Day 98 - Cobra 'Tandem'

With Jen's ten year old cousin CJ as a co-pilot, we set out today to do a quarter-navigation of Sunset Beach Island. With a bag full of bottled water, sunscreen, and other on the water necessities we launched into the small canal in the interior of the island and started our way north west up the inside of the island. Along the way we drifted with the tail end of the ebbing tide viewing thousands of fiddler crabs scuttling across the beach in clouds and snowy egrets wading in the shallow water to feed. As we neared the end of the island storm clouds threatened to the inland side of us so we landed to wait and see which direction the storms would move. After a half hour it was obvious that the storms were headed further inland so we set out again out the river mouth and into the open ocean.

It was a pretty exciting run through the bumpy river mouth and once on the ocean we were dealing with rather lively sea conditions. We worked our way south about a mile until I asked CJ if he thought we were being more stupid than safe. At first he said "probably a mix of both" but just then as a rather large swell rolled under us he said "maby a bit more stupid." So with that we turned and headed through the surf (which was no problem with all the practice we had earlier in the week) landed safely on the beach then called for a ride.

The Cobra handled well enough and as they are known for, it was quite stable. I'm not sure it's a boat I'd care to spend much time in the surf with as it's sharp rails seemed a bit catchy.

Cobra Tandem Review

Manufacturer = Cobra
Brand = Cobra
Model = Cobra Tandem
Type = Sit On Top Tandem
Material = Plastic
Length = 12'-6"
Width = 36"
Weight = 60 lbs.

Location = Sunset Beach North Carolina
Time = 3:00 PM
Distance = About 2.5 miles
Duration = 2:00 hour
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mix of sun and clouds with thunderstorms in the neighborhood - strong winds and choppy water with some whitecaps

Day 97 - Perception 'Lana Kui 12.5'

When I got back to the beach with this boat the first thing the kids did was count the scupper holes up front to make sure we didn't have the same experience as we did yesterday with the Pelican. With the kids approval we launched into the surf again to give it a go. The Lana Kui surfed pretty well but because the boat was so slow, paddling out was a challenge. Jen's cousin CJ enjoyed standing up in the front seat again to do some "real" surfing. A short run to the fishing pier and back with Jen's neice Mackenzi gave me a feel for how well this boat cruises and it was no surprise that it was a bit sluggish, stable for sure, but sluggish.

**Day 96 - Pelican

With several hours of rental left on our kayak I went back down the street this morning to swap out the Malibu II for something different. Never having the chance to paddle a Pelican SOT before I figured one would be worth a try. It was during our very first launch through the surf that I quickly realized that I had picked a bad boat for the beach. The one small scupper hole in the front seat was entirely inadequate resulting in waves filling the front of the boat with water and dangerously slowing our progress out through the surf. Once through the breakers my co-pilots up front took to hand bailing the water to lighten the load. Surfing back in was interesting as the low volume bow tended to plow toward the bottom threatening to endo on several waves. Jen's cousin and I took a quick cruise down the coast and enjoyed the ride with the current but as soon as we turned around to come back it became a frustrating slog back to our camp on the beach. I can think of several things that could be done to improve these boats but I figure Pelican gets plenty of feedback from all the pros that sell them at Costco.

Pelican Tandem Review

Manufacturer = Pelican
Brand = Pelican
Model =
Type = Sit On Top Tandem
Material = Plastic
Length =
Width =
Weight =

Location = Sunset Beach North Carolina
Time = 11: AM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 1:00 hour
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly sunny with 1-2' waves water temp 80 deg.

Day 95 - Ocean Kayak 'Malibu II'

It was the discovery of a kayak (and beach toy) rental place within a half mile of the beach house that is going to make this weeks four or five boats much easier to come by. If you read my last post you'd know that finding such a close supply of boats is going to save a lot of hastles.

The boat of the day today was the Malibu II tandem SOT from Ocean Kayak. I was pleased to learn that a 24 hour rental would cost only $50 but would include two not-so-great paddles, two all but useless PFD's, and seat backs would cost extra. I'm not sure the renters at Aqua Adventures appreciate us quite enough.

We took the boat straight out to the surf to give Jen's cousin's kids rides on the waves. The Malibu handled great in the small surf, handling easily enough to allow me to hold the line while surfing and had enough speed to punch out without too much trouble. Jen's young cousins caught on quick and I had them edging into the waves to handle getting broached and standing in the front seat to really "surf" in on the waves.

Malibu II Review

Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Ocean Kayak
Model = Malibu II
Type = Sit On Top
Material = Plastic
Length = 12'-0"
Width = 30"
Weight = 58 lbs.


Location = Sunset Beach North Carolina
Time = 3:30 PM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 2:00 hours
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly cloudy and breezy with 1-2' waves water temp 80 deg.

