P&H Delphin 155, first impressions.

I have been lucky enough to secure a long term loan of a P&H Delphin in order to carry out a long term test and review. The Delphin is P&H's "play the sea" kayak. I have four other sea kayaks in my garage, so I don't really need the Delphin, but straight away I liked the long cockpit. I have increasing difficulty getting in and out of the Nordkapp LV because of my bad knees. The Delphin's extra couple of inches in the cockpit length make all the difference! 

There is no day hatch behind the cockpit, a large rear oval hatch gives access to a surprisingly commodious rear compartment. The lack of day hatch probably maximises use of space, because the Delphin takes the same weekend camping gear that my Nordkapp LV holds!

It is a very distinctive looking kayak. Ignore the sail for just now, just look at all that rocker...

 ..then look at the bow. Its volume and inverted V on the deck are designed to resist pearling and for resurfacing.

Even more interesting is the shape under the bow, hard chines and a midline V are joined by double concaves  (usually seen on sea plane floats and windsurfers to generate lift). The hard edges wash out to rounded hull in the cockpit area going into softer chines towards the stern. At this point I should say that I have never seen such high quality moulding and definition on a roto moulded polyethylene kayak... it was faultless.

The seat is fitted nice and low in the cockpit and is exceptionally comfortable. The thigh braces are very well shaped and comfortable. The inner curve is covered with black foam. They adjust back and forward  to suit different folk. Two screws require loosening each side. It is just as well there is adjustment, as the left thigh brace on this kayak is fitted 2cm further back than the right one! This has reduced the overall adjustment range but it still adjusts to me just fine! I am surprised P&H don't have a mark on the mould to help their fitters who are clearly drilling holes by eye!

The small deck pod holds a VHF radio and a grain bar but not much else, it won't take a full size rocket flare. The fore hatch is round but as it is quite high off the bottom of the hull. My Nallo 3GT tent fitted in with the poles still rolled inside the tent.

The back rest is well secured to keep it out the way during re-entries and decent hip pads are fitted.

 They can move up and down, being held in place by velcro backing and the top moves inwards as...

 ...the seat back straps are tightened by the river kayak style ratchets. By loosening these off you can have a nice comfy fit for touring then tighten them up for a secure fit in buttock clenching tide races. In addition to padding on the inside of the thigh grip there is further foam padding stuck on the inside of the hull for the knees. The right one came off the first time the kayak got wet.

Behind the left thigh grip you can see the inside of the moulding that holds the ratchet skeg slider. It is a development of the previous P&H cable skeg, which I had unsatisfactory experiences with on two Cetuses and a Cetus LV. The action on this one is incredibly light. The cord now runs in larger diameter tubing and so far it has worked faultlessly. My only gripe was that as supplied, the knot in the adjustment cord had been tied too short and this only allowed the slider to move in the back third of the ratchet track and the skeg only came down to 25 degrees. This was not enough to prevent weather cocking with a force 4 wind on the rear quarter. It was easy enough to untie the knot and make the cord longer, to use the whole track. The skeg now comes down to about 75 degrees and this fixed the weather cocking.

The deck pod intrudes quite a lot into the cockpit, which is good as it reduces free cockpit volume in a wet rescue but if you have short legs like me (29" inside leg) your feet don't extend beyond the pod so they are restricted and you can't stretch your legs out together in the mid-line. The plastic foot rest peddles are a good size and can be adjusted on the water by twisting the red locking knob then using your toe to push or pull the peddles along the track. A previous version of these peddles had a green adjustment knob that could be used to push or pull the peddles as well as lock them. Some people found the green version could give way. This new version is rock solid.

A security brace can also be used to mount a deck mounted tow rope. I use a Plastimo quick release snap shackle so you don't need a separate cleat. 

So what's it like on the water? These notes are based on just 2 outings on the Clyde and one on the Solway. I will do a long term review next year. My first impression was of rock solid primary stability at rest though I know two beginners who trialled a Delphin alongside a Scorpio. They both found the Delphin unstable in comparison and each bought a Scorpio.

You would expect a "playboat of the sea" to roll well. It does, the low back deck aids back deck rolls. It is also exceptionally easy to do a re-entry roll, the hip pads and thigh grips make it easy to keep your bum in the seat. Some wet work showed that the forward day hatch is not waterproof (unlike those on the composite P&H kayaks). My friends with the Scorpios were also practising rolling and rescues. They had the same problem with the forward day hatch leaking, despite having drilled out the 6 pop rivets and resealed the pod. It also leaks through the hole for the hatch cover securing cord...

...as do the main front and rear hatches. The large hole through the foam bulkhead let in a surprising amount of water during practice self rescues. This would be easily enough to seal if you wanted to use the Delphin on a weekend trip with touring gear aboard.

Edged over the Delphin hits a very secure wall of secondary stability and my goodness, how this kayak turns on edge!

 I am paddling on both sides and only steering by edging...

 ...yet the stern just slid...

 ...round behind me...

...and I was back the way I came.  It goes round even faster using a bow rudder.

