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Sonoma 13.5
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Sonoma 13.5 Description
The Sonoma 13.5 is a kayak brought to you by Perception. Read Sonoma 13.5 reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. Check out a few other kayak recommendations below or explore all kayaks to find the perfect one for you!
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Sonoma 13.5 Reviews
Read reviews for the Sonoma 13.5 by Perception as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!
Great boat for smaller…
Great boat for smaller paddlers. I am 6'1, 195 lbs, and while I do fit in this kayak, getting in and out can be pretty tight, and I feel very top-heavy while paddling. That being said, the Sonoma is very quick, lightweight, and tracks well for a sub-14' boat. There is enough volume in the Sonoma's rear hatch to fit gear for an overnight if you pack light enough, but this is definitely not a good kayak for longer trips or expeditions.
Great boat for smaller…
Great boat for smaller paddlers. I am 6'1, 195 lbs, and while I do fit in this kayak, getting in and out can be pretty tight, and I feel very top-heavy while paddling. That being said, the Sonoma is very quick, lightweight, and tracks well for a sub-14' boat. There is enough volume in the Sonoma's rear hatch to fit gear for an overnight if you pack light enough, but this is definitely not a good kayak for longer trips or expeditions.
It is amazing how close my…
I'm 190 lbs, 5' 11" with size 11 feet. I also have similar boats to compare it with. I suspect he is right about how body size and shape affects weather cocking. I've had some success with countering weather cocking by shoving 1 to 1.5 gallons of water jugs in the stern as far as they would go.
I agree that a center foot rest is wonderful. I have one on my Current Designs Speedster and have made myself one from foam blocks for my Seda Impulse. Lately comfort and convenience have begun to be more important than speed to me. The Sonoma is my most comfortable boat and it fits on my car and in my garage better than my long boats.
For anything over an hour paddle the Sonoma is within 10% of the speed of any other kayak I've paddled. I normally paddle 4-7 hours per workout and I rarely miss the higher sprint speeds. I do miss the dry ride of my bigger boats some times. I haven't had it out with GPS but I have paddled all my kayaks on the same route that takes about two hours round trip for my fastest boats. I can't paddle the Speedster well enough to make it much faster - though it should be!
I also had the same rolling experience. I can do a butterfly roll with the Sonoma but not a hand roll or static brace. I may improve... I've only had two rolling sessions in it.
I use a longer Greenland style paddle with the Sonoma than I use with my longer, narrower, better tracking kayaks. I need the greater paddle area to counter the tendency to wander. This is especially true when trying to catch waves and stay on them. This may be due to my limited experience with the boat. I've only been on fairly small waves so far and only a few times. It is getting easier to catch rides. The problem is I'm so used to hard tracking boats that I tend to over correct when drifting off line.
The Sonoma is awesome for small, windy, rivers.
We have had this yak for…
Just a quick note on exactly…
First off, I have looked at a comparison of drag coefficients with other kayaks. At may be 3.5 knots it is easier to paddle than any 16 foot or longer kayak I looked at. At 4 knots it begins to lag behind just a bit. Above 4 knots resistance picks-up considerably and grows-up faster than with the longer boats, so the "wall" begins to be felt at about 4.5 miles per hour.
That said, the less than perfect tracking in any condition (due to short length and lack of skeg) even if we ignore its tendency to weathercock, will probably make it just a little more work to paddle in a straight line than a more "tracky" design of similar resistance. But it more than makes-up for this in that it allows me a good range of motion that is not possible with too many kayaks (see my previous review).
As a recent example, my average speed over 2.5 hour 11 mile trip in calm weather was 4.2 miles per hour, including short on-the-water rest stops. It is also notable that the speed does not drop too much as waves pick-up – the boat does not have much bow slap and thus maintains almost normal speeds even against good sized wind chop (but is a wet ride there).
