I'm considering the purchase of a 1993 kevlar Solstice ST. I'm wondering about the boat's handing characteristics when loaded and/or in rough water. I am also concerned about the wisdom of purchasing a 6-7 year old kevlar layup boat. Are there hidden things that I should be concerned about? Should I be concerned about durability or rigidity with this boat. My present boat is a CD Storm. Offline response is fine. Thanks for the help. Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In case anyone else was interested, I figured I'd post to the group. For those who aren't -- my humblest apologies! Jim Tynan Pike Road AL ============= Dana I'm the proud owner of a '97 green on white Solstice ST. Been paddling it for two years and am still extremely happy with it for a variety of reasons! But first ... Prior to the Solstice, I owned a '97 Current Designs Gulfstream. Absolutely beautiful boat -- cosmetically and from a handling standpoint, but I was never comfortable in the cockpit. Seemed as though it was too wide and too high. Tracking and stability were superb, and the skeg rather than rudder option was preferred by me. But the oversized cockpit feel [it was basically designed by the short and wide-bodied god of kayaking, Derek H.] just never felt right! Had it not been for that, I would still be paddling it today, but alas I finally traded it in for the Solstice. Yeah, the Solstice comes with a rudder, but so what?!? To hell with the purists!!! In fact, there have been a couple of times -- when the weather deteriated so bad in the Gulf of Mexico where I usually paddle -- I was very glad I had it! But in spite of that, the Solstice ST has proved to be the perfect boat for me! It's incredibly comfortable and damned near an ideal fit. [I'm 5'10" and 200 pounds.] It tracks and turns splendidly -- with our without wind and without a rudder -- and it's quite fast! It also has ample room for gear. {I frequently use it for three-plus day campouts with tent and bag.] And it's incredibly stable and, at the same time, easy to roll. As far as it's construction is concerned, I have all the faith in the world in a Current Designs boats -- durable, clean, rugged, long-lasting, etc. And that includes the Solstice! Of course, as we all know, nothing is ever PERFECT!!! Some downsides to the Solstice, IMHO, include: non-recessed deck fittings [now recessed -- started in '98], holds/hatches that are not watertight, hatches that are not flush mounted [especially in the rear and just because I think the flush-mounted ones look much nicer, e.g., the Eddyline Falcon] and the rudder can be a challenge to deploy at times [and that could be a result of my bungee modifications, but the fact is I've deployed a handful of others that were much easier to deploy]. Other than those few detractors, the Solstice is an absolutely solid boat in all weather/water conditions. It may not be the fastest or sharpest turning out there, but it's damend close, and I believe, if the boat fits you physically, you will not be disappointed! If you're interested in a few pics, check out http://home.att.net/~kayakbound Good luck and may the paddlin' gods be with you!!! Jim Tynan Pike Road AL *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In case anyone else was interested, I figured I'd post to the group. For those who aren't -- my humblest apologies! Jim Tynan Pike Road AL ============= Dana I'm the proud owner of a '97 green on white Solstice ST. Been paddling it for two years and am still extremely happy with it for a variety of reasons! But first ... Prior to the Solstice, I owned a '97 Current Designs Gulfstream. Absolutely beautiful boat -- cosmetically and from a handling standpoint, but I was never comfortable in the cockpit. Seemed as though it was too wide and too high. Tracking and stability were superb, and the skeg rather than rudder option was preferred by me. But the oversized cockpit feel [it was basically designed by the short and wide-bodied god of kayaking, Derek H.] just never felt right! Had it not been for that, I would still be paddling it today, but alas I finally traded it in for the Solstice. Yeah, the Solstice comes with a rudder, but so what?!? To hell with the purists!!! In fact, there have been a couple of times -- when the weather deteriated so bad in the Gulf of Mexico where I usually paddle -- I was very glad I had it! But in spite of that, the Solstice ST has proved to be the perfect boat for me! It's incredibly comfortable and damned near an ideal fit. [I'm 5'10" and 200 pounds.] It tracks and turns splendidly -- with our without wind and without a rudder -- and it's quite fast! It also has ample room for gear. {I frequently use it for three-plus day campouts with tent and bag.] And it's incredibly stable and, at the same time, easy to roll. As far as it's construction is concerned, I have all the faith in the world in a Current Designs boats -- durable, clean, rugged, long-lasting, etc. And that includes the Solstice! Of course, as we all know, nothing is ever PERFECT!!! Some downsides to the Solstice, IMHO, include: