Just over a year ago we ordered 50/50 lay-up kevlar / glass Romany Classics for the round Scotland paddle. These boats "took some hammer" at times during that 2358km paddle but looked after us well especially in the rougher seas and tide races.
We learned from Scotland that we needed more hatch volume to extend paddle / camp days for the Ireland expedition without the need for replenishment. We squeezed 8 days out of the Classics and are hoping for 10-12 days from the new Explorers. The other advantage of the Explorer is their faster straight line speed and tracking, though the compromise is marginally less stability and manoeuvrability particularly in tide races. Life is all about compromise !! The other decision was to opt for 100% kevlar .
We had considered Rockpool Taran which is a well respected fast kayak for expeditions of this nature. In the end though we are not attempting to paddle round Ireland fast but rather, like Scotland , this will be a slow paddle exploring all the bays, inlets, local interest and taking time to drive our fundraising as we go. With this philosophy and talking to friends we trust like Tom Thomas with many years experience we stuck with what we know and went for the reliability and pedigree of the NDK Explorer.
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