A speed of 5.5 miles per hour is relatively easy to reach but can only be maintained for a few minutes. Max sprint speed for me so far has been up to 6.2 miles per hour but I can only maintain this for less than a minute and my heart rate reaches its maximum very fast there. Active cruising speed seems to be about 4.5 miles per hour. Relaxed all-day pace could probably be held at 4 mph but I never paddle that slowly or that long so I do not know. Surfing down boat wakes or steep wind waves I had it up to 9.3 mph - feels really different to move so fast.
This is a follow-up on my…
I'm still keeping my rating of 8 because, despite its many positives, the boat has some serious limitations. That said, I can't think of a better small boat for my own needs, so it will likely stay in my fleet longer than some other, "better" boats. So, read on and sorry – I just can’t write a short one, it seems...
The Sonoma is not the ideal boat by any stretch of the imagination. But it has the right mix of qualities for me to make it a decent compromise and my most used kayak for the past several months. At about 40lb, the Sonoma 13.5 Airalite is on the low range of the weight scale. And when purchased used – easy on the wallet.
Sizing. This boat may be better suited for the average to the taller paddler rather than for a petite person. Heavier paddlers up to probably 250lb should be no problem I estimate it would work just as well if not better for a lighter person (for a narrower water line). A small person (regardless of weight) will feel somewhat loose in the cockpit without some padding, the knee braces would likely be in the wrong place and the front deck will feel unnecessarily high for them. I have size 15 feet and am 6’4" tall at about 185lb before gear (and about 210-220 or so with my winter gear and a thermos of hot tea). I find this boat a perfect snug yet non-restrictive fit for me (!). If you like using foot pegs, the factory rails will probably comfortably accommodate people up to 6’ tall and up to about 15 size feet with very light footwear or a couple of sizes smaller feet if they wear thicker boots or sandals. Taller people - you would want to either do what I did and put a center foot rest or move the rails a couple of inches forward. Unfortunately, the seat is well glued to the hull and cannot be moved aft without destroying it first.
Features. The rear hatch is water and air tight (after adding a drop of AquaSeal where the ends of the rubber ring meet; before that it would drip a few spoonfuls of water and would not be air tight). The deck rigging is OK for maps and small items but cannot hold a spare full size one-piece paddle (a two-piece paddle is OK on the rear deck). Removing the front carry handle minimizes water spray and makes for a smoother and drier ride (consider installing a tow line or some other rope rigging in its place instead – safer and more useful on the water).
Stability. It is interesting to read other reviewer’s impressions of the same boat (any boat) and how they differ. This boat will definitely feel tippy at first if you are not a somewhat experienced paddler with a decent sense of balance, and especially if you are taller or top heavy. This was shared also by some kayak shop owners – their customers apparently did not like it during test paddles. This is a boat you can learn from if you want or it will intimidate and irritate you if you don’t want to learn to paddle well. It has decidedly less initial stability and is livelier to sit in than any recreational kayak currently on the market or for that matter than most sea kayaks that are wider than 22" so. Initial stability I estimate is similar to some 20-21" wide sea kayaks. It is stable enough to not to require any bracing most of the time even when not in motion. But it won’t keep you upright if you screw-up too much. The Sonoma has a very good secondary stability but that requires a significant lean to appreciate it. By the time secondary stability fully kicks-in, novice paddlers may feel threatened and out of control and that very well may be the case. It needs some practice to get comfortable. That said, after several outings and preferably with some instruction on bracing/rolling this boat will begin to feel more and more stable and reliable even to a novice paddler – they will not be that "novice" anymore and that’s the key to success.
Paddling style. With the addition of a centered foot rest, I have enjoyed knees-together full-leg-drive paddling, also thanks to the just long enough and high enough deck. Being able to do this makes such a nice difference, that I do not know why all boats do not come like that from the factory.
