Thanks to all who posted particularly John whose comments cockpit
fit and posture I've recently come to appreciate. I'm now about a
month later in my search and am welcoming a well fitting cockpit which
only a month ago I found confining. The boats I still like are the WS
Tempest 170Pro, the P&H Quest, and the Necky Chatham 16 (only demoed
the plastic model). I've settled on a 21 to 22 inch beam and a boat
that has reasonable primary stability bit feels lively on the water.
I need a large deck depth for size 11-12 feet . The other boat on my
mind is the P&H Capella which has more rocker than any of the boats
listed above. Unfortunately I can't keep that boat on track with even
moderate to light quarter beam breezes unless I spend a lot of energy
edging and sweeping. Of course the skeg solves this problem, but I
have it in my mind that I shouldn't need the skeg under such gentle
conditions. Just to give you a little background about my novice
experience level I had the same objection to the Ellesmere and Night
Hawk. Is keeping the boat on track something else that will improve
with time and experience or is my initial judgement correct that the
Capella is a more playful boat that trades off tracking efficiency.
The Quest tracks great but is a bigger boat than I really need. (Not
planning a multi day expedition anytime soon). So far the Tempest
seems to provide the best tradeoff: tracks well but not exactly on
rails and also turns easily. Good stability but also lively, and a
cockpit that can be adjusted to fit like a glove or a little looser if
you prefer. I'm waiting to try out a composite Chatham whenever anyone
gets one close to my location. Anyone out there want to comment on my
reflections P&H Capella?
Another subject: recently paddled a P&H Orion. This is similar but not
the same boat as the CD Gulfstream. While the hull may be similar or
identical, the cockpit and deck are quite a bit lower resulting in the
absence of sitting in the bathtub effect that I experience with the
Gulfstream. The cockpit width seems a little tighter but the boats
beam is still wide.

Thanks,
Gene

On 19-May-2004, (Gene Cosloy) wrote:

Is keeping the boat on track something else that will improve
with time and experience or is my initial judgement correct that the
Capella is a more playful boat that trades off tracking efficiency.

Try paddling a WW kayak for a considerable distance a bunch of times.
You'll either give up kayaking or learn to keep it in a straight
line :-) The skills you learn (which become automatic) will allow
you to paddle maneouverable sea kayaks more comfortably and not
feel so concerned about tracking.

I'm not advocating not using a skeg, but being confident in handling
a low-tracking kayak and also having tracking with the skeg opens
a few horizons. (i.e. as everything in kayaking, skill beats
hardware).

Mike

(Gene Cosloy) wrote in message . com...
Thanks to all who posted particularly John whose comments cockpit
fit and posture I've recently come to appreciate. I'm now about a
month later in my search and am welcoming a well fitting cockpit which
only a month ago I found confining. The boats I still like are the WS
Tempest 170Pro, the P&H Quest, and the Necky Chatham 16 (only demoed
the plastic model). I've settled on a 21 to 22 inch beam and a boat
that has reasonable primary stability bit feels lively on the water.
I need a large deck depth for size 11-12 feet .

Recent experience needs to add the Impex Currituck to the above list.
Last evening I also paddled the Necky Chatham 16 and 18 composite
boats. The 16 had all the positive attributes of the Poly version
which I had previously paddled and enjoyed a lot. Unfortunately it
also shared the one negative I felt about both boats, an uncomfortable
combing width of but 15". Gravity allowed me to enter the cockpit and
once there was quite comfortable. Getting out, however was another
problem: my average size hips needed another 1" of width and I could
see myself getting stuck and capsizing leaving the boat or worse
getting stuck during a wet exit upside down. The Necky people
recommended twisting the hips so one enters and leaves before the
other. Minor annoyance to them, dumb design and lack of forethought to
me!! Interestingly, the 18' with only a 20" beam had a larger combing
and was not a problem. While the Necky Chatham 16 performed great and
would have been my first choice, it was edged (no real pun) out by the
Currituck which had a more traditional 16" wide cockpit, seemed easier
to edge and lean, and seemed to be more lively and faster straight
ahead then the Chatham. Since every boat design involves tradeoffs the
designer had in mind, I can only conclude that of all the boats I've
paddled, the Currituck's tradeoffs are the ones I most agree with.
While the Currituck also felt faster, more lively, and faster than the
Tempest 170, it was not as fast as the P&H Quest, nor was it as
straight ahead tracker as the Quest. Again, tradeoffs, make your
choices.

Thanks to all who helped me along this interesting learning journey.

Gene