Submitted: 10-27-2006 by bryanpsims
After an inspection at my local paddling shop last week and a good bit of time doing research online, I arranged for a demo of Hurricane Aquasports new Expedition today. At 14 ft long, 26” wide and 46 pounds, I would call this a light touring or day touring boat. As with all of Hurricane’s models, this one is made of Trilon…a form of plastic with an appearance more like that of fiberglass and a density slightly less than standard poly. The Expedition is available with two cockpit options…a standard style cockpit of 38” x 21” and a “Sport” or rec style cockpit with a larger 50” x 24” opening. The well padded seat offered multiple adjustments and was very comfortable. Rudders or skegs are optional add-ons. Both versions have front and rear bulkheads with front and rear storage compartments. The front compartment on the “sport” version has to be accessed from inside the cockpit instead of from the top. The hatches are rubber and seemed to be a little difficult in getting on and off. The boat didn’t get up to speed as quickly as I would have expected but once it did, it coasted along well when I wasn’t paddling. It tracked and maneuvered well, especially when I leaned into some of the turns. Even when leaning into some of the turns, I felt very stable and not at all “tippy”. I’m not sure this boat is the one for me but it’s one not to miss if it falls into the category or class into which you might be looking. Since I had a relatively short demo in this boat and I have paddled other boats in this class that I felt were superior I'm only going to rate this a 7. Overall, it was better than average but not outstanding in any particular way. |