Quest

I acquired the Quest after spending the last few years in a Dagger Sitka. I did buy this boat a bit on a whim - the price was right, I was in the market for something more responsive that the Sitka - I didn't have the opportunity to try it out before I bought it. I did my research about it and it seemed that it could be a bit tender. Well, I love it. I've tried many other boats before this one and was seriously considering an NDK Explorer HV.

On to the Quest: The initial stability and the secondary stability blend together smoothly and it certainly requires you to pa attention what you are doing; meaning that it doesn't take care of you the way that the Explorer does. If you blow it on an edge you'll get wet; however, it's responsive to braces and roll in a way that makes up for it's tender nature.

Some of the reviews claim the Quest tends to ride a bit high unloaded, but it is a boat designed to carry gear. I found that it ride no higher that any other boat unloaded and that it remain responsive to corrective strokes. Even in high winds it tracks rather well, though it may tend to pearl a bit.

I haven't had the opportunity to try it loaded for a trip yet and will add to this at that time. At this point however, I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up wit the caveat that for some the twitchy nature of this boat will inspire nightmares for the unprepared/inexperienced.

I have owned my Quest for a little over a month and 1/2 now and have done a lot of day paddling including open coast and in the surf as well as a couple of 3-4 day trips. So far I am very pleased with the boat, I was on the verge of buying a NDK Explorer but after trying them both side by side at the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium I went with the Quest. It wasn't an easy choice as the NDK Explorer is an excellent boat.

I am 5'7' about 165lbs so the boat is a bit big for me but so was the explorer, and I've fixed that with some padding. The finish on the boat is excellent, I have not seen a better finish on a boat. The seat and backband is one of the most comfortable I have tried.

Now on to how the boat handles. The boat has a nice blend of initial and secondary stability, easy to edge without being tippy and a very solid edge to lay over on. It carves turns very well for such a big boat, it feels like a much smaller boat. Tracking is very good but will weathercock a little when empty, a little bit of skeg fixes that. With a load aboard it tracks very well.

Seems to be a fast boat, has a nice glide and handles big water very well. Handles well in Surf for such a long boat, and following seas are a blast. You really need to get this boat in big water to really appreciate it. Oh, and it rolls very well.

Anything I don't like? The Kajak Sport hatches, I prefer the VCP hatches, but I am getting used to them and the appear to be completly watertight.The layup seems a little lighter than my Valley Pintail but most people will like that as most vcp boats are very heavy. I'm hard on boats so I tend to favor a heavier lay up though, well I guess I will see how well it holds up.

I will have to say I am very pleased with this boat. The day after I bought it I was wondering if maybe it was a bit of an impulse buy, as I had pretty much made up my mind on an explorer untill seeing and paddling the Quest. Anyway after a lot of paddling the last month or so I think I have found the boat for me. For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, P&H is trying to have more reresentation out here. I got this one from the guys at Gig Harbor Kayak Center and I think they are the reps out here so hopefully they will be better availability here in WA. Anyway a solid 9 at least.

I test paddled the project X version of this boat from my P&H dealer in Michigan several times in varying wind and wave conditions on Lake Michigan. With minimal padding I found the cockpit a nice fit for me at my size (5'8" and 180 lbs). This boat is very fast when headed on a course and if empty does weathercock a little, (I do mean a little). With the skeg deployed this is easily corrected. But with a moderate-heavy gear load the boat doesn't need the skeg quite as much. Carved turns work really well even with the skeg deployed.

The seat is very comfortable and I paddled many long hours along the coast of Lake Michigan and never had my legs or rump fall asleep on me. The backband provides excellent support in the right spot. The initial stability is a little tricky at first, but the secondary stability is quite solid. There is a solid feeling when doing high braces and side sculls. Rolling the boat is predictably easy. The hatches are also very watertight and I never noticed any leakage in any of the compartments.

I ordered and bought my own in kevlar from Lee's in Kalamazoo with the custom mounted bulkhead and footpump. Now with the bulkhead set at my inseam the cockpit is a perfect fit for me. One thing this boat is missing that I think kajak sport and P&H should remedy is a front hatch size a few inches wider. The hatch works the way it is, but a 10-12 inch hatch might work a little better when loading loads of gear. Also the color choices are ok, but still not as cool as some other manufacturers e.g.: seaward kayaks, current designs, or now even NDK has the sparkly/metallic gel-coat option. I realize that these are cosmetic items, but they do add up to something for overall customer satisfaction.

The boat that I took delivery of is flawless in its layup and manufacture and is everything I wanted from a sea kayak. Fast, light, loads of room for gear, stable and easy to steer in wind and waves. Definitely something I would recommend to the serious paddler wanting a boat to go long distances on the Great Lakes or the sea.

UK -- by Mike Thomson (owner of Scottish Paddler Supplies). The P & H QUEST is an "impossible" boat. I have been a sea kayaker and sea kayak seller for many years now. A large percentage of my customers paddle the West Coast of Scotland where both sea and tidal conditions can be severe and the choice of sea kayak has to be taken very seriously. Throughout this time I have often been asked for a boat that is "fast but stable". I've previously had to reply that this was the impossible dream - the two were completely incompatible. If you wanted stability you went for a boat with a wide beam ( in the U K this was judged to be a boat of 24" beam or over) at the expense of speed and if you wanted speed you went for one of the lean, mean sea kayaking machines at the expense of stability.

However, following the arrival on the scene of P & H's QUEST, I will have to change my tune. This is a boat that changes all the rules. The impossible dream is here, NOW.

The Quest is long at 17 foot 9" and fast but the overwhelming impression is its quite INCREDIBLY STABILITY for a boat of only 22" beam. My first impression was that P & H had somehow managed to fit an invisible giro stabiliser and / or an equally invisible yacht type keel. The stability was unbelievable. Nothing seemed to worry the boat and I felt very comfortable in conditions that might have worried me a bit in other boats of similar or greater beam.

I have paddled a prototype and one of the first production Quests on several trips in various parts of the West Coast of Scotland in a wide variety of conditions including a trip through the Corryvrechan whirlpool where things got a bit 'interesting'. The more I paddled it, the more impressed I was. This is a boat that a beginner would feel at home in and could keep all their paddling days.

The Quest hull has a soft chine running from the cockpit area almost all the way to the stern. P & H have carried the width of the boat further forward than on the Orion giving the Quest broad buoyant 'shoulders' and the bows are slightly flared out at deck level. This combination greatly reduces the amount that the boat pitches and it planes through rough seas like an aircraft carrier, keeping the foredeck much dryer. It has as much storage space as the Orion despite being 2" narrower and is more stable.

The Quest comes fitted as standard with a deck mounted Silva P70 compass. P & H's excellent retractable skeg system, comfortable adjustable seat, a tow line or security fixing point and a cross deck recess for paddle float self rescues.

An astonishing design, in a class of it's own, and the answer to that 'impossible' dream of a fast but stable expedition sea kayak.