreal Saguenay, so here is my review.  Hope it helps.


Boreal Saguenay Review
----------------------

The Boreal Saguenay is a masterfully designed and crafted rough
weather expedition boat.  The computer assisted design is fluid, and
the construction is exceptionally robust, with few boats on the market
put together so well.

The deep cutter bow, common to many pre-20th century West Greenland
kayaks, helps it run into heavy seas, although this is at the expense
of speed over calm water.  The hull is V shaped forward, but shallow
arch under the full length of the cockpit, so while the Saguenay does
not have too much primary stability, the secondary stability is
excellent.  Without use of a paddle, it can be heeled over to the deck
and held indefinitely. 
 The stern, typical of most modern sea kayaks, is truncated.

The boat tracks well.  Turning is aided through the use of a
dependable Feathercraft foot-peg rudder, which provides better cockpit
storage access than a floorboard-stick rudder would, but unfortunately
limits leg extension and torso rotation in the stroke.  The padded
thigh braces are long, so the boat will fit a variety body shapes. 
The seat is deep set, which helps prevent hamstring cramping over long
days, but inhibits stroke leverage gained through higher seats.  The
single unit seat pad and backrest is both comfortable and durable, and
includes a handy map pocket. 
 The overall feeling in the cockpit is one of solid connection with
 the 
boat.

The cockpit accepts LC-1 size skirts, and both nylon and neoprene
skirts are available.  For hard-to-fit paddlers, Boreal will custom
cut their nylon skirts.  Unfortunately, the skirts do not have an
implosion spar.  Hatches are neoprene cover/hard shell/cinch strap,
which is a tried and true design, but is being supplanted by some sea
kayak manufacturers by hard shell/gasket hatches.  

The deck comes fully rigged, with the exception of a compass.  The 4"
compass platform is directly over the bow bulkhead partition, which
can make for a challenging installation.  The AquaMeter Sailor II
compass carried by Boreal is inferior in both design and manufacture,
for it does not offer declination adjustment and its lubber line does
not necessarily line up with its alignment mark.

Boreal paddles are as well crafted as their boats.  They offer both
standard and narrow blade width carbon-fibre paddles which are
exquisitely spooned and give very little cavitation.  A chopped
shaft/narrow blade paddle offers a high rev/low torque solution to
managing such a large boat.

The staff at Boreal paddle what they sell, so you are assured that
they are both knowledgable about their designs and receptive to your
comments.

If you are after an extremely well designed and constructed heavy
weather expedition sea kayak, you should consider the Boreal Saguenay.
 They can be contacted at: Boreal Design, 108 Amsterdam, C.P. 37,
St-Augustin, Quebec, Canada, G3A 1V9; voice: 418-878-3099; fax:
418-878-3459.


Richard Culpeper
www.geocities.com/culpeper
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