Kayak Previews

From the Summer 2010 issue of Coast&Kayak Magazine. Read the entire magazine online.

Tahe puts new Wind into touring kayaks

Tahe Marine Wind 585

Tahe Marine’s entrance into the North American market from Estonia has been sudden and dramatic, but probably thanks primarily to its uniquely traditional and eyecatching Greenland model.

The surprise is Tahe actually has a line of more than 20 kayaks, available in mixtures of carbonfibre, fibreglass and thermoform for no end of options. Sure to become one of the better known models after this summer is the Tahe Wind 585, which is being used by Joe O’Blenis on his attempt to recapture his solo speed record for circumnavigating Vancouver Island. Coast&Kayak Magazine had a chance to babysit Joe’s Wind 585 for several months before his arrival on the island, and so got to know the craft well.

At 585 cm (19’2”) long and 21.3” wide it qualifies as a sleek and fast cruiser. With a skeg and the possibility of a rudder as well, it has great options for paddling styles (our tester was skeg only).

This is a striking kayak, due to its high and angled deck and stylized artwork. Four hatches provide good storage capacity, thanks to the V-shaped hull and impressive length. Its low deck and skeg housing does reduce volume in the rear hatch, a hazard of any skeg, but no doubt fans will forgive the tradeoff for speed and performance.

BoréalDesign adds a Vitäl new element

Maelstromkayak Vitäl 166

Maelströmkayak’s entry into the mainstream kayaking sphere this year comes thanks to BoréalDesign, which has partnered with Maelström to build and market the Quebec company’s two kayaks: the Vaåg 174 and Vitäl 166. As the smaller entry, the Vitäl offers (as one tester, Reale Edmond put it rather poetically), “the little Quebec boat with the turned up nose.”

The Vitäl is certainly a diminutive option that at just 16’6” long and 21 inches wide will be best suited to the smaller kayakers among us. At 5’2”, Reale felt at home as “the little pixie of the sea.” Tall kayakers need not apply: on our tester the cockpit leg room was shortened thanks to the placement of the front bulkhead. The good news is the front bulkhead placement can be custom ordered, so there is some leeway.

The Vitäl’s design is notable for the accentuated rocker, which translates into a playful performance. The bulkhead behind the seat is designed for efficient emptying of the cockpit during rescues, which is thoughtful, as it is likely Vitäl owners will want to push the performance to the limit and flood it often. Construction is fibreglass. Features include a mini “glove box” hatch in front of the cockpit that some might love and others might question, as the four litre capacity is accessible by a hatch barely hand size. Think handy access to snacks and pocket cameras.

A notable feature is the seat construction, with the backrest made of a block of thermoformed closed cell foam. It too is likely to have fans and detractors. Definitely not a craft for everyone, the Vitäl will no doubt earn its share of faithful fans.

Venerable GTS gets a tweak

Current Designs Solstice GTS

Arguably the quintessential West Coast cruiser, the Current Designs Solstice series has been tweaked for 2010 with a slight makeover for the GTS model, the smaller and sportier of the series.

Fans can breath easy that it is more a refinement in comfort than a full rebuilding; the integrity of the Solstice lineup as a general purpose, all-level, all-around touring kayak remains intact.

Gone from the Solstice series, however, is the GT High Volume, another West Coast touring icon (Wavelength’s fleet includes one battered old GTHV used for research for The Wild Coast book series. It just won’t sink, so likely will never be completely retired). Having replaced the high volume is the GT Titan, updated with a re-tooled and more full deck, an oversized cockpit and a standard wide-base seat for larger paddlers.

The GTS will appeal to smaller to mid-size paddlers looking for a more sleek design. At just 22 inches wide, as opposed to the GT’s 24.25 inches, the GTS’s narrowness has been addressed in the redesign by adding more leg room by slightly reshaping of the hull. In addition, the cockpit’s keyhole design has been enlarged slightly to make entry and exits easier.

One aesthetic change: the rudder line track is now hidden. And one security change: a metal snap has been added to the hatch straps, which was already quite secure.

The GTS is available in fibreglass or Kevlar composite layups.

Brit fans have new option with Spartan

Atlantis Spartan

What gained Brit boats like the Valley Nordkapp almost legendary status was put under the microscope when Atlantis turned its attention to this category in creating the new Spartan. No stone was left unturned for this new generation of Brit-style boat.

Designer Robin Thacker has focussed on three key elements in the end result: the hull shape, the skeg design and the seat. The resulting tinkering should give the Spartan a distinctive appeal for Brit boat fans.

For those who have experienced jammed or broken skeg cables, the Spartan’s skeg housing will be worth a serious look. The Spartan is unique in that the skeg cable is fully enclosed. That, a stiffer cable and a pivot point that pushes the skeg blade up rather than down should take care of the two major problems with skegs: jams and leaks. Both can be annoying, while leaks can be potentially fatal. The Spartan construction offers possibly the most worry-free skeg design to date.

