Moskito FW 2000

I just had the opportunity to take this boat for a paddle. The model I paddled had an overstern rudder.

Let me start out by saying this boat is only for very skilled paddlers with advanced paddling/balance skills. It is very tippy and I found the seat to be very narrow for my hips (and I'm a skinny guy) and too high so as to contribute to the overall instability of the craft.

Yes, this boat is very fast and I very much wanted it to fill a niche in my boat arsenal, but I couldn't find any one aspect of the boat to fall in love with. The cockpit is very small and I can't imagine what re-entry in open water would look like as a result--especially in such a tippy craft-- so I don't see the boat being used as an ocean kayak. This small cockpit also rules out the boat as a flat water racer since it doesn't allow the legs enough range of motion. I can't see the boat being used as a downriver racer since it is relatively long, not very maneuverable, and you can't really lean it to aid in steering since the hull is round with no wings and you can't lean too many degrees without going over.

It is a beautiful boat that looks cool and goes fast so I guess if you simply want to paddle around a calm lake with it and use it to help develop balance skills that would be a good use, but certainly there are better training boat out there.

Aside from that, I don't really see a niche for this boat and perhaps that's why you just don't see many of them anymore.

This is a pseudo racing kayak, 17" wide, and 18'6" long. It is about as fast as a K1 trainer in a straight line. Turning is marginal, controlled by a tiller connected to an under-hull rudder. Stability is lower than say a Laser or Razor, but not as tippy as an all out K1. Seating is a platform seat, fixed height, with fore and aft trim.

My boat is in fiberglass and REALLY heavy. It seems to be over 50lbs. The bulkheads offer a degree of safety when the inevitable capsize happens with a boat this tippy. Build quality is very high, with a smooth finish, and solid components. This is typical Nelo. Entry / exit is pretty tough, and requires a dock, because of the very tight cockpit.

I got this boat as a clearance item for a very aggressive price. Overall, it is a pretty reasonable training boat. It is very solid (a plus compared to other performance boats). Acceleration is pretty marginal, it rides wakes and waves pretty well.

The weight and small cockpit are why I knock this down to a 6. Otherwise, it would probably be an 8 or 9.

My first impressions of this kayak were not good, though there are some great things about it. It is long and feels fast, probably comparable with a racing K1. The sloped forward deck allows for a very efficient stroke, the seat and rudder system come direct from racing K1s. However, here lies the problem. The cockpit is small enough to allow your knees to brace under the rim (and hence, I guess, enable you to roll - though I did not try). The rudder system is identical to racing K1s - with a footrest the full width of the kayak and a bar controlling the rudder. However I could not move the rudder more than an inch or two before my foot got in the way, and the only way to get it out of the way was pull my leg right back and stick my knee up out of the cockpit. The large open cockpits of racing K1s prevent this problem. Full left and right movement of the rudder seems essential in a boat that is so straight that leaning and sweep strokes are laborious to say the least. My feeling is that the rudder system needs to be replaced with that of a more traditional sea kayak, where you push on pedals and there is no need ever to get your foot out of the way. Of course this does not give the solid platform for your feet that racers prefer. This is such a problem that I very strongly suggest that you try this boat out before ordering one. I could not see rudder options on Nelo's website though maybe there are some.

Other features of the boat are that its hull is very similar to the rounded hulls of racing K1s, without the noticable cheeks of sea kayaks, which puts its stability between that of a K1 trainer and racing K1, certainly not as stable as a Looksha II, for example. So taking it out in the open sea is for the brave and skillful only. Finally it also seemed heavy for a graphite boat.