The suede form combined with the short kayak length and slightly sloped deck sides make for an impressively narrow and efficient paddle entry point for me (under 17" wide). Such narrow paddle entry areas are not typically found until one moves into the racing sea kayak/surf ski category of boats with their associated high price tags, sometimes intimidating length and stability (or lack there off on some). In comparison, my almost 19’ long Current Designs Extreme aka Nomad GTS and the 17’ long Wilderness System Tempest 170 kayaks are 2-4 inches wider in the same area respectively.
Speed. The Sonoma is not a fast boat. At only 12.5 or so feet waterline it has a rather limited top speed. However, the efficient Swede form and relatively narrow waterline width of 22" or so allow it to easily cruise at just over 4 miles per hour. It gets you into mild exercise pace (maintainable for hours with short breaks) when you get to 4.5 miles or so per hour. Consider that 4 to 4.5 mph is typically enough speed to keep pace with the average touring kayak in a group paddle and you will have easier time than the rest when going slower. Half the people in our group usually go slower than that, while only few go faster but only when they try to race each other. However, with a short boat as this, it is pointless to try to paddle at close to 5 miles per hour or faster for any length of time – it creates a huge wake and just wastes a lot of your energy for very little return in increased speed. 30 minutes at 5+ miles per hour and you will have a very high intensity workout near your max hart rate -;) I can propel it to just over 6 miles per hour in a short sprint, but that’s about the limit in it for me and, unlike a fast boat like the Extreme, paddling the Sonoma fast is not rewarding – it just wants to slow down to its "normal pace".
Surfing. I have not had a chance to surf ocean waves with this but expect it will be fun. Surfing wind waves certainly is. WIth flat bottom under and behind the cockpit and hard chines in that area, it can catch the smallest 1 foot chop and glide with it downwind with barely an effort. The Sonoma thrives going downwind in steep closely-spaced wind waves, which are not particularly pleasant to paddle in a long kayak like the Extreme. Due to its almost 19’ length its stern constantly comes out of the water and becomes susceptible to winds, its sharp bow goes deep and makes it hard to keep pointed if it begins to broach. Or it lifts on the tops of two adjacent waves leaving me handing in mid-air and lacking a brace point for brief moments. Give the Extreme open water with longer-period waves or just small wind chop and it screams thru. The Sonoma can’t catch-up with fast boats surfing low swells since it is slow and falls off longer smoother waves that just pass under it. On the other hand the Sonoma thrives in short waves – it surfs short steep 2-3 foot wind waves at nearly 8 mile per hour and is a lot of fun. The nose dives (pearls) somewhat in these conditions so you need to lean back or it threatens to go under too deep. Removing the front carry handle makes for a nice smooth just below the surface glide of the bow in these conditions. Due to the short length the boat is responsive to control strokes and leans and is easy to keep on course down wind or upwind or at a slight angle upwind (but weathercocks strongly in side winds).
Upwind. Going directly upwind in the same short steep waves that the Sonoma so likes to surf is a wet ride and not nearly as fun as it is in longer boats. The pointed bow slices thru rather than rise over them. It does not lift too much giving it a good speed upwind even in strong winds but it is half the time under water and you will get very wet. Going upwind at a slight angle to the winds and waves seems to be the better way to go – no nose-diving and very little spray to the face; plus the weather cocking is not much of an issue yet, until you try to go with the wind directly from the side. Longer boats have some advantages in going directly upwind against small chop as they do not go up and down so much and offer a smoother and drier ride over the waves.
