New P&H Delphin at Folly Beach.

I had the chance to paddle the new P&H Delphin for the first time a couple weeks ago. There is a lot of excitement out there about the Delphin and I know that people are eager to hear how the boat paddles. Here are some initial impressions to hold people over until they have a chance to paddle the Dephin themselves…

Appearance

By now everybody has had a chance to see the images that have been circulating about the Delphin. Heavily rockered. Buoyant bow. Chopped stern. The bow has a distinct peak to it that will shed water and resurface predictably. There are two sharp chines below the bow to help bring the boat up onto plane in the surf. The hull is VERY flat underseat with a rounded edge. Behind the seat a soft chine reappears and carries on to the stern ending at the tip of the keel line rather than “ghosting” up toward the sheer. Sitting in the cockpit the boat has very nice lines and the same “looks smaller than it is” impression that the Cetus gives.

Fit

This is the Delphin 155. And the outfitting in the boat is pre-production. It is safe to assume that things will change slightly in the final boats. That said, the fit is comfortable for me (6′1 ‘185#). It should easily accommodate paddlers over 200 pounds. Plenty of room for bigger guys without being too loose for somebody my size. The Delphin 150 will be great for shorter or lighter folks.
Back deck is low enough to allow for layback rolls. Footroom is just fine for my big dogs. Backband is Connect 30 whitewater style with ratchets at the thighbraces. Footrests are standard P&H.

First Paddle

Got the boat out at Folly Beach. Unfortunately the surf was minimal. One-footers. Enough to catch a few gentle rides but not enough to really go to work. BUT–here are some observations:

Stability

We had hoped that the Delphin would be stable enough to use as a beginners boat. It is. VERY stable. I went from the Scorpio LV into the Delphin. The Delphin is noticeably more stable than the Scorpio LV. I suspect that it is also slightly more stable than the full sized Scorpio. No problem for beginners or big guys.

Edging

Very easy to edge despite the huge primary stability. Responds to weight shifts in the seat. Holds on edge without hanging a knee. Just what we would expect from the current generation of P&H hulls.

Maneuverability

Remarkable. This is easily the most maneuverable sea kayak I have ever been in. Edge the boat, look where you want to go, and the Delphin with rip through 180 degrees effortlessly. No problem to charge out toward a set, bang the boat on edge and turn completely around in time to catch the wave.

Tracking

Here is where it gets down right astounding. The boat tracks VERY well at speed. It seems that the faster you paddle, the stiffer the tracking becomes. I assume this is due to the stern weighting/slightly rearward placed cockpit. Whatever the reason, the Delphin has no trouble holding a straight line. Weathercocking in light (10 kt) crosswinds was minimal at cruising speed.

Speed

The Delphin is no slouch. Out on the Wilmington River against 1kt of current and 10 kt winds I had no trouble maintaining 4mph (GPS) at a cruising pace. With the wind and tide the boat clipped along at 6mph. Plenty fast enough to keep pace with longer boats on day trips and ocean adventures. Just what we were shooting for.

William surfing the Delphin at Folly Beach, SC.

Surfing

The waves were pretty near nonexistent. But there were a few rides to be had. The Delphin comes up to speed well. Catches small wind waves effortlessly. Can be maneuvered on the wave once you have started surfing. Scott at Sea Kayak Carolina was so impressed with the ease of surfing that he plans to buy a half dozen Delphins specifically to teach beginners how to surf sea kayaks.

Rolling

Easy to roll. Pops right up onto the hull. Hand rolls are not a problem.  The paddler can lay back to finish if desired.

More Reviews

The word is starting to get out. There is another nice review of the boat at the Canoelover blog. You can reach it from this link.

Danny Mongno teaching in the surf. Photo: Richard Davis

Fun in the sun on Tybee Island at the BCU Skills Symposium and Tybee Island Surf Jam. Click here for more photos.

]]> http://www.phpaddlers.com/brian-day/surfing-at-tybee-island/feed/ 0 http://www.phpaddlers.com/brian-day/green-river-narrows/ http://www.phpaddlers.com/brian-day/green-river-narrows/#comments Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:44:33 +0000 Brian Day http://www.phpaddlers.com/?p=674

Dave making Sunshine look easy.

OK, so it isn’t sea kayaking, but the Green River Narrows is an amazing run. The guys from the shop took me down for the first time today. Click HERE for more.

Ready for action. Nice call on the camo, Dinver.

Meet my new friend, Leroy Brown. We are about the hit the road for the Northeast. Click here for more.

On the Road at Collinsville Canoe and Kayak.

On June 1, I will officially start my new job as a road warrior for P&H and Venture kayaks. This weekend I got a little taste of the job when I flew out to work an event at Collinsville Canoe and Kayak. Great people, sunshine and fun times. Click here to get the whole story.

Fast and fun, the Bahiya is a modern classic.

I’ve been paddling a Bahiya off and on since 2004, and thought I would share my observations on the boat. The full review is at BigWaterSmallBoat.com.

The Scorpio awaits.

The ice is finally off the lakes in Madison, Wisconsin and I got to take my new demo Scorpio for a shakedown cruise. I recorded some initial impressions on my Big Water, Small Boat site. Click here for the whole post.

The Canoecopia lineup from Capella to Scorpio.

For paddlers in the Midwest, Canoecopia is the big season kickoff. We had the full P&H crew on hand to show off the newest boats and catch a little bit of early season excitement. For an update on the shenanigans, click here.

Pilot Island is a small dolomite outcrop that sits in the middle of the Death’s Door Passage off the tip of Door County, Wisconsin. It makes a great day trip…as long as you remember that you aren’t allowed to land.

Pilot Island light and collapsed fog signal building

The Pilot Island Light sits at the eastern end of the Port Des Morts Passage at the tip of Door County. This narrow channel was extensively used by Great Lakes schooners as they made the trip down the bay to the lumber docks of Oconto, Wisconsin or the iron ore smelters of Green Bay. It earned a reputation as a ship’s graveyard during the days of working sail when dozens of vessels were lost to its contrary currents and fickle wind conditions. The Pilot Island light was built during the mid-19th century in an effort to mark the opening to the safe passage between Plum island and the shoal waters at the tip of the Door peninsula.

A nice daytrip to Pilot Island starts at the Liberty Grove Town Park at the end of Europe Bay Rd. From this put-in you can paddle south down the coast toward Newport State Park and Rowley’s Bay, or head north toward the Door passage. It takes a little over an hour to make the trip out to Pilot.

The island is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and visitors aren’t allowed, so if you want to stretch your legs, you will need to stop at the beach near the Northport ferry docks, or continue on to land at Detroit or Washington Islands.

During the summer paddling season, the island is a rookery for gulls and cormorants, and you can expect to be dive-bombed if you get too close. On the first of November, the only residents to be found were a group of sandpipers.

An interesting site with some history on the light is found here: http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/michigan/pilotisland/pilotisland.htm