CHOOSING A KAYAK
All kayak designs involve compromises and no one kayak can do it all. Be careful when evaluating kayaks based on their measurements. One cannot look at a single major design component (like beam or rocker) and know how the boat will handle. Beam, length, rocker, shape and location of chines, sharpness of bow and stern, and fullness of the ends all play a significant part in determining how a boat behaves. And that's just in smooth water. When it gets rough, the amount of freeboard, flare, and shape of overhangs also play a part. A shorter boat can end up being faster in rough water, not to mention more seaworthy. I can get a general idea how stable a boat might be by looking at it, but to really know how a boat will behave in real world conditions I have to paddle it.
Here are evaluations of the wood kayaks I know well:
Guillemot
Very maneuverable, amazingly stable for it's width, and surfs well for a sea kayak. However it takes constant effort to go straight. The boat will veer off course rapidly once you stop paddling. It's good for playing around rocks and other areas of chaotic water. It's not so good for open water crossing in a strong side wind. Since the boat skids sideways easily, it requires more crab angle and thus more effort to cover distance in strong side winds. Since I do a lot of photography and open water tripping, this boat is not a good match for me.
Pygmy Arctic Tern
Stable, predictable, well behaved, and very capable boat. It's a bit slower than the Coho. Like most of the Pygmy boats, it's too large for lighter weight adult paddlers. Being rather boxy it can get blown around a bit. I find it twitchy in ragged water. I suppose it's the sharp chine catching turbulence. Surfing small steep waves can put you upside down rather quickly if you try course correction by edging and that sharp chine catches. It works well for fishing or photography and as a boat for inexperienced guests. It responds to edging rather slowly until it is way up on edge. I find that it rolls fine if you have enough thigh brace built in. I have hundreds of miles in varied conditions in this model.
Pygmy Arctic Tern 14
This popular model is a nicely balanced and maneuverable boat, but slow. People in group paddles with this boat usually lag behind. It can be a tough go to get around a point against some current with such a limited hull speed. I think novices would be better served by starting with something a bit longer and a bit more narrow. Slow speed efficiency would be similar but there would be more potential to cruise at higher speeds and also the boat would not be outgrown quite so easily as skills develop. If you want something for poking around rugged shorelines, dedicated surf play, or wandering crooked narrow channels, or don't aspire to grow your kayaking skills, this is a good candidate to consider.
Pygmy Coho
This is a very fine tripping boat for a full size male and lots of gear. It has good speed for its size and width. Compared to the Arctic Tern, it has a more silky, predictable feel, especially when edged. Some of my friends paddling this boat feel it weather cocks a bit too much. I can't help but feel that a Coho one inch slimmer and 6 inches shorter would make a sweet boat that would fit a lot of paddlers.
Pygmy Osprey (and Goldeneye)
This is a very efficient cruiser, but it tracks much too strong for my tastes. Although less than sixteen feet, it is still designed to carry a full grown male paddler and a load of gear.
Redfish Silver
A very efficient cruiser for the 130 lb. female paddler. Very neutral handling in wind and waves. It is much less affected by wind than the AT, is a bit less stable, but turns about the same. It is much more comfortable in rough water than the AT. My wife paddles faster and has no trouble keeping up with the guys once she moved from the AT to this boat, even on 100 mile expeditions or 25 mile day paddles. Packing carefully we got enough gear and food in it for a two week trip, with nothing on the deck. There are photos of Holly paddling it in the
Queen Charlotte Islands.
Redfish King
For it's size this is a playful boat that turns quickly when edged but tracks reasonably well when upright. It catches waves easily, is easy to roll, and easy to bongo slide in waves. It is neutral in most winds with a slight tendency to round up with wind from the rear quarter (like most rudderless kayaks). It has a lot of buoyancy giving a dry ride and resistance to burying the bow. It's top speed is about the same as my Tern, so it is not a high speed boat. But it sure is a satisfying one. I like the narrowness near my feet making for an easy plant of the paddle blade. I've seen it carry a two week load of gear, so there's no worries there. Loaded up with camping gear it feels very nice. Everyone should have one of these. Here are some
photos.
Guillemot Night Heron
This model is generating a lot of interest in the kayaking community and current owners seem happy. My impression is that overall it handles similar to my King and does not have the loose tracking of it's brother the Guillemot. Being slimmer and longer than my King I would expect it to be faster, but I have not had a chance paddle it with a GPS yet. Watching from shore it does not look like the ends release from the water when edged hard, which hinders turning. While paddling it is clear that it does not have much reserve buoyancy in the middle sections when edged to allow quick turns. My impression sitting in the cockpit is one of a shoe-box. The front deck feels very high and squarish. Neither of the two I have paddled were outfit tight enough for me to perform good rolls, but others have no trouble. The thigh braces were much higher than those in my King and would take quite a bit of foam, maybe two inches thick, to outfit it for me. At 175 pounds and 5' 7" I'm too small for this boat.
Redfish Golden
Paddling the prototype is a blast. This boat is very maneuverable without being squirrelly or tippy. It takes off like a rocket in two foot wind waves and small surf. Like its bigger brother the King it turns easily, only quicker, and catches boat wakes even better. Being shorter it has a lower but still decent top speed. It has all the makings of a very nice rough water boat or maybe the regular day-boat for a slightly smaller paddler than myself. Time will tell.
Laughing Loon Shooting Star
Having heard all kinds of great things about baidarka's, I was very keen on paddling the Laughing Loon version built by Andrew Elizaga. Alas, this is not the boat for me. Most likely I am too heavy for it (175 lbs. without gear). The disappointing thing is that it tracked about the same edged as it did upright. Observers close by noted that the stern was still dug in when edged, which explains a lot. The boat seemed speedy enough, but there was too much wind and current to bother measuring speed. I was surprised at how much the bow gurgled and sprayed at higher speeds. Again, is my weight too much or is this the nature of the design? Another possibility is that the shape of the bow might give a better view of the entry resulting in a perception of more noise. It seemed that it was less affected by wind which is logical considering the low ends and firm tracking (for me at least). I did not roll the boat as the outfitting was so tight I could barely get in, or more importantly, get out. It looks like it might be a good touring boat for a lighter weight paddler than myself. It certainly draws lots of admiration on or off the water.
