Submitted: 04-18-2005 by gregesque
A little less than a year ago I started preparing to purchase a pair of kayaks for my soon to be wife and I. This meant test-driving a lot of boats. I am 6'1" and weigh about 220 lbs. I asked about the Elaho because I have rather long legs. I as referred to the Elaho HV because of that and my general size. I found that the eHV had a very tipsy initial stability that was more than compensated by its secondary stability. The initial stability really only took about 5-to minutes to adjust to and my balance was fine.
If you’re considering a purchase then don't let its initial stability bother you, it comes quickly. The secondary was great when trying hard turns. I found that if I evenly distributed the weight in the front and back hatch then the turning wasn't changed a bit and the tracking got a little better. Hardly enough to notice though. (yes I brought gear and what not with me to demo boats, and I suggest you do to if you know what you will be doing most often).
I found the seat bottom comfortable but the back had to be readjusted every time I got into it. Took about 20 seconds and afterwards it is quite comfortable. Using a GPS I was able to get it to nearly 8 mph with a coasting speed of between 4 and 5 mph. It covered a lot of ground...er..water pretty quickly.
All around I found it to be a smooth ride. Test drive anything before you buy it and consider using a local shop. The only thing I don't like about my eHV is that on its maiden voyage one of the rudder cables came undone, after a quick ride to the boat shop and 5 minutes it was fixed and ready to go. The store owner also let me borrow his rack system off his truck for my pickup truck for a few weeks while I was waiting for mine to come in. If you’re in the Georgia area I would recommend "Go with the Flow" those guys are great. |