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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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 > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
TOM SAID... >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. > 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. The sirius is that narrow...I paddled one for a afternoon in Singapore couple winters ago, I never realised it was a narrow boat, ithandled quite fine in the straight of Johor [ between Singapore and Malasia] and the place has moderate current, big ship travel and some wind, it was a tad choppy but very nice... Had great fun in it , and my friend liked the doubble klepper too was a great day in the tropics What about this pigmy...How do you like it?? enjoy Yours naturally sylvio lamarche Wycliffe organic gardens & Exotic locales all over the globe *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Tom, You might be interested in the new Pygmy Arctic Tern, which will be revealed at the West Coast Symposium this weekend. It has a single hard chine, is 17'x23", and supposedly handles rough water, and turns very well. I am looking forward to demoing it at the show. I am currently building one as well, but it is not quite floatable yet. I think this boat, and the multi-chined Coho are a significant improvement over their other designs, because the boats turn so well when edged, yet track well when flat. Cheers, kevin ___________________ / Kevin Whilden \ |Dept. of Geosciences \___ |University of Washington \ |kwhilden_at_u.washington.edu| \________________________/ On Tue, 15 Sep 1998, 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 > > > > > > *************************************************************************** > 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/ ***************************************************************************
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. I picked up my new Sirius last Friday. I took it out into some of the wildest surf I've ever been in last Saturday, and it performed very well. I was especially impressed with how it sliced through the breaking waves. Most boats that I've paddled try to both slice and ride over waves, and usually dont end up doing either very well. The Sirius sliced them effortlessly. It does give a wet ride because of that (although the low volume deck is lower too), but that doesnt bother me since I'm going to get wet in surf anyway. It doesnt maneuver as well as my Romany did, but the difference is small and made up for by its other characteristics. I didnt get to do much real "surfing" because the waves were so wild that they caused almost instant broaching, but it handled that very well. It seemed to blow downwind a bit (the bow) during stronger gusts, but the seat is adjustable and moving it might correct that. I bought the low volume version, and if you have big feet you'd probably be better off with a larger model. I have size 7 1/2 feet and they fit comfortably, but My friend (who also bought a new medium volume and now has two) said it was too small for his feet. It has enough room for tripping if you are a light traveller, but if you like to bring a lot of gear you might want a larger model (the low volume is rated at 210 lbs including gear and paddler). Since most of my paddling is day trips, surfplay and overnight trips, the low volume will work great for me, for now. I paddled it briefly in relatively flat water, and was very happy with its performance again. It tracks very well, and when the side wind picked up a small amount of skeg corrected for that easily, although I realize that using it is a sign of my failure as A Compleat Paddler. I say "so what" and my wimpy RSI wrists and shoulders were happy I did. I didnt even feel tippy in it at all, as a matter of fact it feels more stable in bigger waves. Anyway, I love it so far, let me know if you have any more questions. BTW, my friend who bought his second one (medium volume) will probably be selling one of them in the next few months. Overall, I think the construction quality is better than my Romany too. Perfect gelcoat, no dings or bubbles, plenty of clearance for the skirt, DRY hatches, and of course that wonderful P&H skeg. I dont care for the pinholes in the bulkheads (to equalize pressure), but thats easily fixed. I was hoping to get more experience paddling it on flatwater tomorrow, but it looks like some more 5-8 footers are heading down the chute. Rats. ;-) Wayne *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
>From Wayne > >I picked up my new Sirius last Friday. I took it out into some of the >wildest surf I've ever been in last Saturday, and it performed very well. I >was especially impressed with how it sliced through the breaking waves. >Most boats that I've paddled try to both slice and ride over waves, and >usually dont end up doing either very well. The Sirius sliced them >effortlessly. It does give a wet ride because of that (although the low >volume deck is lower too), but that doesnt bother me since I'm going to get >wet in surf anyway. --------------- i'm new to this stuff... does slice through waves/wet ride mean that the crests strike your chest? if so, that's certainly cool. been there a couple of times... enjoy your boat. bye bye bliven *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 08:01 PM 9/25/98 -0400, Larry Bliven wrote: > >i'm new to this stuff... >does slice through waves/wet ride mean that the crests strike your chest? It does anyway if the waves are big enough, in the other (few) boats I've paddled in surf. The Sirius seems to slice through much quicker and cleaner than the others, hence less time and turbulent up-and-down getting through the surf zone. That was my initial impression, today I took it out in more reasonable surf, 3-4 feet. I was thinking of your question as I went through. Yup, the waves did hit me, but the effect of the waves on the boat were minimal, almost not noticable. It just slices right through breakers almost effortlessly. It may not be what everyone wants, but