The Expedition Sport by One Ocean Kayaks has become my all-around favorite touring kayak among my 5 wood strip-built kayaks. It combines good tracking and paddling efficiency with excellent turning when edged, and has plenty of storage capacity. I have been paddling my Expedition Sport for seven months and find that it excels in calm water, one and two foot seas, on overnight trips and playing the surf.
At 16 feet and 9 inches long and 21.5 inches wide, it is designed for an optimal paddler and gear weight of between 140 and 200 pounds. I’ve had 220 pounds in it at it still performs very well. Paddlers planning on heavier loads should consider the larger Expedition model, which is designed for an optimal 170-260 pounds of paddler load.
The hull design is perfect for touring: It is rounded towards the bow to achieve a fine entry with minimum frictional resistance, and flattens out towards the cockpit for stability and superb turn-carving. The stern has a well-defined fixed skeg for excellent course-keeping. It does not need a rudder or external skeg.
If I were custom designing this boat, the only change I would make is to lower the decks a little, as there is more room than necessary in the cockpit, especially around my size 10.5 feet, and more storage room than I need in the hatches.
The plans from One Ocean Kayaks are very clear and thorough, with each full-size form template on a separate page. Little things such as choices of cockpit coaming sizes are a big plus. As far as strip-built kayaks go, this boat was relatively easy to build, with no radical twisting of strips.
The optional manual that accompanies the plans for this kayak is filled with building suggestions, and the ‘Workshop’ section of the One Ocean Kayak website contains a wealth of tips that made building much easier for me.
Friends who paddle this boat tend to be impressed with its performance, and I receive many compliments on the appearance. A paddler in the 150-175 pound range could hardly go wrong choosing this kayak design. Unquestionably a '10'.