Some beginners have also complained that the Delphin is difficult to paddle in a straight line because the kayak is so manoeuvrable (and as you can see here the rocker definitely contributes to the easy turning). However, it responds very well to the skeg which allows straight tracking in a variety of wind conditions.

The water in Ayr Bay was like a millpond...

...so we decided to head out to the Heads of Ayr and rock hop round the point...

...where the spring ebb tide was running out against a 14 knot SW wind and a little swell.

 The Delphin handled the bumpy water with ease and once round the headland, I bore off into...

...Bracken Bay. I left Phil in my wake, as I caught the small waves and surfed to the shore. I have never been in a sea kayak that has caught waves so easily, it even outperforms my Alaw Bach in this department! My GPS log showed I was hitting 14 km/hr surfing on the waves.

I paddled the Delphin alongside Phil's P&H Quest. On flat water in Ayr Bay, the maximum sprint speed of the Delphin was about 4km/hr less than the Quest. However,...

...returning from off the Heads of Ayr, with the wind and waves behind us, the Delphin was catching many more waves than the Quest and streaked ahead. Note than when paddling purposefully the full length of the stern engages in the water, increasing speed.

Fun though paddling the Delphin was, with those water shedding rails up front, I could't wait until I fitted a sail...

...and then it shot off downwind, averaging 11km/hr and shooting up to 15.8km/hr, surfing through the waves in front.

 Within minutes, Phil was left as a dot on the horizon. So I let him catch up and pass me...

 ...before catching a small wave...

...and blasting past him again!

I have only been out three times in the Delphin but I have already been persuaded that this is probably the most versatile kayak I have ever paddled. Yes, it clearly excels at "Play the Sea" but it is capable of much more than that. It keeps up with conventional kayaks at normal cruising speed, it will take you a weekend camping trip and I also think it would be ideal for beginners.

I can't wait to take it out to some of our fun local tide races such as the...

...Grey Dogs or...

...the Mull of Galloway!

All of our team are literally gagging to try the Delphin. Well, they are going to have to gang up on me!

On water photos of Delphin by Philip Toman


Added 17/10/2011
Paddling into a force 4-5 wind, the Delphin can keep up with the Quest and the Cetus. In this sort of wind the Delphin literally flies with a sail. I was regularly hitting 18km/hr sailing and surfing down the waves.

Stonkin' fun!

Fitting a Flat Earth Kayak Sail to a Rockpool Alaw Bach.

I have updated the Flat Earth Kayak Sail Fitting Instructions page to include the Rockpool Alaw Bach.

Sea kayaking the Rinns of Islay.

A 37km, day trip round the west and north coasts of the Rinns of Islay. Launch at Portnahaven NR167521 small shop, hotel/pub, limited car parking nearby, toilets/water at top of hill. Recover kayaks at Crois Mor NR297703 in Loch Gruinart or a few hundred metres to the NE at low tide.

Tides: 

Portnahaven: Constant -0110 Oban (+0550 Dover) Tidal streams off Portnahaven run at 8 knots springs. Heavy overfalls occur off Oronsay and Frenchman's Rocks. In the north going stream a counter eddy forms in Lossit Bay, which can cause confused water where it rejoins the main stream at Frenchman's Rocks. Four hours into the north going flood, we met a SW going eddy along the coast from Cape Fear to Ton Mor.

N going flood begins +0530 HW Oban (HW Dover)
S going ebb begins -0040 HW Oban (-0610 Dover)

It is our experience that inshore streams round Islay turn about 45 minutes before the above published times in the pilots.

Don't be deceived by the calm of Portnahaven harbour, as you leave the harbour...

...all hell can be let loose. An unforgiving coast of cliff and surf beach stretches for an unremitting and challenging 26 km...

...until you turn the corner and find a respite

An Islay retrospective.

Dry mouths in the deceptive calm of Portnahaven.

Commitment off the Rinns of Islay.

Flotsam, jetsam and kayaks off the Rinns of Islay.

The ground was moving and it was nothing to do with the Laphroig!

Singing seals of Loch Gruinart at the end of a long day.

Singing seals of Loch Gruinart at the end of a long day.

Under lowering clouds  we set off from Ton Mhor along the north shore of the Rinns of Islay towards the gap between Ardnave Point and Nave Island.

The gap is infested with reefs but as it was high water, most were submerged. Despite this, the water inside the reefs was still pretty sheltered from the swell.  Looking back, Ton Mhor was now getting plastered with rain which was quickly heading our way.

Rounding Ardnave Point, our passing provided little interest for the local beasts...

...before we entered Loch Gruinart. We were now paddling into the southerly wind, which was lifting the spray off the waves breaking on the bar at the mouth of this tidal loch. The flat conditions on the sheltered east coast of the Rinns peninsula were a complete contrast to those on the west... just 8km away, as the gull flies.

We paddled past the shifting sands of Killinallan Point, which has one of the finest dune systems in the Hebrides.

