New kayak on the block...

[peguinpower]

Posted January 13, 2008 08:33 PM I went out with the Phoenix 160 today. Did 7.5 miles. I didnt like my 210 cm BB splice paddle. Too short. Tried my Hobie 230 cm paddle, a little better. Then settled on a 230cm Harmony touring paddle with long narrow blades. It made all the difference. Caught a calico bass and some cuda. Fishing was slow, but I was glad to be out for the paddle. This is only my second time out since early December 2007. Swells were huge today. I dont know if youve heard, over at Mavericks, the surf was peaking at 70 feet. At Venice beach, I saw a few good ones, easily 10 feet. I did a harbor launch With the new paddle, it was effortless to cruise at 3.2-3.6 mph (GPS used). Paddling at a good clip, I could cruise at 4.2 mph for 30 or so minutes. That took some effort, but it nice to know I can chug along at a good clip if I needed to. The hull hits a wall at a little over 5.1 mph (or maybe its me). The amount of energy to cruise at 5.6 mph is not something I can sustain for more that 5 minutes without pain. I am pleasantly surprised that I can cruise at the same speed as my Hobie Revolution with minimum effort. After a year of owning the Revo, my average speed has been 3.2 mph in varying conditions (open ocean, windy, choppy and harbors). After my basic mods, the Phoenix was a pleasure to fish in. All I need now is another eyelet inside the cockpit to attach my leash for the "rod in hand". I did have a "whoops" moment. I wasnt actually close to falling in, but after a drastic manuever to reach for something in my tank well, well suffice it to say I will be more careful in reaching over there from hereon. Rough water handling was superb. Despite relatively huge swells, waves did not wash over my bow. I did catch one wave which broke broad side. My seat got soaked But I was still pretty impressed at how the Phoenix handled in semi-rough water. A surprising trait of the hull is that it occasionally lands with a thud after a wave. The sound and sensation is similar to when a light PB lands back in the water. "pubh!" I found myself looking back to my trolling rod, just in case something hit it until I realized it was the kayak. In the end, Ive got to say, I like this plastic tub. Despite it lacking fishing accoutrements, I 'm glad I own it. Is it fast, YES IT IS. And what good is that you may ask? My intention is to be able to fish farther with a casual effort. Middle age, you start to question whether you can get back to the launch (sometimes) I sure I can confidently launch out of the hand launch in Redondo and fish the kelp beds 4 miles south and back with a casual effort. Maybe, I'll even make it to Cabrillo from Redondo someday. I guess I cant really figure a 1 mph speed advantage by feel alone. The GPS told the tale. Cruising at 3.2 mph with a healthy heart rate on the Hobie Revolution is effortless on the Phoenix. That very day, my friend in a Hobie Outback went back into the harbor a good 15 minutes before I did. When I did paddle in, I was looking at him and talking to him on the radio. For I minute, I really thought he was stopped as I was getting to him pretty fast. I blew past him and had to wait for him on the inside (which is when one of the outrigger canoe blew past me too ) I cant wait to take it for an even longer trip. /bing

[PAL]

Interesting. This P160 review adds more to the picture. It's a nice looking boat - why did you choose it over the T160?

[peguinpower]

Originally Posted by PAL

Interesting. This P160 review adds more to the picture. It's a nice looking boat - why did you choose it over the T160?

Because I cant carry a T160 and still enjoy my day The T160 is 70+ pounds with hatches. This is 55. For a couple hundred more, I save my back.

I can still do a 1 or two reps on the bench with 180 pounds. But with my built and the way you need to pick up and load kayaks, I have difficulty at around 60+ pounds.

/bing

[PAL]

That's a significant weight savings. It's still plastic, right? Have you noticed any downside to the lighter plastic? Flex or weak spots? Can you crawl all over the hull without oil-canning? Does stuff mount ok? And, can you mistreat it, drag and drop it like any other plastic fishing 'yak?

Thanks, very interested to hear the details. Where did you get the 'yak?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by PAL

oil-canning?

OK, I realize that I turned in my hard-core card long ago, but Oil-canning? WTF is that?

I could guess but I may risk being banned.

[peguinpower]

The manufacturer, Hurricane Aquasports, calls the material Trylon. I did a bit of research before I bought this kayak, and its a two pieace hull bonded (more like fused) together with the adhesive methyl acrylate. That particular adhesive is used mostly on polycarbonate, hence its probably a fancy name for what is actually lexan. Same stuff Nascar car windows are made off. And motorcycle helmet visors, nalgene bottles and baby milk bottles. But his bad boy is made of the stuff (vacuum formed) thats almost 1/4 inch thick.

More info from the company -
How will your kayaks hold up compared to roto-molded?
As long as you stick to Class I and II waters (meaning flat-water NOT whitewater) your Hurricane will be as durable as roto-molded kayaks. Our Trylon is just as abrasion resistant. It won't fade out in sunlight. And best of all it won't "oil can" on your car rack and warp like polyethylene boats can.

Oil canning is the property of plastic kayaks to bend and flex thru its length. That is why you see polyeth` kayaks with all sorts of channels and tunnels on the bottom. These are designs to compensate for the flexing.

Besides the hull shape and design, the less oil canning supposedly makes it go faster. You can imagine that a polyethylene kayak looses a bit of its forward momentum when it resonates with the swells, as it punches thru a wave, surf and such. The Phoenix has a very looooong glide. My other kayaks sort of brake when you stop paddling.

Its a great kayak, as Ive found out. Its good attributes dont jump at you as soon as you sit on it, but due to the weak power plant (me) you get a feel for it after some time, and with the help of electronics (gps)

Its not for everyone. If oil platform stability is your main concern look elsewhere. It is rocky (low primary stability) but has solid secondary stability (warns you well before the point of no return). I knew this before hand, and accepted it in exchange for speed.

Its available from two dealers in socal. I wont say it here, with respect to the sites sponsors. You can find that info on the manufacturer's website if you really want to check one out. If you check out the 14 footer, its 50 pounds. The 12 footer is a bewildering 35 pounds.

regards, /bing