Submitted: 08-19-2003 by Tom Stinson
I have a background in whitewater and kayak surfing, so I did not find the expedition to be at all unstable or tricky to paddle. In fact, I was surprised at how stable it was. The first time I tried one I found it remarkabley stable and fast. After two minutes, my paddling partner (my 2.5 year-old son) climbed aboard, sat in the baby-seat-shaped depression in front of the foot pedals, faced me, and we went for a very fast run out through chop on a local river. We even played "rock the boat", which involves the two of us rocking left and right aggressively. Now my son asks to go paddling almost every day; we do so often. He tells his mom that he likes the new kayak because it is "fast". The boat does fill up with water when crashing through surf, but after paddling for 10-20 seconds or so with the venturi vent open, all the water gets sucked out. No big deal. I have paddled many miles out to sea by myself, through 3-5' point breaks off Vilano Beach. The water comes out quickly, as long as you are paddling efficiently. Handles big pushy waves well too. Very light boat. I could see how beginners might find it a bit difficult. But, if you have paddled any kayak before, and try this one, it will seem like a rocket on the water. Plastic is fantastic. Rock on! God bless you. |