I launched my Sea Tour 15 EXP today. The first round was in a little offshoot of the Mohawk River near Latham, NY. It's protected from the rest of the river by an island, and the "path" to the river proper was choked with weeds. I don't think I could've found smoother water in a swimming pool.

Which turned out to be a blessing, 'cause my first few moments in a kayak were interesting, to say the least. No, I didn't perform half a roll *grin*. It was like getting on a bicycle after a decade or two of not riding... those first few moments get the blood flowing. My balance settled down, though, and I was able to paddle back and forth in this sheltered "cove" area without too much difficulty. I imagine my technique was horrible, but the hull got wet.

Then we hit a local state park (Grafton State Park) with some family. Grafton's got the best rated beach in the Capital District, located on Long Pond. We had lunch there, then I launched the Inion Nollag again. Paddled most of the length of Long Pond, then back. Call it a mile and a half, round trip. There was a lot of "I wonder what that rock looks up close" and "There's a bunch of weeds over there; I wonder if there's fish nearby" side trips, though, that may have stretched that mileage out.

My impressions of the design: My 175 lbs. may be a little light for the kayak, which I rather expected. The initial stability wasn't great... I was working to keep it balanced. After I shifted my seating position from the center of the coaming to the rear, until my back pressed against the rear of the coaming, my balance was greatly improved. Even then, it wasn't hard to rock it back and forth. That being said, my neophyte paddling skills might have more than a little part in skittish balance.

The secondary stability must be awesome, since even with the above balancing issues, she never once rolled over on me. Once I grew more confident (and was still in shallow water), I rocked my hips back and forth just to see what she'd do. It was easy to bring dip her gunwale down, then right her back up. I didn't push things too far, since I don't have a spray skirt yet, but I felt safe sitting in her.

Next on the list: float bags, for when I get confident enough to do stupid stuff; spray skirt, for the same reasons; kayaking lessons, so I will learn how not to do stupid stuff and how to coax good habits out.

I did skin the knuckles on my thumb a bit, from rapping them on the coaming lip while paddling. I figure that's equal parts of bad paddling technique, a sharp edge on the coaming lip instead of a smooth rounded one, lack of gloves/spray skirt to pad the impact, and a 20" loom on my GP with a 24" beam on the boat. When I was concentrating on paddling (instead of going "OOhhh! A Rock! Let's go look at it!"), I'd maintain adequate separation between my thumb and the coaming. One distraction ("There's a fish in them thar weeds!"), and I'd take some more skin off. Nothing major, but if I don't learn how to paddle properly, I may not have much of a thumb left by the end of the paddling season.

Anyway, thanks go out to Tom Yost for his design and step by step instructions, Jeff @ Kudzu Kraft for his videos and store, and the good folk here on this forum and QajaqUSA's. Without y'all, there's no way I would've pulled this off.