Plastic Nordkapp

by **daviesgj** on Thu Aug 24, 2006 9:45 pm

Hi, I'm thinking of purchasing a plastic Nordkapp and was just wondering if anyone has one and if so what they think about it?
I paddled a fibre glass Nordkapp years ago and found it to be a lovely boat but slightly unstable when empty!!!!!
I tried the plastic version at the Jersey Symposium this year and found the boat to be much more stable than what I could remember yet very fast. Talking to the Valley rep, he was saying that they've designed the boat to have the characteristics of a fulley laden kayak yet being empty.

Any comments most appriciated.

by **Douglas Wilcox** on Thu Aug 24, 2006 10:21 pm

Hello,

I have paddled the Nordkapp RM fairly extensively this summer. I have two friends with Nordkapps and have a Nordkapp LV myself. The Nordkapp RM is actually midway between the other 2 in size. The RM looks like a proper Nordkapp and it feels like one as well when manouvering on the water. On land when carrying it with 2 people it feels very flexible and "boingy" but you do not notice this on the water. I can paddle it at the same speed as the full size Nordkapp and only slightly slower than the Nordkapp LV.

Personally (and I am 14 stone) I prefer the Nordkapp LV to the Nordkapp when paddling unladen. However the Nordkapp LV does not really have enough room for longer camping trips. ( I took my Quest on a 10 day self supporting trip to the Hebrides.) The Nordkapp RM is obviously midway between the other two in terms of the compromise of small size for day paddling and more space for camping.

It's made of a very robust triple laminate poyethelyne with good fittings. I like it a great deal. Anyone from intermediate level above buying one as an individual would be delighted. Also it would be wonderful if kayak rental companies had boats of this calibre.

Douglas

by **andreadawn** on Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:03 pm

Douglas Wilcox wrote: "boingy"

Is that a technical term Douglas?

There's no mention of it in the Cambridge Online Dictionary ;-).

Andrea.

by **charlesscott** on Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:17 am

Hi,

I got my plastic Nordkapp to be my coaching boat. I've already got an 8 year old composite Nordkapp Jubilee and I wanted a plastic boat that I can store in the club boat shed along with the other club boats, without worrying so much about damage or frost etc.

The boat arrived damaged at the nose, and it looked like a moulding problem despite protestations from the supplier that it must have been damaged in transit (out of 8 boats we got, mine was the only one wrapped in cardboard and with no external packaging damage). However, they were very good and offered to supply a new boat as soon as the wait at Valley had decreased. This flaw doesn't affect the handling of the boat. There is also a leak at the back of the skeg housing, but this isn't common in any of the other Nordkapp RM's I've paddled.

So the boat itself, well it seems just as fast as the "proper" Nordkapp and handles the same. I think it's very slightly more stable than the Jubilee, but this might be because I've been paddling it every Wednesday night and I'm comfortable with it. The level of finish is good, the bulkheads are neatly sealed and the seat is comfortable and well fitting. The footrests use a decent aluminium rail system, although the thigh grips aren't in a great place, but I get a comfortable knee grip on the inside of the .coaming.

Decklines are good, if slightly mimimalistic, especially on the back deck where I have a couple more elastics on my Jubilee.

Do I have a gripe about it? Yes - but it's a small one. The cockpit is too long. Now I'm only 5' 7'' but there is fully 18" in front of the footrests from my feet to the front bulkhead. So if you are a 7' 1" paddler with the same body length as me then this is good, but one of my paddling partners is 6' 2" and he has 14" between the bulkhead and his feet. Maybe this is a fabrication necessity, but this is bad as it's not usable space, unless you fit some kind of false bulkhead or cargo net and you're still going to take on more water than you'd like in the event of a wet exit.

I agree with Douglas that it does seem to be "boingy" but I really haven't been careful with this one and it hasn't oil-canned or anything. I took part in a rescue practice session a couple of weeks ago and the foredeck deforms less under load than my fibreglass boat. I really like it.

So is it a beginners boat? Well that depends. I got my Jubilee when I got back into paddling 5 years ago and it scared the hell out of me. I worried about capsize and the lack of initial stability used to trouble me. I'm lucky though and I paddle with a bunch of people that I have always known will be able to sort me out if necessary. As a result I've been able to grow into the boat and now I can take it out in the roughest seas like last year in the Sound of Jura in a Force 6, wind against tide or in the Corryvreckan. If you are prepared to persevere or you are just naturally confident in a boat then the Nordkapp will be the last boat you need. If, however, you paddle solo or in groups who you don't know or, if like me, you are not the youngest paddler on the water and your head is your biggest problem, then there are more suitable boats that will still last you. The Quest and the Alaw Menai 18" spring to mind. But I'm happy with both my Nordkapps, although if anyone can let me have a shot of a Valley Rapier on the Firth of Forth, please get in touch.

Charles

by **waltfos** on Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:00 pm

pm richard cree and harvey anderson

Richard has paddled one through the summer and Harvey has demoed one various timesand may have procured one.

I hear there was an initial problem with hatches popping open due to pressure/heat in bulkeheads. Others may have a first hand info on this

Trust this helps

Walt

by **Douglas Wilcox** on Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:17 pm

Walt>

I hear there was an initial problem with hatches popping open due to pressure/heat in bulkeheads. Others may have a first hand info on this

Hello Walt,

I paddled the same demo Nordkapp RM from new that Richard and Harvey later used. On one occasion after paddling in short, sharp seas I noticed that the back of the front hatch was not fully on. I thought I had been careless fitting it until I had a chat with Richard and discovered the same thing had happened to him on more than one occasion.

The demo boat we had out was very flexible (not that that affected performance one bit) but maybe compression in waves was causing the cover to blow. A problem like this is very easy to fix, just drill a small hole in the centre of the bulkhead. P&H boats come like that and I think Harvey has done it to his Alaw after a hatch popped off while on the car roof during a hot day.

Douglas

by **daviesgj** on Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:48 pm

Thanks Charles for the detailed feedback. I think my mind is made up now that this is the boat for me. I've been paddling a Perception Sea Lion for the past 12 years and love the boat to bits but have decided it's time for a change.

by **charlesscott** on Sun Oct 08, 2006 8:02 pm

No worries - try and get a loaner before you buy. You're really going to notice the difference between it and the Sea Lion!

I'm slightly concerned by the stories of the hatches blowing off. It hasn't happened on mine though. The Valley hatches are fiddly to close. Unlike Kayak Sport hatches or some other makes, you have to take a couple of minutes to fit each hatch cover. Once you've banged it on, you have to work round the base of the hatch rim, with a pencil end or paddle blade and push the rim flush with the hatch ring on the boat. The biggest problem I have is getting the things off once the interior of the boat has cooled and the interior pressure has dropped. If the hatches are popping then I'd be worried, as even if the rim looks ok, but isn't quite flush you'll take on water.