I have posted a trip report and review of Pygmy's Arctic Tern 14 on the Trips BBS. I've just put the review here, for the trip report go to http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Trips/index.cgi?read=1226

Kayak: Pygmy Arctic Tern 14
LOA: 14’
Beam: 23”
Height at front of Coaming: 11”

Paddler: Mike (not an employee of Pygmy)
Age: 37
Height: 5’ 10”
Weight: 175 lbs.
Shoe Size: 10

Wind: Calm, possibly up to 25 knots
Waves: 0-4 feet
Currents: Slack to 5 knots

Opinions about the Arctic Tern 14

I really enjoyed the quickness and maneuverability of the little kayak. It did everything I told it to do. It carved extremely sharp leaned turns. Much better than the bigger Arctic Tern, which turns better than most kayaks I have paddled. It responded well to paddle strokes, but when leaned over it turned better than any kayak that I have ever paddled. The Tern 14 also tracks very strongly, not just for a short kayak, but better than many full-sized kayaks. Shortening the length of the Arctic Tern results in some loss of stability, but not much. I felt very comfortable with both the primary and the secondary stability. It had a nice solid feel when leaned over.

It accelerates quickly and easily up to about four knots, then it hits a wall that takes a great deal of effort to overcome. With a powerful paddle, and hard paddling, it will go faster, but it is a lot of work. Holly (a shorter, petite woman) seemed to find it much easier to paddle than her standard Arctic Tern 17.

I noticed no weathercocking in the high winds and waves that I paddled in on Friday, but felt some weathercocking on Saturday on flat water going against the wind and current. I think this was probably due to the current more than the wind, although I did have an extra five or ten pounds in it that was not there on Friday. In high winds, it was easier to control then my Tern 17. The longer ends of bigger kayaks apply more leverage from the wind. This one felt right at home in the wind. It was also easier to remove from my truck in strong winds. The kayak appears to be designed for someone in the 100-150 pound range, but can handle more weight. It would be a great all around day and touring kayak for someone in that range. The only problem might be storage space, but it could handle multi-day trips for the careful packer.

My size-10 feet were a little snug with sandals on, but had enough room wearing neoprene booties. The narrower, lower-backed cockpit was great for me. My hips were not squeezed, but had good contact with the hip braces. The lower back allowed me to easily lay back. I did not try to roll it, but I would think it would be much easier than the big Arctic Tern. The thigh braces were not comfortable for me, but these are put in by the builder, and should be custom fit for the paddler. I felt very locked into the kayak, but my knees and hips would get sore after a few hours of paddling. If I build one for my wife and myself, I would opt for the keyhole extension style thigh braces from Pygmy. The standard ones hold my legs out in an uncomfortable position.

The ends of the kayak are quite buoyant in big water, but still allow a lot of water over the deck. They rise up over the waves better than some 17 foot kayaks that I have paddled. A lighter paddler would find the kayak much drier than I did.

The hatches were quite easy to operate, but appeared to need some adjusting, as I was getting water into the hatches in the rougher seas. Of course, I did have to pick seaweed out of the straps, after all of the three- and four-foot waves. The leakage may have been solvable by adjusting the straps. I have been debating about putting the Pygmy-style hatches on my Arctic Tern 17. After using this kayak for a few days, I am still undecided. I liked the ease of use, but wonder if there is a more leakproof option that requires less adjustment. However, they would be better on the 17-foot version because it has a drier deck.

The kayak was a lot of fun to surf. After a few broaches, I found I could control it easily by edging. This allowed me to surf big waves for great distances. It surfed better than any kayak that I have paddled.

Jerry found it very easy to roll, but not quite as easy as his whitewater kayak. He came very close to hand rolling it.

I found the kayak to be fun in big water, and was great as long as I did not want to paddle too fast. Smaller paddlers will find it easier to paddle than bigger kayaks, without suffering from a loss of tracking. I felt comfortable with the performance of this kayak right away. It was extremely predictable and forgiving. I felt in total control the whole time that I was paddling it. I did miss the top-end speed, but that is something you lose in a shorter kayak.

I had decided not to build another kit boat, because I like building from scratch better. This kayak may have changed that, because it is only available as a kit and not as plans. I had a blast with this kayak, and almost asked to keep it for longer.

I don't have any pictures yet, but when some are available they will be posted at http://members.tripod.com/sswoodenkayakclub/ the South Sound Wooden Sea Kayak Club website.