Extra Fast Tourer (E.F.T.)

It's like the boat isn't even there at times. If you can find water as smooth as glass, and close your eyes while paddling, you can't hear or feel the EFT gliding with every stroke.

This is a first rate boat from an extraordinary builder. I bought my EFT second hand with a few dings to the hull. Not knowing anything about how to repair carbon fiber hulls, and unable to find an email address for West Side, I called them. The master builder himself answered (at 8pm!) and walked me through what I would need to repair the bit of hull which after 7 years had worn away 3 of the 7 layers of carbon by the rocking of the seat. He even sent me blocks of foam and carbon fiber to do the repairs free of charge.

Considering myself an experienced novice paddler, this boat is fast to me. I can cruise on flat water just under 6 mph, and only a few tenths slower in chop. Being 19' long I have never had haves big enough on my inland lake to cause the boat to rise and slap down in the trough. Primary stability keeps you focused in moderate waves, but it is still stable enough that you can focus on the forward stroke, not just trying to stay balanced.

Transportation is a breeze with its puny 26 pounds do to it's limited amount of creature comforts. I have paddled it for over two hours in a set, with very little discomfort once I adjusted the foot brace to the correct distance.

The tiller steering takes some getting used to from the standard foot peg rudders, but the single bar allows for much grater push off and balance. This boat tracks straight as an arrow, even in chop.

I prefer to paddle the EFT into the wind; the feeling of the crashing waves around the bow, combined with the wind in your ears make this a fast boat you can take out in any condition.

Mine is the kevlar version of the boat, with an under-the-stern rudder. Its 19'4" long and weighs 30 pounds. The kevlar is naturally a muddy yellow color, so I've nicknamed this unpainted boat Lahar, the technical term for a mudflow, in keeping with my use of geological names for my boats.

I chose this model boat to fill the gap between my sprint racing boat, a 17' Nelo Vanquish XXL, which is very fast but restricted to flat water, and my sturdy but slow sea kayak, a 15' Wilderness Systems Sealution 2XS. I wanted a boat that is safe in fairly rough seas, but which is fast. I've grown used to the performance of the racing boat, and want to capture the feeling of speed while touring. A little extra speed also greatly increases the range of a morning paddle, and opens new course options.

I've had the boat out four times now, twice on Lake Sebago (Sloatsburg, NY) and twice on the lower Hudson River (at Piermont, NY). I've been extremely pleased with its performance. It is extremely stable; I've had no capsizings so far. It keeps a straight heading with minimal tweaking of the rudder. Its narrow enough that I'm not hitting its sides with my paddle, even using a racing stroke. And its reasonably fast.

In flat water, and using a wing paddle, I can fairly easily maintain a pace of 7.0 m.p.h. This is significantly above the 5.5 m.p.h. that I can maintain with the Sealution, and only a little less than the 8.0 m.p.h. I can maintain with the Vanquish. I've pushed it a high as 8.6 m.p.h. in a sprint, which is above the speed cited in West Side's ad, but I think that I need to develop my paddling technique significantly before I would be able to maintain that speed for very long. The boat's speed in chop is, of course, less. But I was pleased to be able to paddle it at 6.0 m.p.h. into a strong headwind through light chop.

The boat handles the moderate chop that I encountered on the Hudson River very well. I was able to manuever through the rather chaotic standing waves that develop as the current races past the end of the Piermont Pier, with the feeling of being in firm control of the boat. I've had a few waves break over the deck and swish up to my chest. But the boat rides high in the water and has no tendency to submarine. I've also surfed some smallish, but well organized, rollers. The boat has some tendency to fishtail (yaw), as is typical under following-seas conditions, but I was able to keep its course fairly straight using mostly rudder control, supplemented by some variation of my paddle strokes. I could feel the pressure of the seas on the rudder as I moved the tiller bar. I hope that the rudder assembly is buit well! The advantage of a fast boat was very evident paddling into these seas, and against a tidal current that was maybe 3 m.p.h. I was able to make reasonable progress under conditions that would have slowed the Sealution to a crawl.

