Submitted: 08-20-2003 by Rod
My wife and I were looking for a plastic tandem kayak as light as possible and after much research opted for the Sun Kon Tiki Expedition which is made from a more resistant polyethylene called Xytec. The listed weight is 69 lbs, not bad but when it finally arrived from Canada we found it to be very heavy and it weighed empty 80 lbs.
On the water it glides smoothly and it is incredibly stable. It has two large hatches for storage. The tracking is very poor though. The kayak comes with a skeg but we opted for a rudder($200 extra)which is of the worse quality, made of plastic, very wobbly.
On quiet waters it is easy to paddle and is comfortable except for the tracking problem. But if there is wind or a few waves or boats around (which is frequently the case here in Florida) it becomes impossible to control and the rudder becomes ineffective.
In summary if you plan to use this kayak in quiet waters and you have a strong back, you will appreciate its great capacity and stability. But if you are looking for an ocean touring kayak, forget it. |