Submitted: 09-02-2003 by Bugzee-m
Rented the Torrent for a weekend sea kayak/camping trip. I know your thinking WHAT?? We were only paddling for a couple of hours and this was the only sit on top the shop had for rent. I really wanted to try a sit on top yak as I also like to fish.I managed to stuff about six 2 liter bottles, tent, beer etc down the small center hatch all connected on tether strings. I bungied on a waterproof cooler box onto the back deck. Fixed my
thermarest camping seat in and away I went. Not a problem! The Torrent handled this abuse like a champion. Even with the cooler box upping the center of gravity it remained stable. The Torrent seems bullet proof. The boat runs fairly dry and tracks well for what it is...a river/surf boat.
It was quite fast, not the fastest in our group but not the slowest. I managed to keep up with the sea kayaks on the second day...maybe they were just tired. On the back deck there is a place to add another hatch and there seems to be quite a bit of room under there. This would add to the boats useability. I would also say to add a seat or back rest as my thermarest camp seat really improved the boats fit. With it and the leg straps tight I could really motor along. I ended up buying a "sit in" kayak mainly because of protection from sunburn etc, but if the Torrent is still there at the end of the season and the price is right I will buy it.
It was so much fun. All in all it was a great boat. |