Re: [Paddlewise] Pygmy Tern

First the similarities:
The Arctic Tern and the Coho are both excellent boats that do not
weathercock, track well, and turn well when set on edge. The Coho is a
little longer, 17'6, while the Tern is 17'. The Tern has a single hard
chine, whereas the Coho is a multi-chine boat. Both boats have excellent
secondary stability, and tremendous room for gear.

Now the differences:
 The Tern will turn a little easier, and carve turns a little sharper and
with less edge required. The Coho will track a little better, but will
still turn very quick for a 17'6 boat when set on a moderate to large
amount of edge. With a large amount of edge, the Tern will spin very fast
indeed. 
 Since I haven't yet paddled the tern in anything except calm conditions,
I cannot say anything definite about its rough water handling, but I have
heard from another paddler that it is excellent. The Coho is one of the
smoothest rough water boats I have ever paddled, and I expect the Tern
will be similar. I also expect the Tern to have better performance while
surfing wind waves and to hold an edge better in following seas. The hard
edge will probably make it less forgiving than the Coho, but probably not
significant for a good paddler. IMO performance is more important than
forgiveness, and in general a twitchier boat only feels twitchy for a 
short while until skills grow to accomodate the boat.
 If you can wait, I should have my Tern floating in about two weeks, and
I'll try to get it out into rough water ASAP.  I'll give a review of it
then. In general however, I would recommend the Tern to anyone who enjoys
paddling a higher performance boat for the sake of making it perform, and
I would recommend the Coho to anyone who wants a fast and forgiving
platform for doing long trips. both boats however would be suitable for
beginners, IMO, and both boats will never limit the growth of a paddler's
skill.
 Regarding the backrest/seat issue, I have heard this kind of complaint
before, and I am slightly amazed that people will spend countless creative
hours building an entire boat, and then not spend any time outfitting the
boat to fit their body. It sounds like you are putting some good effort
into it though. IMO, achieving proper fit is almost as important as
building the boat itself. There was a truly excellent article by ken
Rasmussen in the Feb '96 issue of Sea Kayaker magazine that should give
you all that you need to know. Each individual has different needs
regarding fit, but most people can do quite well with a big block of
mini-cell foam, a sharp knife, and a piece of dragon-skin (used like
sandpaper, buy it at your hardware store). I personally like the solid
backrest that comes with the Pygmy kit, but I dislike the thermarest seat,
so I will build my own seat out of foam. I also plan to experiment with
raising the seat several inches off the floor to get increased power and
performance when surfing waves -- if it works for a rodeo kayak, why won't
it work for a sea kayak?  :) 

 Anyhow, I have nothing but good things to say about the Tern. It is a
worthy project if you are looking for another boat to build. Cheers,
Kevin

On Thu, 1 Oct 1998 JorgieJ_at_aol.com wrote:

> Can anyone compare the Pygmy Tern to the Coho and give reasons why they
> would buy one over the other??  I have a early model Coho as well as the
> Golden-Eye and the double and would like to build another.  The Coho has
> a ton of room in it for camping gear and is very stable in lite chop and
> winds, have not had it out in waves over 1 1/2 ft., but the Golden-Eye
> handles wind and waves up to 3 1/2" very well, I concider myself a
> beginner ++ as I do not know how to roll yet. 
> 
> My only concern with the Pygmys' is the back rest, while comfortable for short
> paddles, it leaves a little to be desired on long days.  I have looked at the
> "Creature Comforts" by CLC and hope some of you can comment on the relitive
> benefits of this seat and back combo or anything else that's out there.
> 
> I have just ordered hip braces from Phanitary Gear and would like any help or
> sugestions on hip and knee braces, where to put them, how to install etc. 
> 
> Great list and thanks for all the info from all....
> ***************************************************************************
> 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/
***************************************************************************