The seat is adjustable forward and back, allowing adjustment to the center of gravity for balance and also to accommodate kayakers from 5’1” to 6’4” in height (the extent of sizes to have tested it so far that Robin reports have felt comfortable). The seat’s slide range will also aid with rolling – cinching forward means a greater ability to lean back. The back band sits on six straps allowing an almost infinite range of possible placements, including raising or lowering the band. Its flexibility should also help with re-entries.

A benefit of Altantis’s hand-built approach (Robin builds his boats alongside daughter Chelsea) is the number of customization options. Choose a third bulkhead for the day hatch, choose round or oval hatches and pick from a rainbow of color options to make the Spartan truly your own.

Kayakers who want thoughtful extras in a high-end, hand-built fibreglass Brit boat will likely be delighted with the Spartan, an eye-catching addition to the Atlantis fleet.

Peregrine adds claws to Great Lakes options

Peregrine Talon

A new player about to stir things up is Peregrine Kayaks of Jonesville, Michigan. If you fire up Google Earth to find Jonesville you’ll see it’s far removed from any ocean, but it is nicely located for the Great Lakes – a good compromise if you don’t have saltwater nearby; in fact, there may be no better place to sea kayak short of an actual sea than Lake Superior.

Chances are most Peregrines sold to date don’t get to see much saltwater. The company is new enough that it currently only has a handful of retailers, mostly in the Michigan area, but expect that network to grow as Peregrine finds its wings. Its lead product is the Talon, a lightweight all-around touring kayak suitable for almost any ocean. Even those without salt.

At 21” wide, the Talon is a fairly narrow entry, with a correspondingly low depth (just 12 inches). Coupled with a skeg it is likely to draw the attention of performance enthusiasts who still want the cargo space for touring.

The Talon is equipped with two standard hatches plus a rear day hatch – great for those who love the extra compartment. A nice touch is the number of straps on the deck in front of the cockpit – lots of options for securing gear in easy reach. Conversely, the rear deck has just the two main outer cords, with cross-cords dropped to provide access to the two rear hatches.

The Talon joins a family currently composed of two other Peregrine models: the smaller Maverick (14’9”) and the no-frills Arrow, a racing/fitness machine built for speed. The company also offers a range of clothing, gear and paddles. You can win one of the paddles, the finely crafted carbon fibre C2, in Coast&Kayak Magazine’s Clean Up the Coast contest. See pages 40-41

for details on how to win.

At home in the Epsilon

BoréalDesign Epsilon C200

Mitch Homma of Encinitas, CA, was the winner of Coast&Kayak Magazine’s kayak draw, which included the winner’s choice of the Delta 16, Seaward Quantum, Current Designs Infinity and the three composite kayaks in the BorealDesign Epsilon family: the C100, C200 and C300. Mitch chose the Epsilon C200, and Coast&Kayak Magazine asked him to send us his impressions for a mini guest review.

When I unpacked my new Boreal Design Epsilon C200 Kayak, I was pleasantly surprised with the design. I noticed the quality parts and excellent rigging for short trips. The three hatches on the C200 are a nice feature, especially with the easily accessible round hatch behind the cockpit. I did notice the familiar Feathercraft rudder with bright yellow rope instead of the stainless steel cables.

Instead of the standard black trim, this boat has a very nice, unique pattern which adds some character along with the one-piece color matching cockpit combing. This was my first time seeing a BorealDesign kayak and I was impressed.

I took my new Epsilon C200 kayak out on a 70°F sunny Saturday morning. The weather forecast was for building wind and clouds so we headed for Newport Harbor in Orange County, California. I was looking forward to trying out the rudder in the wind; however, the water was absolutely flat – no wind at all.

The Epsilon C200 is a good looking boat on the water with its higher volume foredeck and wave-slicing nose design. At 5’ 7” and 190 lbs, I was very comfortable in the kayak. The thigh braces were in the right spot and did not feel confined in the cockpit at all. It is a very stable boat with excellent secondary stability. This is a comfortable boat with enough range for further developing paddling skills. Even with the soft chine hull design, the Epsilon is very easy to turn without the rudder. In fact, the rudder was not used the whole time out on the water, but it is there for those really windy days. I did not get to test out the maximum secondary stability, but was able to easily stay on the kayak’s edge and carve a sharp turn with the water at the cockpit combing.

The Epsilon C200 is a very nice sporty, stable kayak. At 17 feet, the kayak is a good size for overnight and weekend trips. I did get the kayak up to 6.5 mph on a short sprint, so it is absolutely no slug on the water. I was only on the water for three hours, but was very comfortable in the seat. Adjustments were easily made on the water. With the higher volume foredeck, the cockpit had plenty of room for me and a small dry bag with my digital SLR camera in it. All kayakers would find this a fun boat that would handle a variety of different conditions.