: Today is July 18, 2009 and I have managed to build up the Night Heron such
: that she is ready to be tested on the water. I still have not built a
: hatch for the forward compartment and have no hatch opening for the aft
: storage. The bulkheads are not properly glued to the deck and I have not
: filleted the inside of the sheer joint. The hull has neither abrasion
: resistant coating nor a proper fill coat. I have no spray skirt and no
: proper back support other than a piece of foam for a canoe carrier rack.
: She has no floatation in the event she tips. All this said, I am excited
: today because I have had no idea how this new kayak will perform but have
: worked hard to ensure she has been built as straight and smooth as I can
: get her. She looks good on the car and as I drove toward Islet Lake, my
: favorite small lake destination, the Night Heron attracted looks from
: folks who seem to twist their necks to an extreme in order to keep staring
: long enough to understand what they were looking at. I have never seen a
: kayak like the NH in Edmonton myself, and as well, I think most people
: here have not. They have something to see now, eh!

: By comparison, the VJ Guardian Spirit, my very dependable and battered Waters
: Dancing Lightning 17 looks ready for much needed repairs.
: The drive to Islet Lake is an easy 45-minute cruise east of Edmonton through
: lush farmland toward the Alberta Blackfoot Recreation and Grazing Grounds.
: This area contains smaller lakes upon which no powered boats are allowed.
: This lake is a perfect test site for a new kayak.

: After both kayaks were unloaded from the car racks, Linda grabbed the stern
: end of the VJ and I carried the bow end with my right hand: I easily
: one-handed the Night Heron on my left side as we walked to the launch
: site. I prepped the VJ for Linda and shoved her off onto the water before
: I prepped the Night Heron. The only real prep I did was to jam opening of
: the canoe carrier foamy around the coaming/riser so that it stuck in
: place. I sat in the cockpit and eased the NH into deeper water.

: Initial testing was the obvious wobbling side-to-side to test initial and
: secondary stability. With paddle blade jammed into the lake bottom, I
: leaned along the paddle shaft and tried to lean as far as possible to the
: side to see at what point the NH would want to roll. The coaming was
: touching the surface of the water and yet the NH resisted. I could just
: feel her wanted to roll as the water was just about to pour into the
: cockpit. Perfect! This kayak has wonderful stability for an 18’er with a
: 19” beam.

: My next move was to see how responsive she was to turns. With only one sweep
: of the paddle, she turned significantly more than the VJ would have. I
: barely put any lean or effort into the turn and she responded instantly
: and easily. The NH has plenty of rocker and apparently this quality allows
: for quick turns. I can just imagine how easy she would be to turn at the
: top of a wave. Beauty, eh!
: My next move was to do a rapid acceleration to see how quickly she could cut
: through the water from a stop. She accelerated easily but seemed to kick
: up the water at the lead edge. I noticed that she tended to turn right
: during my initial acceleration. It was then that I realized that I had to
: use shorter strokes to keep my efforts balanced enough to keep the keel
: running straight. I shortened my stroke and she ran true. I could use
: longer strokes only if I threw more stomach into the effort. Once done,
: the NH felt like a joy to paddle. I could do a wicked lean into a turn and
: she’s spin around so quickly that I had to watch my balance or roll.

: My comfort level while paddling the NH was as relaxed as it is when I paddle
: the VJ. I did not experience any kind of tippiness that would give me
: cause to worry. In fact, this kayak reminds me of the time when I drove an
: older model Triumph TR-6: a small British sports car with huge wheels –
: all fun and no worries. I built the NH hoping it would be a good play boat
: and, considering its 18’ length, I got what I wanted. This kayak is a good
: choice to build for anyone who has no paddling experience but good
: athletic ability or for anyone who has years of experience and wants
: something that offers a little more than just a transportation source for
: a kayak camping trip. Would I use this kayak for a kayak camping trip:
: hell ya! I’d love to get this one on the ocean do some surfing – she’d be
: a hoot!

: I did not take any "on the water" photos since I wasn't sure how
: the NH would perform and I am NOT willing to risk losing another camera to
: the watery depths. I did want to bring my Pentax Optio WP but sadly, the
: batt was dead. I did take a few land shots before wetting the hull, they
: can be found at the link below.

: Robert N Pruden

Hey Robert,

Congrats, boat looks great

Bill H.