Seaworthiness. The boat has some serious limitations as it comes from the factory. These need to be addressed for it to become a fully capable and safe "sea kayak" for longer trips. It will never be large enough for multi-day tripping but for day tours or an overnighter in warmer climates (small gear size!) it is enough. First, the lack of a front bulkhead can be an issue if you are alone and overboard. Make sure you practice in a pool or protected area to know what to expect. It is very hard to lift the bow and empty the boat while you are floating under it as the bow area fills-up with lots of water despite the large foam block that provides support in the front of the leg area. It is just too heavy and holds too much water to lift over your head to empty well on your own while floating under it in the water (inflate a paddle float to give you buoyancy to lift if you must). The problem is worsened by how the cockpit area and the deck are shaped. Even if you lift the bow to empty it (say from another kayak or from shore) you still can’t empty the boat fully – there are good several gallons of water left in it at any time no matter how you turn it around (my other boats are left with no more than a cup or two in the same situation and I can empty them alone in the water). So, carry a bilge pump with you at all times – you will need it should you flip or practice rolling or wet exits. Most of this can be avoided if one adds float bags to the front and behind the seat (but that will waste valuable space in the rear). Adding a second bulkhead behind the seat is on my to-do list and would also allow me to have an accessible day hatch. It will also provide additional stiffness to the deck immediately behind the seat. Lastly, due to the general tippiness of the kayak I found it difficult to do cowboy reentries in it (the rear hatch tie-downs also tend to get a little in the way and may loosen). Doing a reentry from the side and roll back-up seems a better way to go and you do not need to worry about emptying the boat first as it will fill-up anyway while you try this (but you will have a good workout to empty all that water it once you are up, if you have not put flotation bags in it).
Weathercokcing. A skeg is needed when there is strong wind from the side – the boat weathercocks too much and, while perfectly controllable by leaning and sweep strokes, it wastes too much energy to keep it on course unless paddling directly up-wind. Not an issue for short outings but can become a problem and is really a bog if you have to fight it for more than an hour in strong winds. May be my weight distribution worsens this – my legs stretch way too forward from where they are supposed to be and my butt is still in the same place where a 5’5" 150lb person would sit. Thus the bow is well planted and the stern feels more loose than the bow for me. Perhaps shorter people may find the weathercocking not so bad as their weight would load the boat more evenly front to rear.
Tracking. Going straight is not this boats strength (despite the claims on the adverts). It tracks OK for its length but is not that good overall. The stern is somewhat loose for me and requires a precise stroke to keep from turning left or right. That is not a big deal in itself and is actually a good tool to teach evenness of your left and right stroke. It also does not matter in the least if you paddle along in a group – tracking is more than good enough for this. You will notice the tendency to zigzag, however, if you try to move fast or race someone and there keeping a precise straight line is of great benefit. It unnecessarily wastes your energy compared to a skegged or a ruddered boat. I plan to add a skeg to it to improve straight line tracking and to eliminate weathercocking. While a rudder would be even better, the cost of a good one, the weight, and the clutter it creates in the cockpit, in the hatch area and on the stern is probably not justified compared to the little additional benefit it would add over a skeg for such a short boat.
Rolling. The boat rolls easy enough. Not a rolling boat by any means though. I am still a relative beginner as far as rolling is concerned, but I managed to easily learn in it my first butterfly rolls on both sides, did various braces that get me out of the water after getting my entire head down but before needing to roll, or to just do a plain layback roll. In fact it rolls easier for me than either of my other two boats as it has the lowest rear coaming height of the three kayaks I got – a little lower than the Tempest, measured from the seat bottom, which is in turn a little lower than the Extreme. I can just lay on the side and float, then come back as in the last motion of a butterfly roll and am almost flat on the rear deck without much flexibility required in my lower back. It is still not a low-volume boat, so it is not as easy to roll as a proper "Greenland" kayak but certainly easier than some wider bulkier recreational boats.
Toughness. This is not as strong as a rotomolded polyurethane boat, nor is it as stiff as a composite boat – cost and weight savings has its price. While it is less susceptible to minor damage from scrapes and nicks than a gel-coated fiberglass or carbon/Kevlar boat I feel the Airalite material would not necessarily withstand a catastrophic blow any better than a composite boat would. I would handle it with more care than a "plastic" boat (when for instance landing on rocks) but less care than a composite when placing on the ground or car-topping (where unnecessary gel coat cracks can occur easily in them) – that works for me as I usually do not land hard on rocks but do have to put the boat on the ground or on the car every time I paddle.
