Maiden Voyage of the Seaker

The day after picking up the Seaker I had the chance to take her on her maiden voyage, an overnight trip to Sechelt Inlet. Why mess around? I bought this boat to take on expeditions so I needed to see how well it packed, how it handled, and even how it performed in windy or wavey conditions (it performed great in the wind, parked on the beach while her owner drank wine in front of the fire!).

Packed up the car Saturday morning, picked up Chris and hit the ferry. Here is the first difference in paddling the Seaker. This is a huge, heavy boat. I drive a car with a large trunk and the folded package just barely fits in. And the boat itself weighs about 65lb. I get the feeling the Seaker is more like a plastic hardshell that can be folded into a small space than a folding kayak. The Seaker was designed to compete with high end folders and size and weightwise I think it is most like a Klepper (i.e. large and heavy). At least the Klepper can go into a few different bags. With the Seaker you have one big, big bag. The folding cart is really going to come in handy for this, and I will probably get a set of kayak wheels.


But like a good inflatable should, it is assembled and ready to go long before a folding kayak.


Loading takes a while longer but here it is loaded and ready to go. The Seaker has a pretty impressive hauling capacity. I was able to get pretty much the same amount of gear I can in the Sunny, but you can't just load it into two bags like the open boat. You have to actually plan and pack the Seaker! I had heard that the hatch covers can be difficult to get on and off, but a bit of 303 protectant on the hatch covers solved that.



The most difficult part of setting up the Seaker is attaching the rudder, and it's really not all that difficult. A bit tricky to get the top pin through (the pin attaches the rudder to the bracket on the hull) but nothing too bad. And this is an excellent rudder. The hatches and the rudder are not proprietary Gumotex/Innova. It's a Seal Line SmartTrack rudder and Kajak Sport hatches.


The rudder raising/lowering mechanism is brilliant. Simply move the clip to the front D-ring to raise the rudder, move it to the rear D-ring to lower it.



A shot of the rudder pedals. A bungee line runs down the tube and the pedal/slippers attach to that, and slide over your foot. Like the Helios rudder I thought it would be a pain but was surprisingly easy to use in real life. Taking this photo I also noticed for the first time an under deck gear hammock! I really have to agree with most other reviews I've read of this kayak, it is beautifully and thoughtfully put together with a high attention to detail.


And we're off! Being a big guy I found the cockpit opening to be a little bit snug. The kayak is stable enough though that I could easily sit on the back deck without tipping, and ease myself in.


Notice that yellow dot? That's Chris, still way ahead of me, just not way way way ahead like in the Sunny. Looking at my gps I paddled at around 6-7 km per hour, which is a good 2 km ahead of the Sunny. Or not so good depending on how you look at it. I've never been a speed demon or even all that interested in speed so for me a 2 km increase is good enough.

I also felt that, in the beginning at least, it was a lot more effort to paddle the Seaker than the Sunny. It's a good 35lbs more but that shouldn't matter that much. It accelerates slowly and feels like it takes some work to get moving, but once you're underway it's all good. And it actually glides! Just like a hardshell.


Our plan was to head up to Tuwanek Point, then cross over the inlet and camp at Halfway Beach. There was a group ahead of us going to Nine Mile Point but I think we were the only kayakers on the inlet that weekend.


Tuwanek Point.


And the view from the other side, looking up toward Nine Mile Point. One of the reasons we picked Halfway is this is the site that gets sunshine in the morning, and it has a gorgeous view up Salmon Inlet.



Another thing I had to get used to was riding so high above the water. I kept putting my hand down expecting to hit water, and realizing I had to reach further down. The Sunny rides right close to the water. I also found myself looking down at Chris (literally, not figuratively!).




Halfway Beach around the corner. A 2 hour paddle from the put in.


And we made it! Now to unpack this beast and haul her up the beach (at this point I was missing the Sunny).


Was very happy to see that my bear canister fit nicely through the rear hatch. And that's the kitchen sink up there on the beach to the left!




The campsites here were nicer than I remembered on my last trip. Lots of great sites for Chris's hammock. And it was great to have the place to ourselves.


I had to try hauling the Seaker up from the beach by myself, just to see if I could do it. Not a problem really, but again I'm not sure I want to solo this one (thanks again for all the help carryin' Chris!).

Spent a brilliant evening under a cool clear sky. The stars were out in full force and we were well supplied with food, wine, and whiskey. Instead of using the firepit we set up on the beach and used the firebowl. I really really love this thing.


It doesn't leave any kind of fire scar, and we go through 1/10th the wood of a typical campfire. Like the saying goes, "White man build big fire, sit far away, Indian build small fire, sit close". This little thing throws a surprising amount of heat too. I'm fast preferring it, at least on these kind of trips, to the big campfire.


Sunday turned out to be pretty grey. The forecast called for sun later on, so we just hunkered down on the beach in front of the fire all day.



Chris cooked up a stack of black berry pancakes while I did some eggs and bacon. We wondered if we would eat all that we cooked. 15 minutes later there wasn't a crumb left.

Kind of nice to just spend a day on the beach, even under a grey sky.


Eventually it was time to pack up and hit the water. We had a ferry to catch.


We crossed over to Nine Mile, and then down along the coast. I alternated between rudder down and rudder up to see how she handled. On flat water, without the rudder, she was pretty good. But if the wind is up I think the rudder is a must.






We were cutting it a bit close coming back. Chris went on ahead so he wouldn't have to be disassembling in the dark.


And back safely at the landing.

So, what to make of the Seaker. I can tell already that it won't replace the Sunny, which is still my favorite inflatable. The Seaker, as I mentioned before, really feels to me like a big plastic kayak, only one that you can fold down and put into a car. Compared to most folders it will be slower and heavier, but I think it does compare well to the Kleppers, in this respect.

A lot of the weight comes from the material in the side tubes, which is not nitrylon (the standard Innova fabric) but a pvc coated material called mirasol. This stuff is thick and heavy. It inflates to 3.7 psi and I felt no flex at all in the waves. But that comes with a price and that's the weight. The Seaker gives up one of the major advantages of an inflatable here, the low weight. And due to the solid cockpit coaming, we lose another advantage, folded size.

Some reviews have mentioned that the coaming can press into the back and be uncomfortable. When I sat in the kayak on the lawn I noticed this. But the pfd I use, a Kokatat Bahia, has a thin foam strip in the lower back, and this did a great job of cushioning.

I've heard the Seaker is discontinued so I am glad I bought one when I did. And until the end of October I think it is still on sale. So if you're interested in one now may be the time.

My verdict is that this is a pretty cool boat and I'm looking forward to some fun adventures with her.