My wife and I both love our Romanys. Linda has been known to shout it to the world in rough water; I'm a little quieter. We have no problem packing for a nine-day camping trip (the longest we have tried), but on the Great Lakes we don't need to carry fresh water. If I needed more room, I would leave the collapsible chair behind. :-) >> Very sturdy but very heavy. Book says about sixty pounds but it's easily 75 pounds. Very hard to put on car alone. >> I haven't weighed mine, but it feels more like the low sixties. And that includes a skeg and foot pump. >> Great layout for storing and access. The day hatch is very useable, the life lines are perfect for self-rescues. Lot's of storage room. Very large boat. >> Agree. Nigel very intelligently specified a VCP hatch cover, which can be removed and replaced with one hand, for the day hatch, and Kajaksport hatch covers for the main hatches. (Dagger's day hatch cover requires two hands to remove.) Also, the bungies on the foredeck are placed just right for carrying a Greenland storm paddle. >> Tracks great and can handle big water. Very large cockpit. I'm 6 foot, 190 pounds and had to glue foam to hold my butt in place. I have [not] found any water conditions beyond the boat's capabilities. Wonderful in big water. >> Agree, but though the thigh braces are just right for me, they can be too snug for people with large thighs. Try before you buy. >> Now the bad: Skeg leaks like crazy. >> My wife's Romany 16 had this problem, which was caused by pinholes in the layup. I located them by filling the rear compartment with water and green food coloring. Repair was easy: I just painted the suspect area inside the compartment with West System epoxy resin. It has been watertight ever since. >> Very hard to turn. >> Just lean it; it has a very predictable lean, and, unlike some kayaks, it can fairly easily be held on edge with the gunwale under water. It is also very easy to roll. I taught myself to roll in a 1990 model Sealution, and the first time I rolled my Romany it felt like all I had to do was lift my knee! Also, the cockpit coaming does not interfere with layback rolls. Speaking of rolling, Bob Brown, a canoe designer, thinks a kayak that is easy to roll is necessarily also easy to capsize (Bob does not paddle in big waves). I disagree. Comments? Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Dec 28 1999 - 08:01:15 PST
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