Re: [Paddlewise] request opinion off list

I wrote:
>>My biggest shock, and I've mentioned his on a previous post, was with a
>>highly skilled paddler in a Sirius, with a skeg, in a quartering sea with a
>>30 knot gale. The man never paddled the kayak again after that trip (he had
>>done previous trips in it too) and now paddles a Gulfstream. The straight
>>tracking former kayak would run off the wave, and too much effort was
>>required to bring it back on course. The Gulfstream type of hull allows for
>>easy leaning and fast course correction, though his newer boat is a bit
>>slower. Ah, compromise.
>
Jerry responded:
>I presume this means that the Gulfstream is easier to manage in a quartering
>sea and 30 knot gale than the Sirius.  Could you recommend a few other
>boats, with or without rudder, that you would consider easy to manage in
>these conditions.  Do you think a rudder makes these conditions easier to
>handle?
>
>Do you think that easy leaning and fast course correction are essential if
>the goal is handling ease in these conditions?  I have a Solstice GTS which
>is not at all fast course correcting but is very easy to manage in 20 knots
>and following seas.  Is there a general opinion among the rough water
>cognoscenti on the suitability of the GTS in these rear quarter conditions?
>
>I put this off list because I believe you don't like to comment on specific
>boats on Paddlewise.  Feel free, if you choose to answer, to post to the
>list.

Doug replies to Jerry (and PW's can read, but its mundane and opiniated,
stuff):
Well, I guess I already made some fairly specific remarks about the Sirius
on copyrighted "air space". However, I know people who love this stiff
tracking British heavy. It has a lot of apparent stability for such a
narrow boat. The round bilge with a moderate "V" hull seems to endow this
fast performer with the requisite stability factor desirable in an open
coast kayak. The CD Extreme has a similar hull profile in some respects,
and is thus fairly stable also -- depending on your definition of "stable".
The "V" hull, in general, is a nice feature as a water collection channel
for pump pickups when so placed on the inside of the "V". A "V" hull also
intrinsically lends a certain stiffness to the hull, which many prefer in a
sea kayak proper.

I would say that I prefer the Sirius, from the times I've tried it. The
wider Gulfstream, in comparison, just doesn't put you "in touch" with the
water conditions as much. But, the Sirius is a bugger launching in surf, as
it tends to flop one way or the other, whenever you lean either way as it
teeter-totters on the "V" keel. There are also a few Sirius's on sale in
the market place here in Victoria this year. This is unusual in that people
who buy Brit type boats, once having made their purchase, generally are
very satisfied, so it makes me wonder. Some would say the boat is "too
much" for non-serious paddlers (pun not intended).

I do know that there are still some hold-outs around here who still paddle
the deep "V" hulled Baidarka of yesteryear from P&H, precisely because they
do track so well for point to point exposed coast cruising. They don't seem
to need a rudder, and with the up-turned ends, are great at backing up
through kelp beds in a choppy sea -- but, they are very tippy. The wider
Orion is a popular boat with extreme paddlers, as it offers stability for
tall paddlers, tracks well with a bit of edging/leaning, and with its
higher gunwales, once leaned over, rides like its on a rail -- something I
can't do as well in my low decked Nordkapp. The Romany performs well in
that kind of situation too, as do some of the Arluk series. However, I
always go further in a wind storm, faster, and usually beat my bigger meat
head friends that try to beat me through 5 knot currents going up hill in
their other boats.

To answer your question specifically, the CD GTS, as I may have mentioned
to you in a previous e-mail, is one of the better all-around kayaks I know
of, and I'm not saying that because they are made here in Victoria, BC.
Their predictability is something that, while subjective, probably accounts
for its high sales. In quartering seas, there are no sudden turn-turtle
surprises. Its fine exit lines combined with a bit of a keel running fully
abaft, give it good tracking up to the twenty knot sea conditions range. I
would say that my experience suggests most GTS users deploy rudders at that
point. Bear in mind that up until that approximate sea-state induced by
those kind of winds, most good kayaks that don't need a rudder are easily
maneuvered back on line with a little bit of body language and paddle-play.
Kayaks like the GTS that are well designed, but come with an "auxiliary
rudder", also benefit quickly from the above techniques to keep on track,
just not as quickly in a real-time sense.

