Day 3 - Dagger "Kaos"

A twist of events this morning left me with two Dagger Kaos SOT surf kayaks in the back of my truck destined for a surf lesson for a person that was not able to participate. Rather than just scrub the whole morning I ended up going out at Tourmaline Surf Park in Pacific Beach with some friends (Theresa, Peter, Thom, and Steve) to give the Kaos a shake down in the mellow 2'-3' surf that was rolling in. Tourmaline is known by some as "Old Man's" because it is favored by long board surfers who tend to have a bit more grey hair than the youngsters so often seen on the waves. The long boards are there for a reason as the waves there form slowly and slide in toward the beach in almost slow motion. At 10' long the Kaos was a great match for these waves allowing me to get on twice as often as the guys that were with me in high performance (but much shorter) surf kayaks. Because the boat is long and heavy (at surf kayak standards) maneuvering was a bit more challenging than in my composite surf boat, but with good pre-rotation and timing I was able to do easy top and bottom turns and the occasional cutback. The boat is very forgiving (with not too aggressive rails) it is solid on and off the waves and the rockerd bow makes paddling out over the soup a little easier. Overall the kaos is a fantastic way for someone to get started in surf kayaking.

Manufacturer = Confluence Watersports
Brand = Dagger*
Model = Kaos
Material = Plastic
Length = 10'-2"
Width = 27"
Weight = 41 lbs.
Capacity = 250 lbs.

Location = Tourmaline Surf Park (Pacific Beach CA)
Time = 8:00 AM
Duration = 2:00
Conditions = 2'-3' waves at 12 seconds, a bit mushy but many good clean shoulders

* The Kaos used to be sold under the Wilderness Systems brand. Same boat...different logo.