Tonight was Aqua Adventures 'Thursday Evening Paddle' and I was on call to be the leader of the group. Over 23 people showed up for the event, a surprisingly large number for mid April, which made for a fun night. Two young ladies asked if they could paddle a canoe rather than kayaks because they are planning on participating in a dragon boat race and wanted to practice with a single bladed paddle. They had very little canoeing experience so I figured I'd take a canoe paddle along in my kayak to see if I could give them some advice along the way. That's how it came to be that at one point in the night I was sitting on the back deck of the Aquanaut with my feet in the cockpit paddling with a canoe paddle giving dragon boat paddling advice to two girls in a canoe. Hats off to variety I guess.
The plastic Aquanaut is not a boat I paddle very often. It's a fine handling boat but somehow I just don't get much out of paddling it. Perhaps the grey color of this one predisposes me to a dull experience in the boat. All I know is that in the Aquanaut it just feels like I'm pushing around a lot of boat. Folks often ask how it compares to a Nordkapp which I love to paddle. To that I'd have to say that for me the Aquanaut is more stable but less maneuverable but I still can't say which is faster. Perhaps with a stop watch and an hour to kill I'll finally have a solid answer to that question.
Manufacturer = Valley Sea Kayaks
Brand = Valley
Model = Aquanaut HV
Material = Plastic
Length = 17'-7"
Width = 22 1/2"
Weight = 58 lbs.
Location = Mission Bay 'Thursday Evening Paddle'
Time = 6:00 PM
Distance = 4 miles
Duration = 2:00
Avg. Speed = NA*
Conditions = Overcast but nice
* These large group paddles are a thing all their own when it comes to speed.
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