[Paddlewise] VCP Avocet

I just got a chance to test paddle a fiberglass Avocet.  The Avocet is 16 
foot long and 22 in wide.  I would estimate that it probably had about a 14 - 
14.5 ft waterline lenght with my 150 lbs in the kayak ( I have not seen the 
data from a Sea Kayaker review so this is just an estimate).  It was a short 
paddle in a small lake but the wind was about 20-25 mph so that I got some 
idea of the kayak's handling characteristics fairly quickly.  The boat 
performed very well.  It had very little if any weathercocking with a front 
quartering wind and medium weathercocking in a rear quartering wind which was 
easily corrected with about 1/3 deployment of the skeg.  Initial stability 
was low (I could edge it very easily) and the secondary seemed very good.  I 
did not have a spray skirt so I was only able to tilt it over to the point 
where water started to come into the boat.  That much edge was more than 
enough to get the kayak to carve turns.  I was easily able to hold it on edge 
while paddling in order to turn the boat and/or offset the weathercocking 
when the skeg was not deployed.  It seemed to spin in place pretty quickly 
although the strong wind may have infuenced the performance there. The 
cockpit depth at the front of the keyhole cockpit is just under 12" (my Artic 
Hawk is 10.75), but I did not notice any scrapping problem when using my low 
hand position Greenland stlye paddling.  This scrapping has been a problem in 
a lot of the non-Greenland style kayaks that I have tested.  The fit was 
pretty good for my 5ft-7in height and 150 lbs.  Foot pegs where about middle 
of the track so taller and shorter paddlers should fit.  I was a little loose 
at the thigh braces and in the seat, but it would not take very much foam to 
make it a tight fit.

I did not get a chance to check out how it handled surfing wind waves since 
even at 25 mph the waves were only about 6" in the small lake. Has anyone had 
any experince surfing this kayak.?  Does anyone have a comparison between the 
Avocet and the Pintail?  The shop did not have any Pintails in stock.  I read 
that they were similar designs but the Avocet had a little less rocker so 
that it tracked a little better than the Pintail but was not as manuverable.

Just when I thought I had my wish list down to 1 kayak, I find another one to 
consider.  Only one kayak in the fleet these days and that feels really bare. 
 I actually took a job (well only a temporary job) to earn the extra dollars 
for a new kayak.  Don't know if only having 2 days a week for possible 
paddling is too high a price to pay for a new kayak.  With a little luck the 
bad weather will be during the week and the weekends will be great for 
paddling.

Happy holidays to all of you.

Mark J. Arnold




***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************