Delta 18.5 Expedition

Just returned from an 18 day , 410 km paddle across Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. One of the world’s potential roughest crossing, one day of 70 kms open ocean to next island. Plenty of serious waves & rebound, however this Delta is a superb kayak for these conditions & can carry more than enough gear for an unsupported trip of this duration. Comfort for 12 hours in the kayak absolutely fine, hatches completely watertight, able to cruise at a high speed. A confidence inspiring boat, shouldn’t have been discontinued.

You never know what you've got until it's gone. It's a shame that this one got discontinued. I sold mine to a friend who is 6'5 and 275, not a of of options out there for the really big guys. The best part about this boat is the carrying capacity. Not only are the hatch openings water tight, they are huge. Bring that extra wide Therma rest base camp model, it'll fit. Wedging stuff into tiny day hatches and forcing sticky dry bags under a low deck aren't a problem here. The extra foot room at the front and the way the hull steps up at the back provide ample room for the tent and the lawn chair. If you're not super tall there's room in front of your feet for the water cube. The rudder is a great design, nice and stiff. If you hit anything it just kicks up. Also the thermoformed hull can really take a beating. Surprising light for it's size. Sharp rocks will gouge it but round ones just bounce. I tested that plenty river camping. The seat is also very good in this boat. I had many long days in it and found it very comfortable. Another nice feature of this model is that it fits a wide range of paddlers. Even though it's designed to be the ultimate camping boat I had a lot of beginners in it day paddling down to 150lbs and they did fine with the rudder. No it's not a good boat for a small person but it works well as beginner loaner to take people out if if your day boat isn't as stable as this one. Hopefully Delta considers an update or custom orders for it. As much as I love my Scorpio HV for day paddling and overnighters I miss the load carrying speed of the Delta 18.5 on the longer trips. So if you're 6'6 and 350lbs looking for a day boat or 200lbs looking for a camping boat and don't want to skimp on the gear put this on your short list of boats to try.