Hi again paddlers, I'm making one last request for feedback from people with experience with the HP, before I order something. How's it in surf? How's it in rough coastal conditions? Is it really that much more efficient and fast than perhaps the Coho?? Thanks, Bill woetjen_at_zoo.uvm.edu *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bill, I've paddled the Coho and the very similar Arctic Tern extensively (I own the Tern), and I've paddled the Osprey HP in calm conditions. The HP is a little bit faster, but only very fast paddlers would notice this. At cruising speeds, the HP is *not* significantly faster than the Coho/Tern. As far as ease of handling, turning, and rough water performance goes, the Coho/Tern are much much better than the Osprey HP. I found the HP very difficult to turn even with a lot of edging and strong sweep strokes, whereas the Coho turns quite well. I noticed that the Pygmy HP demo kayak I paddled had a rudder installed even though the boat does not weathercock, so presumably this is to aid in turning only. So to sum up, if you are not a competitive racers, or at least someone who likes to paddle fast and "beat" your friends, I would go with the Coho/Tern which are superior boats in every other way, especially if you plan to take the boat into rough water or surf. And if you plan to do a lot of that, I would get the Arctic Tern, because it surfs much better than the Coho. Cheers, Kevin ------------------------------- | Kevin Whilden | | kwhilden_at_seanet.com | | Kayak Academy Instructor | | http://www.halcyon.com/kayak | ------------------------------- On Fri, 30 Jul 1999, William J. Oetjen wrote: > Hi again paddlers, > > I'm making one last request for feedback from people with > experience with the HP, before I order something. > How's it in surf? > How's it in rough coastal conditions? > Is it really that much more efficient and fast than perhaps the Coho?? > > Thanks, > Bill > woetjen_at_zoo.uvm.edu > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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