As sea conditions deteriorate, kayaks that are built to track well
rudderless are still going to work, they just require a lot of course
management. Reflective micro-management does come with time, practice, and
a person's natural predilection, if they have it, to work with their boat.
Not everybody does, and this is why Matt doesn't sell everybody in the
world his designs. 

The issue of swede shape vs fish-form is an interesting debate that Matt
and John have fairly fully fleshed out for their PW friends. My
observational/experiential take on it is that fish-form kayaks tend to
track a bit better in a greater variety of conditions, but as seas get
really rough, the swede form does a superior job if the paddler has the
skills and knowledge. In big following seas, my fish-form Nordkapp is often
completely awash (see picture in OCT Sea Kayaker Magazine). Without a
rudder (or skeg) and a disadvantage of not being able to edge/lean
significantly due to reduced gunwale buoyancy, I find I used to flounder
and run off course. I developed huge muscles in my earlier youth, storm
paddling (before my rudder installation) from the sweep strokes required.
I've landed on the beach with my arm muscles actually quivering from the
over-use. I've ran into a number of Norkapp owners who have paddled around
Vancouver Island, only paddling on one side, as they put it.

If you are looking for the perfect boat, forget it. You may find a perfect
Violin if you have the money, but not a perfect kayak. Don't fall into the
trap my friend who is selling his Sirius and who bought the Gulfstream did.
I think he may very well, be looking for the perfect boat forever -- but
then, in some ways, we all are, unless you are a Mariner owner I've been
told :-)

There are a few issues important to me: First, does the kayak offer a
sea-kindly ride. Symposium try-outs on flat water are not the best place to
find out. A good sea kayak must fit between waves longitudinally, yet must
perform well in broaching seas. Secondly, on relatively flat water where we
also spend most of the time, a good kayak must have good "glide". I don't
find the British kayaks do this second point well, but do generally excel
on the first point. While the British kayaks are fast enough, they always
feel like you are putting effort into it. This is completley contrary to
what people are told about narrow, fast British type kayaks, but I stand
behind my statement. The Mariner style of kayaks, as well as the GTS, the
CD Expedition, and many North American designs from Seda to Eddyline move
through the water very efficiently indeed.

Then there is the issue under discussion: Quartering winds and seas. You
know, I really don't think any kayak does well in these conditions, despite
what all the experts and designers say. Yes, some are better than others;
skegs help regulate a more relaxed paddling style; maneuverable kayaks
complimented by a paddler's skill are adequate, and rudders compensate for
everything (with a premium paid due to drag). But really, this is a
situation in paddling where you can't have your cake and eat it too. An
nice big engine is how most of the rest of the "world" handles it. For me,
dealing with quartering seas is half the fun of kayaking. Its part of the
challenge. Sometimes I use my rudder, often I don't. I like to see just how
far I can push it without the rudder deployed. I love "tuning" into what
the wind and waves are doing, and then "dial in" my technique to handle
course keeping needs. If conditions get out of hand, which they do from
time to time in my part of the world with the open sea so close and
numerous topographical features to facilitate the unexpected, I always know
I'm going to make it home with my rudder as a backup. It can fail, I know,
but I've modified mine beyond the anally retentive.

I can't find my notes I was keeping on some other kayak designs. I'm in the
middle of renovations. I'm bearly able to keep up with my e-mail, and only
do so by robbing myself of sleep. I actually went out and bought a cordless
mouse with an auto scroll. Al Wilson of Wave-Length has asked me to do a
regular column, which I'm going to call "Making Waves", and SK Magazine
keeps bugging me for more stuff, and I teach evening and weekends in
addition to my regular job. Wa wa wa! I got rid of my cablevision, so don't
have TV anymore. PW is my entertainment now, pretty sad, eh? Anyway, I keep
a record of paddler's comments about their kayaks in a binder, and I'll try
and find it ASAP. Until then, I better keep my little cake-hole shut!

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd        	 
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