4th of July 2011 and we are packed up and ready to go to Lake Fenton for the maiden voyage of our Guillemot. Here we have the Guillemot and the Wood Duck on our kayak trailer. The little Honda Fit still gets 37 mpg. with the trailer in tow.
Donna was the first one to paddle the Guillemot. Her first paddle was about an hour and a half. She does not do well in the Wood Duck because it is way to wide for her. The Guillemot is a huge improvement for Donna. This is the first time she has paddled a sea kayak and she is hooked. No more little plastic kayaks for Donna. Some big boats went by and made some big waves. Donna has never felt safe on Lake Fenton with all the boats making big waves. This time she plowed through them without a care in the world. She never felt threatened at all.
Do you see her laughing ? All I said was can I have a turn. Donna and the Guillemot fit well together. It is very narrow compared to the Wood Duck. She can set her butt into the cockpit on the seat and then put her legs one at a time inside the kayak.
As you can see, that will not work for me. I am 5'7" and 220 lbs. I have to sit on the back of the kayak and put both legs inside. then I have to scoot forward and into the cockpit. I can do this in three inches of water, but when I tried to in three feet of water, I tipped over in a nanosecond. When I get into the Guillemot, I fill up the cockpit. No need for knee braces. Once I get in and settled down, it is very comfortable.
The Guillemot is very fast and very maneuverable. It is also very tipsy compared to the Wood Duck. Even though it feels tipsy at first, it felt more stable as I paddled more. I had big waves break over the bow all the way to the cockpit and I never felt in danger of tipping over. In fact it was a lot of fun.
Do you see her laughing ? All I said was can I have a turn. Donna and the Guillemot fit well together. It is very narrow compared to the Wood Duck. She can set her butt into the cockpit on the seat and then put her legs one at a time inside the kayak.
As you can see, that will not work for me. I am 5'7" and 220 lbs. I have to sit on the back of the kayak and put both legs inside. then I have to scoot forward and into the cockpit. I can do this in three inches of water, but when I tried to in three feet of water, I tipped over in a nanosecond. When I get into the Guillemot, I fill up the cockpit. No need for knee braces. Once I get in and settled down, it is very comfortable. 
The Guillemot is very fast and very maneuverable. It is also very tipsy compared to the Wood Duck. Even though it feels tipsy at first, it felt more stable as I paddled more. I had big waves break over the bow all the way to the cockpit and I never felt in danger of tipping over. In fact it was a lot of fun.I will post more photos in the weeks to come. It is going to be a great summer !!!
