Aquanaut

It surfs well, weather cocks very little and is absolutely amazing in rough waters or calm. When you say "turn", it turns, when you say "roll over", it does so with ease and grace, when you say "giddy-up", it does!

When on a recent trip with Sean Morley of CCK in Oakland, CA he watched me get pounded by a rather nice size wave and I think he thought I was in trouble but I let the wave pass and performed a "reenter and roll' easily as the sizing of the cockpit is perfect for performing any type of rescue situation.

When instructing students I let them use my Aquanaut because it is so forgiving and as I said handles with ease lending confidence to the new paddler.

I've recently thought of purchasing a new kayak but stand waterside looking at my Aquanaut and the thought quickly escapes my mind. this is a perfect kayak! Thanks Valley for your commitment to excellence!

I find the Aquanaut a very stable hull with solid initial and secondary stability (compared to more rounded/narrower hulls). Initially this kayak was hard to manage in breeze conditions and would lee cock (point downwind) on beam winds. I removed the seat and fabricated a composite one to then place it more forward to adjust the trim and make it more neutral. I only use the skeg in following seas with decent waves, otherwise it tracks solidly enough to not need any skeg.

The rear deck is not low enough to allow me full laybacks to the deck for rolling (I am not very flexible) and the thigh braces are just high enough to fit my rather thick legs. Myself and others find the stock plastic VCP seat not suitable for paddles of more than an hour: dead legs are a common complaint.

I find the cockpit one of the best, second only to Tide Race, for my body shape. Others have a bit more wiggle room then me but still engage the legs perfectly under the deck for solid contact with the boat. The layup is a carbon/Kevlar hull and deck making this boat substantially lighter than standard Valley composites. I found no defects on this kayak but several others paddling buddies have experienced lay-up faults with Valley boats.

I believe the Aquanaut is a very capable rough water handling craft and probably less suited for just mild water cruising; it doesn’t seem to glide as effortlessly as some other kayaks of mine when the seas are calm. The initial stability allows me to take easy photographs even when the water is textured. Turning by edging ad sweeping strokes is reasonable while I find tracking still acceptable with corrections needed only in following seas.

I would recommend this kayak to a beginner that wants a performance boat but doesn’t risk stability or to the advance paddler that wants a solid craft when the going gets rough.

Unfortunately I found the kayak, as set up from factory, not well-balanced and I and other paddlers experienced substantial lee cocking. Adding about 10-l5 lbs. to the bow compartment helps to correct that.

For a video of surfing in small waves watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrD9Rryf86o

The Aquanaut is very lightweight for a boat of this size, Valley seems to be doing a good of minimizing dead weight by controlling the cloth/resin ratio. At 5'8" 190 lbs. I am comfortable in the cockpit, and have put a wide variety of paddlers in the Aquanaut with success. Larger paddlers will need to check out the HV Aquanaut, which since late 2009 had a totally redesigned cockpit, large enough for bigger paddlers to get in butt first - feet second.

Nicest point about the Aquanaut, it is a thing of beauty that paddles well in the rough stuff (open water, rock gardens, tidal streams and races, as well as surf). We have been using this boat in our fleet since 2004, and it is very popular among experienced kayak trippers that come to use our boats for their Alaska tours.

The Aquanaut is not a bad looking boat but a lot less attractive than the glass one. The construction is good. Better hatches than the Current Designs Storm GT and the plastic 17" Necky. Primary stability is acceptable. Secondary worked out OK. I am not very use to boats this narrow but I felt secure. Unfortunately I did not have a GPS to check the speed but I think it was reasonable for its size and weight. I think it handled very well with the wind in the main water way of Mission Bay. It did not roll it but it edges nicely too.

I have two observations.
1- The back band is attached to the side of the seat frame just half way up. It is supposed to be a low back support but there was no way that I could keep the back band up. It felt like an upper butt support and this was painful for my back. I think that Valley could learn from Necky. Necky's back band is fixed in place ( on new models ) at a higher point and it wouldn't come down when you enter the boat from a deck.

2 - The second observation was that my feet did not fit. I know that kayaking is a small people sport but with a boat this big I was expecting that 6' tall and 12.5 feet will be OK. It is not the LV. Why don't the think paddlers with big fit have the right to paddle something other that the HV Queen Mary. I do not know if my feet will be OK in the glass model which is a little longer (17'7" vs. 17' 1").

Hope this was useful for people with big feet. I am sorry for that my review was not better because I enjoy looking at Valley’s web site.

Several trips in various conditions have affirmed my preconceptions and priorities for this purchase. I wanted rough water abilities for trips across open waters as is difficult to plan for all weather imposed the challenges and the Aquanaut's rough water behavior is impressive. It is very well behaved in confused seas as well as in following seas and I can be comfortable in conditions that caused some concern in the past.

While I contemplated rough water capable kayaks with a relatively tender primary stability (read a bit tippier). The primary stability of the Aquanaut is great making it is easy to relax, take photos, retrieve items from the day-hatch or have lunch on the water in fair weather conditions. Secondary stability is also very good making for easy edging as needed for sharp turns. There is no sudden tipping point and the transition to horizontal body position can be smooth. The Aquanaut is also an easy boat to roll and re-entry rolls does not trap much water in the cockpit, another very important safety consideration.

As you approach apparent top speed with the Aquanaut you cause a noticeable wake to form and further speed increase is difficult. That said top speed is at least on par with other kayaks in its class and more than adequate for club paddles and other group trips.

I have not felt a need for improvement in maneuverability or tracking as the Aquanaut strikes a great balance between the two.

The relatively low profile is a benefit in windy conditions. Space is adequate and comfort is excellent, my size 12 (US) thick neoprene boots just fit under the relatively low foredeck. Although easy to reach, the (recessed) skeg control is located such that the bump inside the cockpit ends up where most paddlers would keep their left knee.

The composite construction is very sturdy (read not light weight) suggesting durability and causing a bit more muscle effort for out of the water handling (a light weight version is available). I have not seen any blemishes in the finish and construction is first rate.

Last but not least and strictly subjective but honest: While the Aquanaut is a great looking kayak, Nordkapp and perhaps a couple of other classic kayaks are even nicer looking.

I have been paddling for almost 30 years and owned other Valley boats, other high-performance boats and several I built myself. I was looking very forward to paddling the Aquanaut but it has not measured up. The boat was delivered with an out-of-alignment skegbox. Strangely, it tracks well with the skeg down, which slows the boat significantly, but pulls to the left with the skeg fully retracted. Though it does not track well with the skeg up, it is a slower boat to turn than it should be. Additionally the skeg control cable conduit allows water to leak into the aft compartment continually. The dealer has been unwilling/unable to address these issues. The seat pan was shortened up and does not provide enough thigh support, though I understand Valley is scraping that seat and returning to the older design.

On a positive note, the boat handles rough conditions very well, the finish is excellent, it is fast (even when it does not run true), and very stable when leaned. I am keeping it as a loaner for undemanding friends, but caution demaning paddlers to really check this one out before buying.