I liked it a lot. Its wetter, but quicker and easier than my Romany was (which I still think is a great design though). Wayne *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks to everyone on this list who helped with my search for a new kayak. I was initially interested in the P&H Sirius. Soon I added the Romany 16 to the short list. A few others considered were the WS Arctic Sparrow, VCP Pintail and even a Nordkapp. A late addition to the list--added by the helpful folks at the Small Boat Shop in Norwalk, CT--was a Current Design Slipstream. The Slipstream is new this year, and is a scaled-down version of the Gulfstream. Specs are 16' X 22" and 49 lbs in fiberglass. The hull design is by Derek Hutchinson, and it includes a drop-down skeg with a slider control that's right next to the cockpit. The two I ended up paddling were the Romany and the Slipstream. With the Romany, the bow kept trying to climb out of the water whenever I applied a power stroke. This felt very inefficient to me. Plus, because of its more pronounced rocker, it wandered a little too much for my liking under normal cruising stokes. The Slipstream, OTOH, has a very fine bow and sliced through the water. Plus with less rocker, it tracked pretty well without the skeg deployed. I ended up buying the Slipstream and took it for a five-hour paddle the next day. Half was in Long Island Sound (1-foot waves) and half in a small, winding river. I am extremely pleased with my choice. Anyone who's looking for a smaller, low-volume boat should consider the Slipstream. tdittrich > -----Original Message----- > From: wayne steffens [SMTP:wsteffen_at_skypoint.com] > Sent: Friday, September 25, 1998 7:00 PM > To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] P&H Sirius > > 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. > > > I picked up my new Sirius last Friday. I took it out into some of the > wildest surf I've ever been in last Saturday, and it performed very > well. I > was especially impressed with how it sliced through the breaking > waves. > Most boats that I've paddled try to both slice and ride over waves, > and > usually dont end up doing either very well. The Sirius sliced them > effortlessly. It does give a wet ride because of that (although the > low > volume deck is lower too), but that doesnt bother me since I'm going > to get > wet in surf anyway. It doesnt maneuver as well as my Romany did, but > the > difference is small and made up for by its other characteristics. I > didnt > get to do much real "surfing" because the waves were so wild that they > caused almost instant broaching, but it handled that very well. It > seemed > to blow downwind a bit (the bow) during stronger gusts, but the seat > is > adjustable and moving it might correct that. > > I bought the low volume version, and if you have big feet you'd > probably be > better off with a larger model. I have size 7 1/2 feet and they fit > comfortably, but My friend (who also bought a new medium volume and > now > has two) said it was too small for his feet. It has enough room for > tripping if you are a light traveller, but if you like to bring a lot > of > gear you might want a larger model (the low volume is rated at 210 lbs > including gear and paddler). Since most of my paddling is day trips, > surfplay and overnight trips, the low volume will work great for me, > for now. > > I paddled it briefly in relatively flat water, and was very happy with > its > performance again. It tracks very well, and when the side wind picked > up a > small amount of skeg corrected for that easily, although I realize > that > using it is a sign of my failure as A Compleat Paddler. I say "so > what" and > my wimpy RSI wrists and shoulders were happy I did. I didnt even feel > tippy > in it at all, as a matter of fact it feels more stable in bigger > waves. > Anyway, I love it so far, let me know if you have any more questions. > BTW, > my friend who bought his second one (medium volume) will probably be > selling one of them in the next few months. > > Overall, I think the construction quality is better than my Romany > too. > Perfect gelcoat, no dings or bubbles, plenty of clearance for the > skirt, > DRY hatches, and of course that wonderful P&H skeg. I dont care for > the > pinholes in the bulkheads (to equalize pressure), but thats easily > fixed. > > I was hoping to get more experience paddling it on flatwater tomorrow, > but > it looks like some more 5-8 footers are heading down the chute. Rats. > ;-) > > Wayne > ********************************************************************** > ***** > 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:24 AM 9/28/98 -0400, Tom Dittrich wrote: >Thanks to everyone on this list who helped with my search for a new >kayak. I was initially interested in the P&H Sirius. Great to hear you found a boat you like! Just a few more comments on the Sirius for those who might be interested. Once I took the footpegs out of my low volume, my friend's size 11 1/2 feet fit just fine. I have a 30 inch inseam, he has 32 inch. I have very little trouble getting in to the cockpit, which is about 2 inches shorter than the medium volume (hf) model and considerably smaller than the Romany cockpit I ws used to (and liked). He had a bit more trouble though, getting his legs under the lower front deck. Long legged types might want to keep that in mind and go for the hf. We switched boats back and forth and his hf now seems (to me) like a barge compared to the lively low volume. Thats funny because the hf seemed very sporty when I first paddled it, and I bought the low volume sight unseen just because I wanted a lower foredeck. The ones I have seen so far do not have a compass recess, which is about the only shortcoming I've noted. They also make the Sirius with an even smaller "European" style cockpit, but that must be brutal to get in and out of unless one is very small. I was told they do not sell that type in the US but it is available in Canada. Wayne *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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