Submitted: 07-18-2005 by BSE
After having read some of the reviews about the Nantucket I must admit I was a bit gun shy. As a larger paddler I had all sorts of difficulty tracking down anything to paddle in comfort in the 4 years I have been Kayaking. I thought I was going to be doomed to going back to a sit on top.
I have had a Perception Contour and a Current Designs Pacifica. Both great boats but I was constantly cramping up on longer paddles and had difficulty extracating myself from the cockpits.
I was initially going to have an Old Town Adventurer 160 shipped to Australia site unseen as it is not available here. I was advised by Ian Pope at Adelaide Canoe Works that he was getting in a Nantucket (NZ manufacture) and I decided to wait before outlaying the cost for the 160 up front.
When the Nantucket arrived I was surprised at the massive volume and room in the boat and decided to buy it after comunicating with DTGSK a previous reviewer.
I must say I have not had any problems with my Nantucket at all in fact I am absolutely wrapped in its performance. It is extremely stable and surprisingly fast even with my 140+ kgs.
The finish is good and although I have made a couple of personal modifications it was good to go straight off the floor. Although slightly hevier as described by other reviews I can still easily handle it solo onto the roof racks.
I would highly recomend anyone of larger stature in the Australian and NZ region to take a look at the Nantucket. I would also like to thank Old Town (US) for all of their help in getting info and contact numbers here in Australia. |