: Could you please expound on the difference between the Pygmy Coho and P&H
: Capella? I too have enjoyed the Capella for its tracking ability,
: manouverability, secondary stability and its relative speed. How is the
: Coho compared to the Capella in these aspects. Thank you in advance, you
: may be helping me to decide which S&G to build. Garth

I have not paddled either boat so take my comparison below for what its worth. It is based on the Seakayaker review as well as analysis on the boats themselves and their dimenions. Firsy off, the dimensions of the Coho are 17-6 and 23.375" beam. The Capella is 16-9 and 22 wide. I do not kn0ow the waterline lengths but if you assume similar length bows on each, the Coho would have a slightly higher max. theoretical speed. However, its greater width may make it a bit tougher to get it up to this speed. Both were thought to have okay initial stability and nice secondary stability primarily due to the hull shape. Coho was found to weathercock less though perhaps due to a more balanced boat or lower bow or front deck. The Coho also has a greater volume by about 10-15% which could result in it riding over waves better than punching through them. It is wider though so this may not be the case. The capella I think also comes with a skeg to aid in weathercocking presumably and tough sea conditions and the Coho does not. The Coho supposedly tracks very nicely under wind however.

Both boats are fairly similar. The Coho is a bit roomier and both have similar stability strenghts. Coho can most likely haul more gear and is probably less likely to weathercock. Coho also has a higher theoiretical speed but will be a bit tougher to accelerate. Alot also depends on if you paddled a glass or roto capella in terms of weight and acceleration. Obviously, the glass capella has an acceleration closer to the coho due to similar weights. if you used a roto capella, than the Coho is seemingly faster off the line.

hope these help. plenty of people have offered coho opinions in the past. check archives.

also, what other boats are you looking at building - plenty of opinions on the site or on CLC's also.

have fun choosing and building, Pete czerpak albany, ny