Traditionally speaking, the European
kayaks without rear pillars have been the most popular
boats for self-support. Compared to boats with pillars,
they are almost always easier to load and unload, allow
more weight to be concentrated near the seat and have
lots of capacity. The latter however is not an issue
with any pillared creek boat or most “river running”
boats…at least with the gear and methods talked
about in these pages.
 |
Practicing
w/ fully loaded Riot Disco.
Though it makes
little sense to use a play boat for self-support,
if the run is favorable & the paddler so inclined,
one can do it reasonably comfortably with the
gear & techniques talked about here. |
The real issue with pillared boats
is sufficient access to the stern. Some kayaks lack
so much here that even the most compact loads are a
struggle to get in. And, by the time you do get the
gear in, it’s strung out and not easy to get resituated
and concentrated near the seat where it’ll have
the least effect on the boats
handling. Of the creek kayaks made in the last decade,
the ones lacking ample stern access are as follows:
- Dagger CFS
- pre 2007 Dagger Nomads
- Necky Crux
Short of installing a different
seat, there are no good ways to make some boats more
self-support friendly. However, not only is retrofitting
a seat time consuming, doing so will void any warranty
and if done without a good dose of structural engineering
knowledge, may make the boat unsafe.
I do not recommend it. For simplicity’s sake,
a few have been known to remove
the rear pillar entirely, or cut it in half, for
easier access. Do not perform either!
Doing so is a surefire way of weakening the kayaks structural
integrity.
°
kayak mods
Below is a good cross section of
modern (newer than 10 yrs) pillared
boats that are self-support worthy. While some are lighter
or have more capacity or are easier to load, all these
boats will work.
Bliss Stick:
Huka; Mac 1; Mystic
Dagger: Mamba
7.5, 8 & 8.5; 2007 & newer Nomad 8.1 &
8.5
Dragorossi: Gangster,
Mafia, Critical Mass
Fluid: Solo S, M & L
Jackson: Punk Rocker, Rocker (all
years) & Mega Rocker; Hero & Super Hero (all
years)
Liquid Logic: Jefe Chico, Jefe, Jefe
Grande; Remix; Gus; Huck
Necky: Blunt
Perception: Phat; Java; Stikine
Pyranha: Micro 230, 240 & 250;
H2 245 & 255; H3 235, 245 & 255; M3 233 &
243; Burn S, M & L; Everest; Ammo S, M & L;
Karnali M & L.
Rainbow: Idra,
Zulu
Riot: Thunder; Magnum; Sniper w/o
hatch; Big Gun w/o hatch
Robson: Charger;
Sportster & Sportster XL
Wave Sport: Y; Diesel 65 & 75;
Habitat 74 & 80
Here is a list of modern (newer
than 10 yrs) pillarless European kayaks that
work great for self-support:
Eskimo: Salto
new & old models
Prijon: Embudo; Kompressor; Cross;
Creeker; Hercules
High capacity pillarless boats for
long pleasure cruises or trips requiring large amounts
of gear:
Eskimo: new
or old models...Diablo; Cerro
Prijon: Tornado;
Chopper; T-Canyon; Rockit (shortest
in this group)
General
tips
- If in the market
for a new self-support boat, try to do some demoing
with gear packed in. Depending on the weight of the
paddler and the particular boat, some kayaks will
handle the added weight of camping gear better. If
you can't demo, pay close attention to the manufacturers
recommended weight ranges and take in to account the
extra weight your gear will add.
If you're towards the upper end of the weight range,
the boat may take on a number of undesireable handling
traits when loaded with gear.
- Self-adhesive velcro can be used
to contain water bottles in the pillarless European
kayaks without bottle holders. Place the "hook"
half on the boats hull ahead of the seat and the "loop"
half on the water bottle. The same kind of velcro
can also be used anywhere in the kayak to hold a map
case or any other miscellaneous items. Just be aware
that these things stand a chance of being lost during
a swim. Properly done though, the velcro will hold
a bottle (square or rectangular)
and similar items fine while paddling and rolling.
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