THE END IS NEAR - And we're on our way to North Carolina -

I'm writing this review at 30,000 feet on an airplane bound for Atlanta. Jen and I are headed to North Carolina to speed the week at a beach house with her family, a summer tradition that pre-dates time. Over the next four days I'll be faced with the challenge of finding four different boats to paddle, (damn you Thom for suggesting 100 consecutive days for this game) but I'm up to the challenge. I've located an outfit that has enough boats available but working out the kinks of how to get to their location to paddle every day is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Their store is 45 min. by car from where we're staying which means that each days one hour paddle will require an hour and a half of driving. I looked their location up on a map and it looks like by water it's only six miles from the beach house to a potential landing near their store, so I e-mailed them with a hair brained idea of keeping the boats over night and paddling over every morning to trade one boat out for another. It may require an 8 block carry inland to their actual location but I'm not sure because after I mentioned the idea they quit responding to my e-mails. Perhaps I scared them away.

The plan right now is to find this shop on the way in to the beach from the airport tomorrow morning. Jen can drop me off while I paddle the first boat over to the house. The next day I'll paddle it back and swap it out for another...so on and so forth for the next four days returning Thursday's boat Friday morning then catching a ride back to the house with a willing driver. Unless I manage to get an hour in another boat Friday morning I'll have to catch up with day 99 late Friday night after we fly back to San Diego.

Saturday July 25th should mark day 100 and the final boat of the original 100 boats challenge. To mark the occasion, our friend Jay Murdock is cooking up a plan to include a paddle and lunch to follow with the folks from the San Diego Kayaking Club. It will be a simple out and back coastal paddle from our dock at Aqua Adventures with lunch at the deli next door to follow. I'm thinking about inviting folks (from San Diego and all of Southern California) to join me for a La Jolla to Mission Bay paddle on Sunday morning to mark day 101. Please let me know if you're interested.

Day 94 - Wilderness Systems 'Zephyr 160'

Surfers must hate me. Most times when I head out into the lineup with the board surfers it's with my 9' long Mega surf kayak which (complete with fins)is really not much more than a surf board that you sit on. Sometimes, however, when the waves are really too small for any good surfing with a short surf boat, I opt for a sea kayak. The speed of these boats allows me to pick up little waves way outside and enjoy smooth long runs all the way to the beach. Granted I'm not exactly carving the face of the wave but it sure beats waiting hours for the one larger than average wave that can allow a short boat or board surfer to get a ride. I don't actually get in the lineup with my long boat, the risk of getting swepted in sideways wipeing out a 16 food wide path along the way is not a pretty thought. Instead I stay to the side picking up the crumbs that nobody else can surf. That was the story today when I met some friends in La Jolla to play on the small but glassy smooth surf.

This time it was the Zephyr 160 that I brought along to play with. I prefer the tighter fit of the smaller 15.5 but this boat still fits well enough. I love hitting the surf with either of the Zephyrs as thier excellent maneauverability and stability make them a joy to paddle in rough water. As one can expect these boats aren't going to keep up with a longer narrower kayak but when it comes to playing in tight quarters and moving water they're hard to beat.

Zephyr 160 Review
Manufacturer = Confluence
Brand = Wilderness Systems
Model = Zephyr 160
Type = Touring
Material = Plastic
Length = 16'-0"
Width = 23"
Weight = 54 lbs.
Capacity = 300 lbs.

Location = La Jolla Shores surf session
Time = 6:30 AM
Duration = 1:30
Distance = N/A
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Very calm with glassy 1-2' waves
Activity = Surfing

Day 93 - Ocean Kayak 'Prowler Trident 11'

Wide, stable, and tricked out for fishing, that's the Trident 11 in a nutshell. As one might expect from a boat over 30" wide and under 12' long the Trident 11 doesn't take any prizes for speed, yet it moves along with less effort than other fishing kayaks I've demoed lately. Today I went from the Aqua Adventures dock around the marina and out the Jetty to check out the surf conditions. It did move along well enough for a boat of it's width and I even clocked a 15 min. mile (4 mph) coming back in the jetty. It is comfortable enough with the low back seat slings that I like so much. The one thing I would do if I paddled this boat regularly is put a scupper stopper in the front right scupper hole. That scupper hole is designed for a depthfinder transducer and without something in there you have a constant slap and suck sound to entertain you.

Prowler Trident 11 Review

Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Ocean Kayak
Model = Prowler Trident 11
Type = Sit On Top
Material = Plastic
Length = 11'-5"
Width = 30.5"
Weight = 54 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay - Red Buoy and back
Time = 6:00 AM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 1:00 hour
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly sunny and breezy