Category 5

I recently purchased a used Hurricane Category 5. Similarly to a previous reviewer, I have had more than 30 years of paddling experience in a wide variety of kayaks. I paddle just about every day as a part of my fitness routine and this boat fits the bill perfectly. The boat is a dream to paddle – enough to get me out on the water when I need a little push.

The Category 5 carves turns like a sports car hugs a rural road curve. The boat is very fast as noted by other reviewers. At an hour-long workout pace, the boat easily holds a 5.5 mph to 6.0 pace. One reviewer noted that there is no deck rigging on the fore deck. I found this as a good thing as we all have our own personal ideas as what works best. I easily added the decking on my boat and outfitted the boat to accommodate my model GPS and water bottle, map, etc. The previously noted sounds from the bow-wake come from the slight-sloping bow to increase the waterline of the boat. I have found that the bow's slight-sloping bow may snag and wrap leaves or grass more easily than a more exaggerated bow. This is such a minor issue, in my opinion, but noted here only in response to a previous reviewer.

In short, double thumbs-up on the Hurricane Category 5.

I've only day paddled this boat for one afternoon, but I wanted to add my comments after reading the other reviews. I thought this boat was amazingly fast for it's short 15'3" length. I "arm paddled" it to about 6.5 mph on my gps even without the foot pegs being set up. It does tend to turn whenever you stop paddling but it is controllable when you keep paddling in flat water. It is a flat water fitness design not a sea kayak so I'd compare it to Olympic K1's and other narrow racing designs. It is only 23 inches wide just behind the seat. The rest of the boat is very much narrower than a sea kayak but still a little wider than a K1 or a surf ski. It is much more stable than a K1 or a surfski.

At 5'10" , 225 , and size 12 feet I'm a pretty tight fit for this boat. The Factory Rep said it was designed for people under 200 pounds. So it was not the most comfortable boat for me but it was in the top three most comfortable sit inside kayaks I have tried. When I loose another 25 pounds I plan to try it again. If it fits better I will buy it and ad a rudder for windy days. It really does reward paddling faster with faster speed. It is very light and very inexpensive for a fitness boat. As it is so short maybe I could race in the Rec boat class and do well.

Before entering into the review, let me give some background. I have paddled numerous kayaks. Currently, I own a CD Gulfstream, caribou S, solstice, a VCP Aquanaut, and 2 Feathercrafts. I have paddled numerous other boats, but this one tops the list as one of the worse. I realize that it is a specialized boat aimed at exercise but that does not excuse what I feel is poor design.

First of all, the kayak is designed for exercise. Fine, however, that does not excuse certain design features. For example, there is no rigging in front of the cockpit. This rigging would have been useful for storing hydration packs. Even having a day hatch a la Cletus would have been useful. Second, the boat has very low primary stability. This is unusual given that the boat has a 23 inch beam. I have paddled boats with 21 inch beams that have far better primary stability. Third, this boat needs either a skeg or a rudder. This boat has an extremely bad tendency to weathercock in any form of wind or wave.

During a recent paddle in very moderate waves and wind (something that my other boats would have handled well), the boat wanted to go its own. I simply gave up paddling just to see what it would do. Well, it swung around -- driven by the wind and waves. Lets see -- poor design, poor primary stability, excessive windcocking -- not good. That's why this boat rates a 6.