Delta 17 Expedition

I actually bought this boat used - one year old. It was in new condition and had clearly barely been in the water.

My previous kayak experience had been a few years of roto molded boats including my Wilderness Systems Tsunami 14.5 and Perception Carolina 16. Wanting to move on from the much heavier but serviceable boats I did my research and was considering fiberglass options. My primary criteria was stability, easy in and out of the cockpit, high back seat with decent support, and a rudder. The latter two criteria is difficult to find in higher end boats and a more minimalist approach seems to be what most paddlers prefer.

This boat is a dream to paddle. Very stable yet very responsive. You can feel the your input quite precisely. I can easily tell when I fumble a stroke even in the slightest. The boat is quick and feels great on the water. The seat is fully adjustable to fit comfortably for long stretches. The cockpit is very comfortable and easy for this 60 year old to get in and out of. The storage is very ample and enough for any type of tour that I'm likely to take on. I like how they designed the rudder pedals to pivot in place so the my leg extension never changes. All in all I love this boat.

I'm not a total boat geek as I don't necessarily keep up with what is on the market. From what I know about kayak materials it seems like everything you can do with fiberglass you can do with thermo formed plastic. It seems like the Delta and other thermo formed boats are just as capable, durable (maybe a bit more than fiberglass), and considerably less expensive than fiberglass, I wonder why fiberglass is the standard among higher end boats.

I would recommend Delta boats for anyone looking for a comfortable high performance touring craft.

I have had the Delta 17 Expedition for a year now, and it is a fine thermoform plastic kayak. It is easy to paddle, has good initial stability, and very good secondary. It is fast and maneuverable. Only complaint I have is the seat could use a bit more padding, and the decals leave a bit to be desired (pretty petty complaint to be honest). Back to the seat, it is comfortable, but maybe my Necky with it's extrasport seat has spoiled me somewhat...

Paddled a rental recently at Crystal River Kayak. I don't see many Delta's in my area so I was interested in paddling one. The boat has hard chines that seem to maximize it's 22.5" beam. Fit and finish of the boat was quite nice and the thermoformed plastic deck and hull looked really nice despite being a rental/demo boat. I wasn't knocked out about the skeg control rope.

The boat edged quite well to allow good maneuverability and the flat bottom made the boat a great day tourer in that it had plenty of initial stability. Very reassuring. Seat was also quite comfortable, more so than my P&H. Another rope cleat arrangement adjusts the back rest and it worked very well.

Speed was good to better than average....I was able to maintain around 4mph with little effort. I picked the boat up and put it back on the rack after paddling it....wish my poly Scorpio was that light.

The boat badly needs a day hatch. Probably the only negative thing about the boat. Really Delta?? No day hatch on a seventeen foot boat??

I like a deeper boat, and the deck is more accommodating than the specs would have you believe. FWIW, I'm six foot tall and about 205 lbs. This boat had plenty of room for me and probably more. Great boat to visit the manatees with