Submitted: 06-27-2005 by dirtnadvil
I bought this Kayak two years ago. My family and I do a fair amount of kayaking so I bought two tandems. The other boat is a fiberglass tandem (Skookumchuck I think) Anyways I like the ways the Northstar pro handles, paddles, rudder function. The seat is one of the most comfortable around and the middle compartment has a removable picnic basket.
So, why the 6 out of 10? Being a plastic tandem this boat is a nightmare if you need to transport it during warm weather. The hull doesn't have enough rigidity so it will collapse where the racks contact the boat. I use Thule racks and pads. We drove cross country and this problem really got worse when the air temperature rose above 80 degrees F. The hull collapsing caused numerous problems because once the hull sags the boat is no longer snug on the rack allowing it to move across the racks in cross winds and when semis pass on the interstate. During one of these episodes the Northstar slammed into my other kayak so hard it broke the rudder off my other boat. The boat also sagged so much that it was bouncing off the roof of my new truck.
The bottom line is that this is good boat until you need to transport it during warm weather. I am sure that all plastic boats are the same in order to keep the weight down. Hope this helps you. |