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I have had my bent shaft 210 cm corryvrecken for about 10 weeks now, and I have to say that it works great. Light and nimble, it is easy on the shoulders for hours at a time, but when you want acceleration it digs in. Great for rolling or surfing, but just a little tough to handle in the wind. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if anything happened to the one I have now.

This is an update on my previous evaluation. We are still very satisfied with our aquanauts, however I have one caveat. The backband is held in place with four straps and they have no give to them. In spite of adjusting them in a variety of ways I always had trouble with the backband when rolling. Eventually the lower straps ripped through the seat when I was doing layback rolls. To solve this I use one strap on each side and thread it through the upper and lower strap support on the backband. After this I attach the straps to the rear bulkhead with bungee cord. This arrangement works great. It holds the backband in place, and when you roll or lay back the backband moves with you and returns to normal when you have finished. Other than this small problem we have no complaints. The kayak rolls easily, handles wind and waves easily and is comfortable for hours at a time. A great boat.

Well, we finally received our Aquanauts, and we are more than pleased. Starting out I have to specify that we are both beginners. I have been out with my wife a couple of times and she found the boat very stable, and it tracked very well for her. She has been in currents up to 2 knots and had no problems manoeuvring and was quite comfortable. I have also been out several times alone in more 'challenging' conditions, one excursion of 9 nautical miles, out and back, in winds to 20 knots with whitecaps and current. The kayak handled very well and I made good use of the skeg on the crosswind portions of the journey. On the downwind portion the kayak surfed very well and accelerated easily to catch the waves. Another small trip of about 6 nautical miles on the St Lawrence river, current to two knots with some wind. The kayak performed very well, even when traversing two areas of confused water and clapotis to 2 ½ feet at the points of a couple of islands. The kayak went through like a knife through butter, but I am not used to getting hit in the chest like that by the waves. I did get to practice my braces. The description and specifications for the aquanaut mention that it is a boat for small to medium size paddlers, but don't believe it. I am 6' 210 lbs and it fits me very well. I had the front bulkhead placed at 34 inches, with no foot pegs or rails and the cockpit is very comfortable. It is a Greenland style boat so the space isn't enormous, but it is certainly adequate for tripping. There is also lots of space in the front and rear compartments, and with the day hatch there is more than adequate for expeditioning. The only downside is that the boats are a little heavy. Getting them onto or off of the roof racks on a pathfinder is a little tough, especially when I go out alone.

I have tried out the sultan twice, two different boats. It is a fast and comfortable kayak, and handled the wind and waves very well both times I tried it. The problem that I had with both boats was that the skeg didn't work well in either one of them. In one the skeg wouldn't come down at all, even when someone else tried to pull it down while we were on the water. In the other one the skeg came down but I had to play with it too much to get it to come down, and then it was difficult to adjust. Normally a skeg is not required, but on the rare occasion when it is really needed I don't want to have to fiddle around with it to make it work. Having tried the skegs on the VCP and P&H kayaks I decided that the skeg problem on the sultan was serious enough to make me look elsewhere. If they change the type of skeg to something more efficient I would be more than happy to bump the sultan to a 10.

I am a beginner and I am trying a variety of kayaks to determine what I will buy. This past weekend I went on a tour with Maine Island kayak Co and I tried out the argonaut. We roamed around for three hours cruising from island to island, in boat wash, two foot swells and some wind chop. The argonaut felt like a sedan, solid, stable and forgiving. I felt that it tracked very well, and at the same time lean turns were quick and easy. Large boat wakes on the beam were easily ridden with no hint of loss of stability or control. There is lots of space for dry storage, and access is easy with the valley hatches. The only thing that I didn't like was the rope skeg with the rope that goes down through the rear deck. It looks to me like it would wear too easily. I think this would be a good boat for beginners or someone needing lots of space for camping. Unfortunately I found it too stable and predictable, I will have to look elsewhere as I am looking for a boat that I can grow into.