Re: [Paddlewise] Perception Eclipse

In a message dated 4/15/99 11:42:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
kwhilden_at_u.washington.edu writes:

<<I have a question about the Eclipse... Does it weathercock? How about the 
Vizcaya? The latter looks
 like a really nice hull, but I HATE plastic boats that weathercock. About
 the only one that does fine without skeg or rudder is the Dagger Magellan,>>

I've never experienced a kayak that doesn't have *some* weather helm (weather 
cocking) in heavy conditions.  The trick is to find one that fits your 
definition of best performance in the widest possible range of conditions.  I 
thoroughly believe that, regardless of the kayak you select, you will 
occasionally find yourself in conditions that make you thoroughly 
disappointed in that boat.  It just isn't possible to make a boat that is all 
things to all people in all conditions.

I've paddled the Sea Lion (the predecessor of the Eclipse) a lot in heavy 
conditions.  My impression was that it was loose-tracking enough and 
responsive enough to hip-steering that it was very easy to control weather 
helm in most conditions.  I don't remember it ever exhibiting excessive 
weather helm.  

I don't have any experience with the Vizcaya, though it is an 
interesting-looking boat.  Since it is a new model, you would definitely want 
to paddle it in a wide range of conditions before selecting it.  The Magellan 
I have never paddled, but I have a friend who has a fiberglass Magellan SK 
(with skeg) and she positively loves it. 

You really need to try the boats out if you want to make an informed 
decision.  Every boat will respond differently for different paddlers, 
depending upon their weight, strengths, style and the location of their 
normal paddler/boat center of gravity.  Also, everyone's judgment of a 
particular boat is very subjective, colored heavily by their tastes and 
styles, and their opinion of what constitutes good performance in a kayak, or 
even what constitutes something as seemingly clear as "weather-cocking". 
Therefore, you should be careful about putting too much weight in my (or 
anyone else's) experience with a particular boat   

Since you're in WA, try going to NWOC, PWS and the other suppliers in your 
area and try everything in their fleets.  When you feel you can narrow your 
selection process down to two or three models, rent them for a day or two and 
get them out in as wide a variety of conditions as you can.  If a clear 
winner becomes apparent, buy it and love it forever.  If not, you can make 
your final decision between the front-runners based upon features, trust in 
the manufacturer, history, price, warranty and other such factors -- not the 
least of which will be color and sex-appeal. :-)

One other thing.  No matter your choice, as you acclimate to the boat and 
become more familiar with its performance curve, you will find it easier to 
control and more satisfying to paddle.

Good Luck, and let us know how it goes.

Harold
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