Sirona 16-1

I bought an ex demo Sirona direct from Valley in April this year (2017) and have paddled it extensively for 6 months now. Initially I found the primary stability a little low but this may have been because i came from a P&H Cetus which is almost flat under the cockpit and the seat is very low. Whilst the Sirona is also pretty flat the seat is set quite a bit higher. After a few weeks I lowered the seat to just 5mm from the hull, thus lowering the centre of gravity. This transformed the boat and I would now rate the primary stability as excellent/very high. The secondary stability when on edge is also excellent. For a 16ft boat this is extremely maneuverable, and I personally find it turns quicker than a Delphin. This boat revels in rough water and the surf zone. It shrugs off big seas and catches waves very easily. It's far and away the best rough water boat I've paddle and has become my go to boat over the Cetus and Xcite. Much more fun then either. There is of course a downside to all this and that's speed and tracking. Being so playful it does compromise a bit on both of these. It is skeg dependent to assist with tracking and whilst perfectly quick enough for most group day paddles it can be hard work keeping up with the composite ones. It is faster than a Delphin though. I've used it for multiday trips where I know I will be playing on the way. It has plenty of room for a weeks worth of kit and loaded it does track just a little better. The outfitting I find very comfortable, but this is obviously a personal thing. Valley have nailed it with this kayak, which they class as an ocean playboat. I think this description is spot on. I'm lucky enough to have a number of kayaks, but if you can only have one boat as a "jack of all trades" the Valley Sirona is well worth a demo.