Boréal Design Nanook fibreglass kayak
After the difficulties faced using my current kayak with ocean swell conditions, with a need for a long-distance kayak for the Hawkesbury Classic in October, and after an insightful chat with the crew at Sydney Harbour Kayaks, I booked a paddle on one their fibreglass kayaks, a Boreal Nanook. Now the Nanook (apparently Inuit for “Polar Bear”, quite fitting considering my nickname!) is pitched in as a performance kayak for, err, large people. In fact their marketing spiel is quite polite on the matter:
The Nanook is designed for individuals weighing 90 kg (200 lb) or more. This kayak has a deeper profile, offering ample room for the legs, thighs and feet. For added comfort and freedom of movement, the cockpit and seat are larger than those of other composite models.
Perfect for the Fat Paddler! Now keep in mind this paddler has thus far only paddled sit-on-tops, so this was always going to be an experience. Without a doubt the Nanook feels more cramped around the thighs and feet than my Cobra Expedition, but then a sit-on-top has the benefit of complete leg freedom. After a minute in the Nanook however I’d forgotten to feel cramped and actually started to enjoy the enhanced control you get when wedged into a kayak properly!
A pre-storm rainbow over Sydney
One of the things I wanted to test of course was the stability. And compared to my Cobra the Nanook was so stable I was frankly shocked. In comparison my Cobra is 1cm narrower across the beam and about 8cm longer, and frankly pretty tippy. It has a very low profile, making it excellent in high winds, but also susceptible to water washing in over the sides when choppy or during largish swell. The Nanook on the other hand was dry, warm, and happy to bob around in the water without any concern about entering water.
Paddling into the upcoming storm on Sydney Harbour
But the only real way to test the Nanook was to head out into ocean swell to see if it was more stable than my Cobra had been the day before. To add to the test a nice big rain storm was blowing into Sydney and by the time I passed Balmoral and into the path of the swell coming off the Pacific Ocean, wind/rain/chop added to the equation.
Riding up over ocean swell towards the Heads & the Pacific Ocean
I have to say I was even more impressed with the Nanook’s stability. With the big swell and sideways chop the kayak simply bobbed about happily without any water washing into the kayak at all. This is one hell of a steady & stable kayak!
Then I had a slight mishap. A running repair done just prior to my test came loose, resulting in the left rudder cable coming loose. With onboard repairs looking impossible, I used the cable system to pull the rudder out of the water and back up onto the stern, and started paddling with the swell back into the harbour.
Now tracking on the Nanook is no-where near as clean and straight as the Cobra (which is shaped with an inbuilt skeg system). Without the rudder, it was virtually impossible to keep the boat in a straight line with swell running from behind, and I spent quite some time pinwheeling perpendicular to the oncoming waves as a result. However, once I got out of the swell and back onto flat water, the forward momentum was far easier to control with smart paddling and the kayak ran effortlessly up into Middle Harbour.
In general, I really love this boat. It is big enough to handle both my weight and long leg length. It is sleek enough to develop good running speed, particularly on flat water. It is stable enough to handle nasty swell and chop. And the quality of Boréal Design kayaks is really second to none. Me likey likey! 😛
NOTE: Sydney Harbour Kayaks are the official distributors for Boréal Design kayaks in Australia and New Zealand. They are friendly and helpful and offer “paddle before you buy” sessions at the Spit for you to test their Boréal range of kayaks. It’s well worth it.
Despite wind & driving rain, a very happy reviewer!
I’m sold. I’ve always loved the stability factor in water and is my biggest demand of a kayak. Methinks that this is the one.
One of the things to note about the Nanook is that it sits very high in the water. This would be a problem for “lighter” people, as the rudder would barely reach the water (and as detailed, she’s not an easy craft to control without rudder). Its *minimum* paddler weight rating is 90kg (198lbs), and even I found at 125kg (275lbs) that it was still very high in the water. A few reviewers on the net have said the same thing – don’t get it if you are lighter than the minimum paddler weight.
I also tried one of the slightly smaller ones (either the Narwhal or Alvik, can’t quite remember), and found it to be equally as good as the Nanook (perhaps even better from a speed and performance point of view). The cockpit size however was simply too small for me and very uncomfortable, so the smaller ones aren’t right for a hefty guy. But paddling it was sensational – fast, responsive, and good fun. I would suggest trying some of the others (and definitely the Labrador) to find one of the Boréals that fits you right. 🙂
All sounds good – I reckon you’re right about the stability/speed of a good quality Ocean Kayak – but I’d rather be out in the big stuff on something that I can get back into/on top of if the unthinkable happens! The break off Dobroyd Head was huge this morning and I was happy to be able to jump back on after my involuntary swim – also discovered a paddle leash is a great idea – and a ski will almost always be faster on flat water. Horses for courses I guess.