“I would highly recommend Bay Sports. The customer service is excellent and the product superior. I’m loving my new expedition kayak. I’ve been out every weekend since I got it.
Many thanks!”
“It is a great kayak, however I did have a few issues along the way on my trip kayaking 625km from the SA/Vic border to the Murray mouth to raise money for the home of love and Dreams orphanage in Uganda. but I did expect some issues on my 30day trip.
The kayak held up well until I encountered some strong 20-30km/hr winds.
On day 12 of my trip it began to get rough. bracing myself with the rudder pedals and trying to keep the kayak straight as I was paddling into the head winds and waves the hull cracked where the round rudder mount inside the cockpit is attached to the body. It split underneath the left hand side mount closest to the seat in a half moon shape.
It leaked water in through the crack but I put some waterproof tape on it until I got some fibre glass to patch it up properly and it was all good again after that. The right side never cracked.
On day 17 the silicone on the divider between the cockpit and the back storage area ripped open from pulling the kayak onto the bank. I’m guessing from having too much weight in the back and the silicone failed letting water from the cockpit into the back storage area. I was wearing a cockpit skirt but the .5m waves were still splashing in over the bow and leaked through into the cockpit and then into the back storage area
With some more fibre glassing and extra silicone I stopped the leak into the back area
The front storage and small storage in front of the cockpit kept dry the whole trip, even when I had my kayak tied to a wharf while I dumped rubbish and a wake boat flipped it upside down with its waves no water got in. Lesson learnt never leave it unattended while wake boats are around. Always drag it onto the bank.
I also found it hard to manoeuvre in strong winds and the rudder seemed rather useless in rough conditions especially when I had to turn around when my hat blew off my head and I was attempting to get it back, but I just paddled to get where I needed to go so it wasn’t too much of a big deal.
The positives, the kayak was very stable. I didn’t flip at all on the 30 day trip. Even with the wake boats flying past right near me or with the rough .5m waves, only when I wasn’t in it did it flip.
On calm days it cruised along nicely, relatively fast, and the rudder made excellent turns when there was no wind.
The seat was really comfortable I loved it and there was plenty of leg room in the cockpit.
There was plenty of storage in the compartments and I know I would have gone way over the 150kg weight limit, seeing I weigh 98kg I would have had an extra 70kg of water, food and camping equipment with me. the kayak was jam packed with supplies and it held it all nicely.
Overall, I am happy with purchasing it, but I’d recommend anyone buying it not to go it rough conditions like I did. If you don’t want it breaking and don’t overload it if you’re going to drag it up onto the steep river banks. If you do plan on doing that I’d take a fibreglass repair kit and some silicone with you because you might end up needing it.”
“This is my first kayak. While I'm not ready to buy a composite one, I did not want to go necessarily for one of the cheaper rotomolded ones. So this thermoformed kayak seemed like a good compromise. I used it today for the first time, and I like it very much. It's very stable, and - while it is fast - it is not necessarily the fastest kayak you can buy. But as a first kayak for me, this is perfect. Huge amounts of space. Seems very well made. I'm satisfied with my purchase.”
“I took delivery of this kayak on Tuesday, the delivery driver was courteous and it came very well wrapped.
I note these are made by the same factory who produce the Boreal Designs kayaks and confirmed this by the BD imprint on the internal bulkhead wall. I’ve owned many kayaks over my time and the seating in this one is by far the best in terms of comfort, adjustability and back support (I have a bad lower back) I have seen.
Overall the kayak is excellent. Only one trip but it was stable and glided through the water nicely. Great experience and one happy customer.”