Had a chance to try it in…
I can understand beginners finding this boat tippy, especially if they are lighter than I am. The seat was OK, though my tailbone felt pressure after an hour paddling though. The back support is nice but high for a layback roll - maybe a backband would be better suited for this.
At 6'4" and size 15 feet I needed maybe 1" to 2" more length on the foot rails, but otherwise there was very good foot room - moving the rails would make it a good fit. At just under 200 lb with wet gear I expected that the boat would ride lower in the water but it stayed pretty high IMO - providing for a dry ride in up to 1' waves, but a very wet when the wind picked-up and the waves came up to 2 feet - the nose would bury rather than go over these steep waves. But so does my 19 foot kayak, except that the bow of the Sonoma is very close to me, so the spray would hit me in the face at each wave pretty much (due to the wind).
Going downwind was a lot of fun - due to the short length and relatively hard chines it catches the small steep waves easily and goes along just fine at a good speed. Side-winds however were not good to tackle - too much weathercocking and even with slight edging it still required pretty much full-time one side paddling to stay on course. A skeg would be very good to have in this situation. May be with hard edging it would go where you need it, but that's too much work compared to just dropping a skeg... Also, being that tall I probably shifted the designed center of gravity forward of the intended point, thus increasing the tendency to weathercock - I noticed that if I lean back it was easier to stay on course, so perhaps for a lighter/shorter paddler who's legs won't weigh down the bow so much it may behave better - my bow was pretty well planted and the stern would slide downwind more than the bow.
Did not get a chance to measure speed with GPS - it did not strike me as a terribly fast boat but it had OK glide b/w strokes and for its length it seemed pretty decent.
Why 8? Because of the strong weathercocking tendency - it required a lot of work to keep on track. But as I said, may be for a lighter and shorter paddler that may not be a problem: the bow will be lighter and the center of gravity - a little further back than with me having all of my 36" legs and size 15 feet in drypants and layers in the front
A followup to the review I…
My husband purchased the boat…
Sonoma 13.5 - I LOVE this…
This boat is fast, it tracks well and will cross a large lake with minimal exertion. It does get pushed around in the wind a little bit, but I have had no problem compensating. The cockpit is fairly small. That works great for me as I no longer bang my elbows as I did with the LiquidLogic. However if I have to get out for some reason getting back in while in the water isn't always easy.
Overall I adore this boat. My mother nearly stole it out from under me! With my tricky back and neck this boat is a perfect fit, light weight and fast. Not to mention she is oh so pretty. Too bad they stopped making it...
I just came in from paddling…
I have been paddling for 7…
The Sonoma 13.5 Airalite is…
I'm 6 feet and fit in the Sonoma with no problems. The thigh braces are a perfect fit. In addition to its speed, the Sonoma tracks very well and continues to glide through the water after you've quit paddling. You'll probably read a lot about this kayak being tippy. Yes, at 22.5 inches in width, it is tippy, but I got used to it after the first twenty minutes in the cockpit. It’s like riding a bike, perfectly comfortable once you get used to the feel. There are more stable boats out there, but for speed, maneuverability and just plain fun on the water, the Sonoma 13.5 is a great choice.
The Sonoma 13.5 was my first…
I took advantage of an L.L.…
In spite of the fact that the…
I just received my new Sonoma…
I love the boat and its compromises are well suited to my needs. However, it has some serious issues from construction and (presumably) handling that I would suggest you look for if you purchase or own one.
I had looked at kayaks for ages and bought the Sonoma within a day of seeing Outdoorplay's price including delivery and with no tax. Cool.