Although the abandoned buildings of Killinallan Farm had a melancholy air under the grey, rain filled skies of a typical Scottish mid summer day, our spirits were high. We had just finished the most amazing paddle along one of the most challenging coastlines on the west coast of Scotland, in less than ideal conditions.

Although my day was now over, Tony still had to cycle 26km (with 300m of ascent) back to Portnahaven to collect the car. It was pouring with rain...

...so I took the easy option and retired to the tents...

...where I collapsed in agony, rubbing my bad knee. After some strong painkillers I didn't wake till Tony returned several hours later with the car... thanks Tony!

That night we slept soundly as the seals sang to one another on the sand banks of Islay's beautiful Loch Gruinart.

Flat Earth Kayak Sails news!

An exciting package arrived at Seakayakphoto Towers yesterday. Its elongated shape and Australian postmark had me salivating in anticipation. Four prototype sails for future models of Flat Earth Kayak Sails have been sent for final testing to Florida, Queensland, England and Scotland, and am I lucky to get my hands on the Scottish one? Kathy in Florida and GnarlyDog in Queensland are getting 1.0sqm versions but Duncan and I in the UK are getting 0.8sqm versions. This in no way reflects any inadequacy in GB paddlers but represents that we don't get steady trade winds. Our winds tend to be generated by low pressure systems and as a result are gusty.

This sail is likely to be called the "0.8" (for 0.8sq m). The whole sail is made of what Flat Earth Kayak Sails call Code Zero cloth. This is a mylar/dacron laminate, which is reinforced by spectra threads. It is much lighter than either the standard all dacron sail or the XP sail, which is dacron reinforced with code zero material on the leech, like my blue/white sail. The current standard size sail is available in Code Zero cloth but this new sail has a completely different cut.

The new cut has oriented the panels and the seaming to encourage twist at the top of the roach but also to put more fullness into the luff than the previous sail. The length of the luff and the full length sprit batten are unaltered but area has been moved from the bottom of the sail higher up and appears as an extended roach in the leech between the top of the sprit and the clew. The roach is supported by two mini battens that are sewn into the leech. This effectively makes it a lower aspect sail and because the cut has also been altered to put a deeper draught into the sail (with the fullness well forward towards the luff) it should make it more powerful for its size. Because the mast length is unaltered, the centre of effort of the sail will be moved higher into cleaner air, which should encourage good clean laminar flow across the sail. I really can't wait to try it out.

Please note these are prototypes and the final production version is likely to change before it is introduced some time in 2012. As it is likely that the current well tried standard sail will continue in production alongside the new sail for some time, I would encourage anyone who is thinking of taking up sea kayak sailing to go ahead and buy the standard sail now. As the mast and fittings are the same, you could always upgrade in the future, by just buying a new sail.

Talking of fittings there is also a new prototype mast foot. As you can see when the mast is vertical the mast rests firmly on a large penny washer. (It would rest even flatter if I had not mounted the mast base offset to avoid the inverted V of the Delphin deck!) This should get round the problem reported by some high wind sailors where the old tendon joint deforms under pressure loosening of the stays in the gusts.

 Yet when the rig is lowered, the tendon joint magically reappears!

If you pull the mast back as far as the stays will allow, then you can see the secret. The tendon is fitted into a little stubbie  (I think that is the correct strine description) mast that slides into the main mast.

What an elegant design. I think this new design will benefit even more than the current design from having two side stays at right angles to the mast and a back stay. So if you just use two rear mounted sidestays and no back stay, now is the time to get the drill out!

Again this new mastfoot design is just a prototype, so Mick has instructed that I chuck as much sand and wind at it as I can. Delighted to oblige Mick!

What bonzer news from Flat Earth Kayak Sails! This new rig looks a right bottler!

The ground was moving and it was nothing to do with the Laphroig!

I am afraid I have not a single photo of our paddle under the cliffs between Cape Fear and of Ton Mhor at the north end of the wild Rinns of Islay. After closing with the rocks we got out of the worst of the counter tide race but the clapotits proved to be somewhat of a challenge to tiring paddlers. It was like hanging onto a bucking bronco! We felt some relief when we eventually turned the corner into the sheltered waters of the east side of Ton Mhor. We were not the only ones to be tired, this large seal was fast asleep!

We now made for the lovely sands of Port Gillhe Greamhair.

There was hardly a ripple of surf, unlike the time when Phil and I had turned back from here only 6 weeks previously.

I stagerred out of my kayak, I could hardly stand, my knee had seized up after 25 km of some of the most challenging kayaking on the west coast.

After enjoying our sandwiches on the machair at the back of the beach, we decided to have a little celebration. In his recent comment Ian said: "Character building stuff Douglas! I trust a moderate amount of strong drink was taken in order to calm the nerves after this passage? I should have thought it would require an 18 yr old to really do the trick...."

Ian knows me too well! I had some 18 year old Laphroig in my day hatch and Tony kindly went back down the beach for it. As we lay back on the machair for a well deserved rest and snifter of the spirit of Islay, the ground seemed to to be moving beneath us, as if we were still paddling a stormy sea. I can assure you it was it was nothing to do with the Laphroig!