I had the pleasure of testing the new Kaskazi Pelican on Saturday. Simon Everett made the long haul down to Pembrokeshire (fair play to him) for the paddle. I got straight into the Pelican and Simon used his Dorado, we set off from warrior way and headed up river in a pleasant force 4 wind on our backs with a following tide as a bonus and paddled for about 5 miles. The ride up was quite sedate as we watched the wildlife and enjoyed the time to mess about with the yaks. The return journey saw the wind pick up to a force 8 southerly which meant it was straight in the face most of the way home, and as another bonus it gave us a 2ft rolling short chop which was very confused at times. I must point out that we were in the upper reaches of the Milford Haven waterway which meant we were never more that ¼ mile from shore which is why we chose to go out in the conditions we encountered.

I only started kayak fishing about a year ago so I consider myself a novice, so I will just give my take on things rather than try to give an expert assessment with wonderful terminology. On the other hand I owned a surf ski for more than 18 years which gave me many hours of pleasure, so I had an idea what sort of kayak I wanted for offshore conditions.

Review.

Kaskazi Pelican sit on top.
Length 4 75m
Width 62 cm
Weight 23kg
Max payload 180 kg
Composition fibreglass.
Hatches x 2
Rudder as standard.


The Pelican is uncluttered with clean lines and minimal fuss about it. The cockpit is very deep and very comfortable with plenty of seat room for the larger person and more than enough leg room for tall and long legged persons. I am 6’2” and weigh 17stone and it was more than ample for me, I even had another notch setting on the rudder to spare. Getting in and out is very easy as you can lean the kayak and slip in or out. I was very taken with the way you get in the cockpit, just sit on one of the gunnels with you’re behind hanging over the seat and just sit down. The shape of the seat just makes you slip into position in 1 fluid movement. I was so pleased with the entry that I must have done it at least a dozen times or more throughout the day and chuckled every time like a child going down a slide.

The initial stability is very similar to the Dorado, a little rocky but not at all twitchy, bear in mind I paddled her empty so a little more weight would have lessened this. That said after an hour of paddling I did not even notice the rock even, when sitting up behind the seat with my feet in the cockpit seat.

The secondary stability absolutely amazed me. On first entering the kayak I sat side saddle to see how far she would go, I had her over to the gunnels and she did not flip. Once in the kayak properly I gave her some good leans with a low brace and managed to get her right over to the gunnels. Simon actually managed to lean her over further than me until she started taking water over the side and she still held solid. This is one seriously stable kayak.

The kayak turns really well, in calm conditions and the confused water we encountered she responded quickly while still maintaining control and not over steering. It also paddles backward very easily and surprisingly quickly. Tracking was good with minimal correction needed, in the wind it did want to weathercock but once the rudder is deployed just keep paddling and steer with your toes. I liked the rudder controls very much indeed; it took minimum movement using the toes while still keeping a firm brace with the middle and lower foot which made it very comfortable and a lot better than the sliding system on my current kayak. The rudder itself is very sleek and caused very little drag when deployed. The pulley system used to deploy the rudder is stiff to operate but once you get the feel of it, it works smoothly with no jarring or hard points.

The storage is plentiful inside both the forward and rear hatches with plenty of areas to fit various rod holders and other paraphernalia on the decks. This said the kayak is not an all out fishing platform but halfway between a touring and fishing kayak. It would be ideal for lure and fly fishing with its clean deck and cockpit area. A shallow crate could be added on top of the rear hatch or like many of the sit inside kayaks the rear hatch lid could be modified to take a semi sunken crate. There are plenty of deck fittings including front and rear bungee arrangements and various pad eyes around the top decks.

Performance wise it is very quick and easy going on a long haul paddle. Out of the wind and tide over a mile the kayak maintained an average speed of 5 mph with a maximum speed of 6mph, this was by no means a speed test and involved no sprinting or hard paddling.
On a ¼ mile sprint I attained an average of 6.5mph with a top end of 7.3 mph, this could probably be bettered with a more experienced kayaker with a better fitness level than mine.
The handling in the rough water and strong winds was flawless, not once did I feel out of control or in fear of rolling over, even when the wind was broadside and the waves coming from the quarter bow or quarter stern at a set less than the length of the kayak it maintained a level of buoyancy and forward momentum sufficient to keep control of direction and stability.

Overall impression. My opinion of the kayak is 10/10, I like the build quality, the handling on and off the water, the comfortable cockpit, the price is outstanding as you get a lot of kayak for your money and it is also very pleasing to the eye. I am confident that this kayak will perform in weather that would be less desirable and almost impossible to many of the current fishing kayaks on the market.

Disclaimer.
This review is a voluntary statement and I have no connection with the company who build, supply or import the Kaskazi brand. I have purchased a Pelican after testing it in such conditions and paid full price for the Kayak, so I owe the company nor it’s importer’s no favours or sponsor. I owe them only my gratitude for making such a fine craft and I owe the U.K importer Mr Simon Everett my utmost gratitude for taking the time in accompanying me during the test paddle and for the advice and coaching so freely given by him to me to get the most out of the kayak during such testing conditions. Many thanks Simon.

One very satisfied customer.

GB

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Great report!

cant wait to have a paddle

I have paddled the Dorado, it is also a fine machine!

Nice report GB.

I guess that you're dead serious about your round Pembs trip then!

One question. Will the bass be able to swim fast enough to catch your trolled lures?

Look forward to seeing the new boat.

Rich.

Well we will just have to arrange to get out again as soon as m8.



I'm sure the Bass will keep up Rich, if not I will be a gentleman and slow down to give them a chance

As for the Pembs trip, yes I am serious but there is a lot to do before it goes ahead. Sponsorship, training (I need it) and logistics.

I can help you with sponsorship more than happy to collect sponsorship money for you and will give you some of my pennies too

Fitness and training, we could help each other

Have you got any pics of the beast then?

Had a look of the web site and couldn't find many. Was impressed by the hang glider type sail though, I winder if it flies?

Next time I'm in Pembs, I'm bringing me water ski's. Best of luck with her mate

i'll happily draw you up a fitness schedule gareth but first up it might help if you could keep your hands out of that enormous butty bag you take out on your yak , as seen in your avatar



This post has been edited by Martin Hurst: Jan 15 2007, 10:38 PM

Nice one GB. Seen her in the flesh and she certainly looks the part.

come to think of it so have I--the yak that is