Re: [Paddlewise] Pygmy Coho vs. Arctic Hawk

Dear Edward,

I've paddled the Pygmy Coho only briefly on flatwater, but it was enought
to convince me that it is a remarkable boat. I've paddled a lot of boats,
and it is the first to earn such praise from me. Carves edged turns very
fast with no input from the paddle, but otherwise tracks well in
crosswinds. (Weathercocking is more pronounced on smooth water with 6-10
knots wind than rougher water with stronger winds.) Very nice secondary
stability and good speed. I sort of consider it a wooden version of the
Mariner II -- the Coho is a great full-blown expedition boat. I am
convinced that the Pygmy construction is at least as strong as all-glass
or kevlar.

The other nice things about this boat that really set it apart are the
looks, the weight, and the price. Varnished Mahogany is soooo beautiful,
40 lbs weight is really nice for carrying it around, and $700 is a great
price for the complete kit. Although, there are some extras, such as $85
for hatches and bulkheads, and $20 for deck rigging. Even so, it
is a great deal for a fantastic design.

Unfortunately, I have not paddled the Arctic Hawk, but I have seen it in
the store. It looks like a fun boat, but it definitely is limited on
storage space compared to the Coho. I would guess that the Artic Hawk
would be a little twitchier and perhaps a little more exciting in rough
water. The Coho will probably be a lot more forgiving to the non-expert
paddler. In the hands of the expert, I would guess that performance is
fairly similar. 

Sorry for all the guesswork. I have just taken delivery of my Pygmy Coho
kit, and I'll give a more complete breakdown of the Pygmy's handling in
really rough water once I have it built.

Cheers,
Kevin

ps. one nice thing about Pygmy is that they advocate using a sea sock with
their boats. Very smart in my opinion.... 

	 ___________________                                                            
	/   Kevin Whilden   \
       |Dept. of Geosciences \___
       |University of Washington \
       |kwhilden_at_u.washington.edu| 
        \________________________/                       

On Thu, 4 Jun 1998, Edward Sullivan 503-778-2429 FAX 778-2491 wrote:

>    Please compare and contrast. I want a light, fast, high performance 
>    touring boat and was just about to get a Coho kit when a used Wilderness 
>    Systems Arctic Hawk surfaced. Somebody warned me to watch out for flaws 
>    in the Kevlar process in earlier boats (not W.S. boats specifically). 
>    Any experience? 
>    
>    Comments on the performance of either, or building the Coho are 
>    appreciated. 
> ***************************************************************************
> PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
> Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
> ***************************************************************************
> 

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************