We landed on this lovely beach to the south of the ferry jetty at Claonig. I should say something about the P&H Cetus MV, which I have had on loan for the last 7 months. It has proved to be an outstanding, comfortable, all round kayak, just as at home loaded with camping gear for a week as rock hopping on a day trip or blasting with a sail. Despite class leading stability, it is still an incredibly manoeuvrable hull. The new skeg slider works perfectly but I am less happy with the elastic skeg down haul. The elastic is not strong enough to pull the skeg down in high wind and wave conditions, especially when sailing when it comes up. Overall, I like the Cetus MV so much that it will be my next kayak. But I will order it with a wire skeg. I let Mike try it for a windy day kayak sailing and he has also already ordered his own new Cetus MV, but like me with a wire skeg.
Hi,
ReplyDeletehow would you compare it to an aquanaut MV (composite) ?
Hello Anon,
DeleteI have always had a soft spot for the Aquanaut especially in surf. In 2006 it was a toss up between the Aquanaut and the Nordkapp LV but eventually I bought the Nordkapp LV. At the time if the Aquanaut MV had been available I might have bought that instead of the Nordkapp LV.
I have not paddled the Aquanaut MV beside the Cetus MV but have paddled the two HV kayaks side by side.
From what I know of the Cetus MV and the Aquanaut HV/Cetus HV and at my weight of 200lbs and for use in day and camping trips... my personal choice would now lie with the Cetus MV because of comfort, manoeuvrability and stability.
However, the Aquanaut is a great kayak, so you should definitely aim to trial them both.
Thanks for the answer.
ReplyDeleteHave you paddled the Tiderace Xplore? How do you think it would compare to the Cetus?
ReplyDeleteHello Anon,
DeleteI have had short paddles in the Xplore L (1/2 day) and the Xplore M (full day, windy) both unloaded. They were both beautifully made. (Both skegs worked perfectly.) A friend recently got washed onto the rocks in his Xcite by big swell. I was amazed how little damage it suffered. Tiderace kayaks would appear to be very well built.
I am 90kg but am not tall, so I found I was rattling around in the Xplore L cockpit. I found the M cockpit a bit neat for my thighs so I would probably go for the L and pad it out. I fitted straight into Cetus MV/HV. Personally I was more comfortable in the Cetus but friends are more comfortable in the Xplore.
Both Xplores carry more volume up front than the Cetus MV or HV, which may be a feature you either like or don't. I didn't find the Xplores as manoeuvrable as the Ceti but they do take a lot of kit! If you can imagine a spectrum with rockhopping dayboats at one end and expedition boats at the other I think the Xplore is pretty near the pure expedition end. The Cetus would lie between the midpoint and the Xplore. The Cetus is more versatile, more manoeuvrable but doesn't carry so much weight (though the Cetus HV takes more than I need for week long trips)and doesn't track so well, I thought the unloaded Cetus MV handled wind better than the unloaded Xplore M. There are differences in cockpit ergonomics that suit different builds so you will need to try both on the water. Spoilt for choice, I say!
Thanks a ton Douglas.
ReplyDeleteDouglas,
ReplyDeleteI found a used Cetus MV and am going to put a FEKS code zero sail on it. Did you do anything to shore up the deck under your test boat, or does the shape of the compass well provide enough rigidity. Thanks again. I spent the last 6 months deciding which boat to get, and your blog was a great help in narrowing down the field
Thank you Rambler. I hope you are as pleased as I have been with the Cetus MV and FEKS sail. I did not use any extra reinforcing under the mast foot as the deck mouldings do make it very stiff as you surmised.
ReplyDeleteHappy paddling in your new kayak!
:o)