kayaker’s
journal
INSIDE OUT BY TIM SHUFF The Currituck BY IMPEX KAYAKS
WE RECENTLY TOOK the Impex Cur- rituck (formerly the Formula Pursuit in Cana- da) on a two-week trip to the Southeast Coast of Newfoundland, where it was paddled by our photographer, who had limited sea kayak- ing experience. Te Currituck is the third largest of Impex’s
four “performance touring” kayaks which em- phasize a balance of turning and speed for all- around use. Impex bills it as a “performance Greenland-style boat that is easy to paddle.” We chose the Currituck because with bow,
day and stern hatches of 57, 34 and 72 litres respectively, the Currituck has excellent capac- ity—slightly more than the popular expedi- tion kayak the NDK Explorer—yet is built for average-sized paddlers. It’s rated for pad- dler weights of 150 to 220 pounds, and the metal foot pegs are set for shorter than six feet tall. Te “ideal” Currituck paddler would be about 5’9” and 160 pounds. At 17 feet the Currituck falls neatly between
the lengths of popular, comparable boats like the Romany (16’) and Explorer (17’8”). On day one, we paddled in five-metre swells
in the wake of a tropical depression, thus con- firming the boat’s user-friendly performance in high seas. Te Valley hatches proved to be completely
watertight, keeping the camera gear dry. Shortly after, we permanently kinked the
skeg cable and thus learned that the Currituck performs reasonably well in crosswinds and following seas, weathercocking only slightly. Te medium-hard chine and shallow-V
hull provided a combination of primary sta- bility for taking photos, and secondary stabil- ity for easy edging and predictability in rough water. Some find it slightly tippy unloaded (which facilitates edging), but stable when
loaded. A few testers observed that the Cur- rituck’s secondary stability has some “falling points” through a roll, as opposed to smooth transitions, but most were impressed with its edging, rolling and sculling performance. Te two other boats on our trip were
Valley Nordkapps, which are unfairly eight inches longer and renowned for speed. Te Currituck was of average speed by compari- son, but easier to manoeuvre with its shorter length and harder chines. Impex kayaks, made in Ontario, Canada,
were among the first in North America to have fibreglass bulkheads and seams and are one of few that still have fibreglass seats. Te seat is comfortably padded with an Immersion Research neoprene pad and a very cushy, ad- justable, gel-core back band. Among the many features are two sets of
carrying handles, one for rescues and the other for boat carrying. Rounded, duckbill-shaped ends also make it easy to grab the hull to carry a fully loaded boat. Overall, the Currituck delivers a textbook
compromise between touring capacity and play- fulness, between tracking and turning. Justifi- ably popular, this is an excellent, full-featured, all-around touring boat at a reasonable price, suited for mid-sized paddlers of all abilities.
SPECS length ......17 ft (5.18 m) width .......21.5 in (55 cm) height ......13 in (33 cm) cockpit ....16 x 30 in (41 x 76 cm) weight .....55 lb (24.9 kg) (fibreglass) volume ....80 gal (303 l) MSRP .......$3,095 Cdn/$2,995 US
www.impexkayak.com
MAIN PHOTO: RYAN CREARY // INSET PHOTOS: TIM SHUFF
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52