Solstice GT 17'7" North American Style Touring Kayak Current Designs
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Bring your usual paddle and dress in what you plan to wear while paddling. With a sit-inside kayak, be sure to assess how easy the boat is to enter and exit. The best way to check the integrity of outfitting components—including seat, backrest, thigh pads and foot supports—is to take a seat in the cockpit and make sure the outfitting works properly.
Current Designs: A work of art. Made for life.
I do not regret my purchase at all and just enjoy the high quality build and finish and seeing the beauty of the boat each time I look at it. The stable, confidence inspiring, dry ride of the boat is a major benefit for beginners. First off as most mentioned this baby is tuff to turn, which is no issue for long trips, but no quick turns here, it is not meant for that.
About Kayaking Journal
But perhaps acclaim and janteloven aren’t mutually exclusive—after all, the Karla and her siblings elevate allpaddlers. Current Designs enhances the Karla’s wide-ranging appeal with a variety of composite layups. The standard fiberglass construction offers a classic blend of lightweight stiffness and strength, while the Kevlar option brings the weight down to just 48 pounds. A third option, which CD calls their Heavy Water layup, reinforces the hull with an extra five pounds of glass and resin to withstand the abuse of regular rock gardening.
Boat Review: The Storm Sea Kayak By Current Designs
With the pandemic paddlesports boom putting used kayaks in such short supply, quality used kayaks are a rare find. Use this information to help guide your search, comparing the type of paddling described in the reviews to what you are hoping to do. If you’re looking for an impeccably finished, thoughtfully designed single or tandem touring, recreational or transitional kayak, there’s likely a Current Designs that’s a great match for you. With over 40 years of history, a CD kayak will keep you safe, comfortable, and inspired no matter where you find your next adventure taking you.
Rides: Justin Staker's Kevlar Current Designs Nomad - Men's Journal
Rides: Justin Staker's Kevlar Current Designs Nomad.
Posted: Thu, 05 Dec 2019 08:00:00 GMT [source]
After settling on a style and model of kayak, what material should you go for? Sometimes the choice is made for you, and the kayak is only available in a select build. As with any kayak, the lighter the layup, the higher the price. If you find a perfect fit, don’t hesitate or haggle hard to save a few bucks. This is a long-term investment, and the savings of buying used are likely already significant. In this guide, you will find links to the best Current Designs kayaks on the market, as well as an overview of the types of kayaks this company produces.
I traded in a 1998 Solstice…
The Looksha seemed to hit a wall in top speed earlier than the rest. The Infinity seems to only be limited by my strength and endurance. I did not have my GPS Saturday but a friend was paddling my Looksha and I could easily pull away from him at full speed and the Infinity did not feel like it was pushing water to maintain the pace. Probably the result of the very long waterline and the VERY SOFT chines. I've recently learned an extended-paddle high-bracing sweep that enables me to lean the boat 90 degrees. Likewise, I can heel the boat over with a low-bracing turn, and it feels good.
The 2012 redesign includes hidden rudder haul cables and updated lines that do away with the old Squall’s distinctive peaked decks. Well I am happy to report that after taking a few pool rolling lessons in a WW boat this past winter I am now able to roll not only my WW boat but also my Solstice - VERY EASILY!!! Yes, the back of the combing on the Solstice is a bit high but it does not interfere with rolling at all.
Sit-on-tops are also the norm for fishing kayaks, a sub-genre of recreational kayaks that is distinguished by standard angler-specific accessories like rod holders and tackle storage areas. Current Designs has long made touring kayaks in all shapes and sizes, but lacked a British-style expedition kayak to complete their lineup. The boat is a rocket, especially in kevlar, and has the usual good CD quality. This is not for everybody, but it's a very nice boat -- I gave it a 9/10 as I found the back brace uncomfortable and would replace it with an aftermarket version (but I have back problems, so bear that in mind).
Although spacious, the deck and thigh braces are low enough to fit mid-sized paddlers comfortably. The Infinity 1st caught my attention because the fit was so good & I wanted another skeg boat. The cockpit opening is very long but the thigh braces are in the perfect place for me. IR designed it to be able to swivel back to allow for lay-backs. Greg re-laced the bungee to eliminate the swivel and it was improved 100%. The Kevlar layup is nicely done and the gel-coat is evenly applied (except for the extra thickness at each end of the keel-line - which is necessary).
If you lift a standard fiberglass boat side-by-side with the Kevlar model, the Kevlar will sell itself, durability aside. The composite hybrid Kestrel 120 is the epitome of recreational kayak designs. It’s incredibily maneuverable, has rock solid stability, and weighs in at only 38 pounds.
Within 2 days I had completed about 35 miles of Open Ocean/coastal paddling and decided to paddle the 44 mile round trip to Catalina Island to camp that weekend. Due to the wind the trip took over 8, but the trip back in tail wind and following seas only took a bit over 6 hours. I heard much scrapping each landing, but later checks revealed almost NO damage (very small micro scratches only).
Intermediate and advanced paddlers would be hard-pressed to find a more intuitive kayak. Kromann-Andersen’s design process begins with careful consideration of water flow dynamics, desired handling characteristics and paddler integration. Intuition, experience and innovation then guide the time-honored progression of testing in the sea and refining the shape.
Kayaks are a very specialized craft, with deliberate design tweaks for different intended uses. A kayak designed for multi-day camping trips on open water will have different features and performance attributes than a recreational kayak intended for beginner paddlers and short tours on sheltered waters. Touring kayaks are longer (14 to 18 feet), narrower and have more storage than recreational kayaks. They are designed for longer trips and come equipped with storage and hatches with lids that can be removed. Whether you are new to paddling and curious, or experienced and ready to get just the right deal, there’s a lot to be said for buying a used kayak.
For a boat of this width, my Solstice has a nice, easy cruising speed. A friend and I recently paddled 52 miles in 13.25 hours (total elapsed time). In other words, about 4.5 mph is an easy paddling speed for the Solstice. 5 mph is very doable if you're breathing a bit, but I couldn't keep it up all day without wearing out.
Then when on nice spring day I decided to wash my new kayak and found a small area where the gelcoat was cracked. I contacted Rutabaga again with my concern and desire to exchange this boat. To my surprise I received an e-mail from them saying to bring the boat down and that they would take a look at it, and they would try to find a boat to my liking.
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