journal k ayaker’s INSIDE OUT BY TIM SHUFF
CONVERTIBLE The Flip Top seat offers two height options. Aggressive, moulded and padded whitewater-style thigh braces provide the necessary boat control for edging and include a ratchet for easy backband adjustment.
Easky 15 I
The BY VENTURE KAYAKS
n this issue we are introducing two category- busting kayaks that fill the important and
heretofore neglected niche that exists between those glorified bathtub toys called recreational kayaks and the wallet-straining realm of the multi-thousand-dollar tourer. First in the line- up: the Venture Easky 15, a comfortable and capable ocean cruiser that has everything you need for intrepid sea kayaking and more, at a price that’s easy to swallow. Venture Kayaks is owned by P&H and
Pyranha, leading makers of sea and whitewa- ter kayaks. When conceptualizing the Easky, P&H’s veteran sea kayak designers must have asked, “How do we fit the most important fea- tures of a sea kayak into an affordable package?” Resulting in features like hatches that are actu- ally dry, a seat you can park your butt in for a whole day, and solid on-water performance— the real deal, not just a rec kayak dressed up in sea kayak accoutrements that blow out on the first wave. Te Easky is decidedly beginner-friendly.
It’s got a roomy, non-claustrophobia-inducing cockpit, lots of features for recreational uses that you don’t find on high-end kayaks, like a paddle park so you can drift and take pictures, mounting locations for fishing rod holders, an
28 ADVENTURE KAYAK | EARLY SUMMER 2010
on-deck storage pod and a Flip Top backrest that can be extended for mid back support. Ten the Easky flashes its hardcore alter
ego—whitewater-style moulded thigh braces that give a positive lock on that otherwise loose-fitting cockpit; a carveable hard-chine hull; watertight foam bulkheads and the same rubber Kajaksport hatches found on P&H’s premium lineup. All this gives the Easky re- spectable speed, nimble manoeuvrability and rough-water capability. Edge carving in the Easky takes effort—pri-
mary and secondary stability lean to the recre- ational side of the design spectrum—but the performance is there if you push it. Te Easky comes in 13 and 17 models too.
Te 17 is an expedition touring kayak with a cargo capacity that’s unmatched in its price cat- egory. Te 13, with wider dimensions, is more for short-distance, recreational use. Te 15 is the just-right size for day touring and short overnighters, the friendliest length offering true sea kayak performance. It’s available with either a skeg (as tested) or a rudder, and is also available in an LV (low-volume) version that is shallower and one inch narrower, for wom- en and other smaller paddlers weighing 150 pounds or less.
GROOVY The Easky hull is constructed of light- weight single-layer polyethylene that is less rigid than the multi-layer plastic found in its P&H cousins, so Venture stiffens the hull with parallel ridges. The shallow-arch bottom provides rock solid primary stability while the hard chine lends manoeuvrability on edge.
IT’S IN THE MOULD Moulded-in features including flat areas behind the seat for flush-mount fishing rod holders, anti-slip handrests for entering and exiting, a locking bar, a recess for a paddle shaft outrigger on the rear deck, full perimeter deck- lines and deck bungies, a paddle holder on the front deck and a divot for the Pod—a front-deck-mounted dry storage compartment that now comes standard. The skeg operates with a shock cord and a string to eliminate cable kink, with the control behind the cockpit.
length .............................15 ft (458 cm) width ...............................23.5 in (60 cm) volume ............................86 gal (325 l) front hatch .....................12.2 gal (46 l) rear hatch ...................... 20.3 gal (77 l) weight .............................50 lbs (23 kg) price................................$1,249 US
www.venturekayaks.com
PHOTOS: MAIN BY VICTORIA BOWMAN // INSETS BY TIM SHUFF
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