Re: [Paddlewise] P&H Sirius

Hi Tom,

I asked the same question a couple weeks ago, and I will forward some of
the replies I got to you by email. The Sirius isnt really a hard chined
kayak, so I'll start with that. I've paddled a friend's Sirius a few times,
and I will be getting one in just a couple days. It's a very nice boat from
what I could tell, but I think you'll find it very different from the boat
you paddle now and it will take some adjustment. It's supposed to be a
great rough water boat but I havent had the chance to see for myself yet. I
wouldnt call it a beginner's boat, but there are different schools of
thought on that. I found it tippier than my Romany which had a 21.5 inch
beam, which in turn was much tippier than my previous 24 inch boat. It only
took a couple weeks to get used to my Romany, and I felt pretty good in the
Sirius after a couple hours. It depends on your skills, and how much time
you are willing to spend developing them. I dont think the Sirius is  a
great choice for people who dont have, or dont intend to learn good bracing
and rolling skills. Some people pick that up real quick, some dont, some
dont want to or intend to, and I dont know which category you fall into. My
friend had not learned many skills when he bought the Sirius. It took him a
long time, over a year, to become comfortable in it, and another year for
him to really learn the skills that (I Think) he should have learned much
sooner. You might be comfortable much quicker, but definitely try before
you buy.

I think what they mean by "surprisingly stable" on the P&H page is that
it's got good secondary stability CONSIDERING how little initial stability
it has. And they're right, but I think that at least decent skills would be
very helpful to take advantage of that secondary stability and be
comfortable with the initial. I can tell you more in a few days when I'm
sitting in one of my own


Wayne


At 05:08 PM 9/15/98 -0400, Tom Dittrich wrote:
>I'm in the market for a fiberglass, hard-chined kayak, and am looking at
>the P&H Sirius.  I'll be able to demo one in a couple weeks, but am very
>interested in hearing from current and past owners.
>
>Right now I paddle a Osprey Standard from Pygmy Boats, which is a
>stitch-and-glue kit made out of mahogany marine plywood. It is 24" wide
>by 15' 8" long, and is multi-chined.  The Sirius is just 20" wide, which
>makes me a little nervous.  However, the P&H web site says the secondary
>stability is just fine.  
>
>Any help out there?
>
>Tom Dittrich
>
 
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