The overall design and construction of the boat is excellent, but I will probably futz with some minor things: The foot brace, made from 1" aluminum tubing, is a bit too narrow and hard on my feet. I can feel it even through light booties. I will probably clamp some sort of flat footrest onto it. The underside of the combing jabs my legs a bit. I will pad it, somehow. Generally speaking, I like the slung seat. It promotes much better paddling posture than the seats of most touring boats (including my Sealution), which are too reclined. But the bare kevlar, while fine for an hour's paddle, might prove uncomfortable during the course of a longer one. Some sort of cushion is probably in order there. Finally, I will have to find a way to get the pressure in the NRS flotation bags just right. I intentionally chose not to have deck hatches, but one of the consequences of this choice is that access to the extreme ends of the boat is very limited.

Overall, its a wonderful boat. Rating 10 (Excellent)

Got a chance to paddle a friends EFT(calm lake only). I own a Thunderbolt and a Tempest 17 poly. Have always been curious about the EFT. I was very impressed and surprised. I thought it would be similar to some of the high end sea kayaks, like the Qcc700. But the cockpit and ergonomics are very different. More like that of a race boat and allow for full rotation and leg pumping. It felt less stable (very quick roll rate) than a Qcc700, or Tempest but alot faster and lighter. It had the stability I wish the Tbolt had (you can lay your paddle down and take a drink or check out the scene directly behind you without concern of capsize). But, you still need to at least be aware of your position. Conversely, in the 700 I felt I could lay down and watch the clouds. In the Tempest I can watch the stars and doze off. The EFT felt just as responsive and fast at low to average effort as the Tbolt. It was not until I really dug in for top speed that I could see the limitations. It never felt like a barge or anything (like my Tempest does now), it just did not have the glide that a Tbolt has at hi speeds. I fell in love with the boat and may buy one for winter training (less likely to capsize than Tbolt), and for unfamiliar waters/open water when not racing.

I am on my second EFT (first was broken on my truck by a parking lot hit and run). I also paddle a Thunderbolt and a couple of wildwaters, but the Fast tourer is my favorite for workouts and "up the lake to the dam" explorations. Unlike the T bolt and the wildwaters, you can relax and work on your paddling rotation. I race it in Fast Touring Class and find it highly competitive with Gliders and Looksha IIs - It's like my favorite hiking boots or my old Toyota 4x4, well used and truly loved.

Recently bought Tony>s EFT. I have paddled all kinds of race boats over my 26 years of paddling and racing. Living on lake ontario offers tremendous paddling conditions. During the Summer I paddle a Burton Molokai Surf Ski. It is a really great boat. When the water gets colder I wanted a warmer boat. My Downriver Race boat just could not track well enough. So i started searching. Lots of boats and very expensive. Tried a Necky Tasis and Looksha 3. Good boats but very heavy. Current designs Extreme looked very bulky and heavy.

The Eft is Light and responsive. Very well made by Doug. This is My 7th boat built by him. Handles rough and quartering water very well. Stable enough to get a water bottle Out in rolling seas. Tried some time trials on 6 minute strech. It is about 10 to 15 seconds faster than my DR boat. It is probably a little slower than my ski. It has a Smart Track Rudder system. Very nice addition. Large cockpit for ease of entry. All in all a really great stable Boat.

Billed as an "Extra Fast Tourer" (EFT), this is West Side's most versatile racing type boat. Comparatively stable at 20" beam, the boat is great fun in rough seas or class II/III white water. The boat has a lot of rocker and can turn on a dime with the rudder retracted. With a rear bulkhead and hatch, the boat carries enough for weekend camping. With the beam and rocker, lighter paddlers may find the boat hard to control: At 230# and with a longer than standard rudder, I have a riot surfing and sprinting. My only complaint is that the boat is over 19', and therefore fits into the HPK racing class. If it were 18' long it would be a FSK, which is really where it belongs. Reasonably priced in Kevlar and Carbon, the boat is very light.