Someone asked about Eddyline Merlins/ NightHawk?? We <http://www.aldercreek.com>have had very good luck with the Eddyline Merlins and NightHawk. The Carbonlite 2000 is a very durable, stiff, scratch and UV resistant material that works well for boats. It has many characteristics that are an improvement over roto plastic and a few that even improve on fiberglass, while having few disadvantages. Less $$$ than fiberglass, more than roto. Check out their website for specifics http://www.eddyline.com Personally, I like the Matrix material called Modulus. It's a thin Carbonlite 2000 shell with kevlar layers bonded to the inside. Best of both worlds, though back to where fiberglass costs. I have a LT prototype in Modulus that has been hammered and it still begs for more! Oregon coast, Columbia Gorge, Deception Pass, etc. are all locals I like to paddle in this boat. As far as the designs go, IMHO 75% of the paddling public could be happy in one of these 3 designs. <do I sound like a Salesman??> The XT has enough room for multi day use if the paddler is conservative in packing. We have used it on numerous 7 day San Juan Island trips. It generally fits folks up to 220 lbs. The LT is sweet for a day tripping sportster, or ocean playboat for anyone up to 200, or a tripping boat for smaller <100-120lb> folks. Both of these boats have fairly stiff tracking characteristics and maneuver well with good strokes and slight hip tilts. Rudders are *totally* uncalled for. The boats are not only straight tracking but are very well "wind" balanced. <more on this later> The NightHawk is the newest design, taking attributes from the Merlins, the Falcon series, and the ever popular Raven designs. It has the look of the Merlin series with less skeg, more rocker in the bow and less *V*, especially in the bow. This boat is quite maneuverable like it's cousin the Raven. Now the kewl part, it has a sweet, retractable skeg. I say *sweet* because unlike many other retractable skegs which work off gravity, loose cables, and funky shock cords :-P the Eddyline skeg operates with a solid round stock shaft that deploys and retracts the skeg. Very positive feel. The KajakSport boats are the only other manufacturer I know of that use the solid mechanism for the skeg. This boat also has adequate capacity for multi days if care is taken in choosing gear and packing. Rumor has it after Eddyline gets their new oven online <September> we will see a redesigned, retractoskegged Falcon 18 in Carbonlite! =:-o) I have personally tested all three designs <as well as MANY others> in a huge variety of conditions. The Merlins DO NOT weathercock unless trimmed to do so. At least in the 35 knot winds <honest>I've had 'em in. Fast currents are their forte. The latest *test* was in the NightHawk 2 days before Christmas. A extremely high pressure cell sat over the Columbia Gorge/Portland for about 2 weeks. This creates wind in the gorge in the 40-65 knot range. Mitch McKinnon, John Wallum <Pres. of OOPS-Oregon Ocean Paddling Society> and I decided to paddle from Beacon Rock, near Bonneville Dam to Washougal, WA. It's 18 NM. The shuttle drive was a bit intimidating as the truck <BIG ol' 74 Dodge> was blasted from the front by gusts that rattled the cartopped boats and sent both side mirrors into total misadjustment. I knew Mitch and I were up for the challenge but I had never paddled with John. I knew he was a solid paddler but I also knew that the conditions we scouted from Cape Horn were in the Beaufort scale 8 or 9. Seas were in the 6-8 foot range with the top foot of water blown off into horizontal, driving spray. A typical Nuclear day in the gorge. We dressed accordingly, drysuits, lots of fleece, hoods, gloves, etc. knowing we would never have time or ability to adjust once we put in. I was in the shop's NightHawk, Mitch in his new KajakSport Millennium and John in his trusty VCP Pintail. Needless to say it was an exhilarating ride. All three boats worked quite well. John got knocked over twice with bombproof rolls saving the day. Mitch and I managed to brace our ways clear of trouble. I had time to relax enough to get windspeed readings of up to 50 knots apparent. The high for the day was clocked at Rooster Rock Park <1/2 way>at 63 knots by <http://www.windcall.com> The NightHawk paddles like a dream. Especially DOWNWIND! I had a number of 100 meter surf rides and was able to sail my way back onto a wave face by the shear force of the wind on my back. A number of times I pearled the bow and just rode it out until it would re-surface. The bow would have up to 14 inches of water on top and my skirt would be 6 inches under. It was not unlike paddling with someone spraying you from behind with a garden hose and occasionally throwing a 5 gallo n bucket of water at you. I managed to swing clear of sidesurfing all but 2 times and then it was fairly straightforward turning the SS into a downwind surf. In more than 25-30 knots the bow has a bit of trouble pointing up into the wind without the use of strong backstrokes when you are down in a trough. Many boats have this tendency. The skeg adjustment allowed me to pick any course from due abeam to dead run with micro-adjustment capabilities. When we neared the bottom of the run the wind mellowed out to 20 knots and was quite enjoyable. IMHO this is the maximum wind speed that 95% of the paddlers actually paddle in. This is 2-4 foot seas, whitecaps everywhere, FUN stuff. When it blows _at_ 65 guess who'll be up there with another boat to *test* =:-o) Steve Scherrer Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe 250 NE Tomahawk Isle Dr Portland, OR 97217 Phone: 503.285.0464 Fax: 503.285.0106 Web site: http://www.aldercreek.com Email: acks_at_teleport.com ______________________________________________ *************************************************************************** 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 Sat Jan 15 2000 - 18:48:56 PST
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