It arrived in only 3 days. However on unwrapping it, I found the bolt ahead of fore bungie clip had been overtightened. This produced a 1/2" stress fracture in the gel coat and a "whitening" stress line in the plastic of about 2". Also, the bow foam support leaned rather dramatically, with the centerline being about 1" from the edge of the 4" wide foam. I sent pictures to Outdoorplay and they made a reasonable adjustment to the price and I effected an ugly repair necessitating drilling the ends of the crack and filling the surface. Not a problem as I intend to cover it with a compass. However, the boat also showed signs of really sloppy glue work- smeared on the front of the hull and not wiped off at application??(it can't be removed now) and just generally poor workmanship. To add to these woes (on such a gorgeous little kayak!), I think the boat has been poorly handled. It has a bonk in the bow in the hull and one on the deck about 1" ahead of the crack. Most importantly, the decking overhang is cracked in a long continuous split where it overhangs the hull, exactly the length of the Perception writing and logo on the port side. If I had seen this earlier, I never would have accepted the boat. I have no idea how that long crack could occur without damaging the hull, but it is there, and now glued. There are a few other small dents in the surface and I would guess that the material has a "memory" and retains them.
My conclusion is that Perception has a very nicely designed and attractive kayak that is being very indifferently assembled. Caution is advised.
This kayak is my third in 35…
Next to my wilderness Systems…
After 3 months of searching…
My ladyfriend and I both…
I bought this kayak after…
I bought this kayak after…
I have been looking for a new…
The Sonoma 13.5 is the second…
I just took it out for my first paddle since purchasing it this week, and while I still love the feel of it, I found it a little challenging to paddle against the stiff wind I encountered. I experienced many of what others previously have mentioned; the boat turning into the wind, my tendency to oversteer, and the challenge and opportunity to perfect, or at least improve, my paddling strokes. Even by the end of my paddle I found myself holding a truer line, and quite a bit ahead of my paddling partner.
I wonder whether folks have experience taking this boat into coastal waters and class II-III rivers. Having only previously paddled in plastic boats that were longer, more rugged, and stable, I am a little unsure about how the Sonoma can handle these different waters. Anyone care to comment?
This is the second kayak for…
The Sonoma 13' 5 is taking some getting used too. For my wife, she was spoiled by the Looksha rudder but is learning basic rudderless turning and straightline kayaking against wind and current very quickly. For both of us, we have slowly been getting comfortable with the way the boat leans. Neither previous boat leaned very much, and except in 1-2 ft. waves never had the feeling that running parallel to waves might cause a capsize. The Sonoma does "feel" unstable and like other posters have said, it is almost always leaning at least a little. We know in our heads that it will able to lean much further than we’ve experienced. We agree that we will have to do some practice capsizing soon, just to determine what the limits are, and then to practice correcting so we don’t capsize.
We kayak most frequently from Little Harbor Beach on Buzzards Bay, MA, which has light wind in the morning with 6 inch swells. Easy kayaking, but when we arrive to where we are going, have a snack, and come back, the swells have become chops and the wind has picked up. By afternoon waves increase to about a foot, and if windy, 18 inch white caps are common. While I wouldn’t dare call this real "whitewater" it certainly isn’t mirror calm water. By late afternoon the windsurfers have taken over. (This used to be a premier windsurfing beach until the town limited parking to residents.) We are no near expert enough to venture out in windsurfing conditions.
I wonder if Perception has really designed the Sonoma for the kind of conditions we do paddle in and what they mean when they call it a "day touring kayak." (Anybody know the answer?)
I’d like to hear from other owners about their experiences in waves and winds. I’m not sure if it is fair to rank the kayak until we’ve used it more. My sense is that I may rank it 9 or even 10 once we become more adept at paddling it. The test may come when we try kayaking with our West Highland White Terrier like we used to in our other boats. (See pictures at www.wendywestie.com/kayak_dog_seat_2.html )
I got this boat mainly for…
After agonizing for a month…
I would strongly suggest this kayak for those who don't have an SUV or tons of yard space to store boats. I would give it an 10 but I'm waiting to see how it holds during the rest of the season.