non-recessed deck fittings [now recessed -- started in '98], holds/hatches that are not watertight, hatches that are not flush mounted [especially in the rear and just because I think the flush-mounted ones look much nicer, e.g., the Eddyline Falcon] and the rudder can be a challenge to deploy at times [and that could be a result of my bungee modifications, but the fact is I've deployed a handful of others that were much easier to deploy]. Other than those few detractors, the Solstice is an absolutely solid boat in all weather/water conditions. It may not be the fastest or sharpest turning out there, but it's damend close, and I believe, if the boat fits you physically, you will not be disappointed! If you're interested in a few pics, check out http://home.att.net/~kayakbound Good luck and may the paddlin' gods be with you!!! Jim Tynan Pike Road AL *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I'm thinking about my next boat, and considering the NDK Greenlander Pro. I paddled it once and liked it, but it was only for a short time. Anyone out there have any longer experience of this boat? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sorry for the double post folks! I didn't think Jackie would automatically initiate an alias posting action when I mistakenly replied from my work address and resent via the home address -- but I should have known she'd be on the ball!!! Thanks, Jackie! Jim [YIKES! I'm out of the closet!!! Now people are going to know I "Paddlewise" at work!!!!! [Strange though -- I feel so surprisingly free and unencumbered now!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... ] <<g>> -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Tynan, James Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 1999 11:44 AM To: 'paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net' Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] CD Solstice ST comments please In case anyone else was interested, I figured I'd post to the group. For those who aren't -- my humblest apologies! Jim Tynan Pike Road AL *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 12:49 PM 10/6/99 -0500, Tynan, James wrote: > >[YIKES! I'm out of the closet!!! Now people are going to know I >"Paddlewise" at work!!!!! [Strange though -- I feel so surprisingly free >and unencumbered now!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... ] <<g>> > Now that you've come out of the closet I feel safe in letting you know that you aren't alone. Considering the number of posts that come up during the daytime hours, there have got to be a lot of people that are checking in at work -- especially those that are online all the time, and get to grin when the little line comes up, "You have new mail" -- sometimes thirty or forty times a day. Me, I have a dialup connection, and usually only check a couple times a day, unless it's real boring around here, or there's a hot discussion going on. -- Wes *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 15:14 10/6/99, Wes Boyd wrote: > >At 12:49 PM 10/6/99 -0500, Tynan, James wrote: > >> >>[YIKES! I'm out of the closet!!! Now people are going to know I >>"Paddlewise" at work!!!!! [Strange though -- I feel so surprisingly free >>and unencumbered now!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... ] <<g>> >> > >Now that you've come out of the closet I feel safe in letting you know that >you aren't alone. Considering the number of posts that come up during the >daytime hours, there have got to be a lot of people that are checking in at >work -- especially those that are online all the time, and get to grin when >the little line comes up, "You have new mail" -- sometimes thirty or forty >times a day. > >Me, I have a dialup connection, and usually only check a couple times a >day, unless it's real boring around here, or there's a hot discussion going >on. > >-- Wes between work and "personal" i get an average of 3-400 pieces of mail a day, and there are folks on this list who get more than that... i'm online "live" during the workday, reading mail as a function of my job, then leave work for an hour drive home, and there will be 10-30 pieces of email come in just during that time, and 85-90% of them are all padddling related!! so there's a fair number that read their mail at home first thing, then mail their replies!! today there were 15!! mark #------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com-------------------------------------- mark zen o, o__ o_/| o_. po box 474 </ [\/ [\_| [\_\ ft. lupton, co 80621-0474 (`-/-------/----') (`----|-------\-') #~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~ http://www.diac.com/~zen/paddler [index of Paddling websites I manage] Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club, Colorado River Flows, Poudre Paddlers The Colorado Paddlers' Resource, Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page -- Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. --Pablo Picasso *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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