Looksha II

I have had the honor of owning Ed Gillet's infamous red Looksha II for several years now. Ed bought this boat in '95, and has led countless Baja expeditions in her. He set me up with Smart Track rudder pedals, and I paddle in Southern California and on expeditions in Baja. I agree with most of these reviews, but would add my two cents:

This rare model is extremely fast and efficient. Does anyone have any data or reviews that actually verify if the Looksha II/III was/is the fastest production touring kayak ever made, as many of us believe? It enables you to paddle great distances, and/or with great speed.

Maneuvering is fine with a rudder.

Mine weighs 52 lbs with rudder, and with almost 30 years of hard use and patches. I'm in my 60s and scrawny, but she is easy enough to load on my roof after a long paddle.

My other kayak is a Kevlar Arluk 1.9, and this 20" wide Looksha II is incomparably tippy compared to that 22" wide boat. The Looksha II's hull is nearly round in section shape, with modest chines, so I disagree with those who claim that it has even modest initial or secondary stability. When empty you can easily rotate the boat 180 degrees back and fourth with just a couple of fingers - like a round tube, or like a surfski.

I also take exception to claims that it has lots of rocker; the design is distinguished by how little rocker it has. The bow and stern are so low to the water that even when empty she tracks extremely well in high winds - possibly better than any other production kayak. Despite this lack of rocker, she slices through swells brilliantly - like a needle, or an especially streamlined submarine.

Despite her narrow and low hull, she holds a great deal of gear and weight - much more than my 22"Wx18'L Arkluk 1.9.

If you are already an advanced surfski, touring or sprint paddler who appreciates speed and craftsmanship, then a Looksha II or III is well worth buying or restoring. If you have one of these rare and special boats, please either maintain her, restore her, or pass her on to someone who will.

I trained for 6 weeks with the goal of paddling 6 hours nonstop at 4.6 to 5.0 mph average on a lake close to my house.

The Looksha II was a blast. The cockpit was very close to my training Nomad Extra Slalom K1. The boat is fast and runs well before the wind, across the wind and up wind. I trained every day for 6 weeks in weather up to 25 mph winds and 1.5 to 2 foot chop.

On October 10th 2005 I began the Phatwater with the goal of going sub 6 hours. Having never raced a distance greater than 200 yards before I stuck to my training stroke rate and finished the course at 5 hours 16 minutes and 23 seconds. I had no cramps, no pain, the Looksha II was excellent. The wind was from behind all day and she runs well before the wind.

I encountered several tows (tugs and barges). One tow caught me in a narrow section of river. When the paddler in front of me encountered the wake he dropped from site with only the top edge of his paddle visible to me. There were 4 rollers of this size and the Looksha II blew threw them with ease. The trouble began with the reflected waves from shore which were traveling faster, were breaking, and were steep. The Looksha II rose well in the first wave with water breaking on the deck after the bow hatch. The first wave left a lot of bow in the air so she crashed down pretty good into the second wave. There was air under the middle of the boat so I had to brace and take the second wave in the gut about navel high. The third and forth steep waves were a blur but the Looksha II recovered well and I was back up to speed rather quickly after the fourth wave.

I would give the boat a 10 with the exception of rolling. The rear deck is cut too high and I normally roll up on the rear deck. I compensate by slowly rolling her up till she is on her side then rotating the paddle blade over and finish the stroke like a C1 and come up in a low brace. A friend is going to teach me some Greenland Kayak rolls that should ease this problem. Fit and finish is great. The Looksha II is a beautiful boat. So I give her a 9.5. I guess my ego cannot accept that my whitewater roll is not strong enough so I will blame it on the boat.