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The Ellesmere is an amazing kayak and I can't imagine why Boreal Design discontinued it. I'm 5'8", 160lbs, PC Level 3 Skills, Lv 1 Instructor and a Rolling Instructor. I live on the wild west coast of Canada and paddle in a variety of conditions but generally like challenging waters. My other kayaks have been or are: Valley Avocet, Current Designs Prana LV, Valley Gemini SP RM, Impex Force Cat 3, Valley Nordkapp Jubilee.

Build Quality:

The build quality of Boreal Design kayaks (at least prior to them being taken over by Kayak Distribution in 2012 when production moved from Quebec to China) was comparable to Seaward - strong, a tad on the heavy side, but able to take abuse and still be free of spider cracks or performance issues.

At 180 litres of storage space split among three compartments (and not including the cockpit), it holds plenty of gear.

The front hatch is sunken, giving a smooth surface and silhouette, but for some reason they didn't sink the day hatch or the stern hatch, which sit above the deck. All hatches use the soft rubber KajakSport covers which in my opinion are the best you can get - way better than the rigid covers or Valley's half-foam ones.

The skeg is a unique system, using a rotary dial to release the skeg via a spectra cable, lowered from tension set on a small bungee, which you can adjust as you like. There's no danger of kinking a skeg cable in cases of accidentally leaving down when landing and I feel it's far superior to the traditional hardware of skegs on most other kayaks.

The seat - oh the seat!! Of the dozen or so kayaks that I've paddled, no seat compares in comfort to Boreal's, a ergonomically shaped hard plastic or fibreglass with an optional padding that velcros in.

Performance:

This was my first kayak and with that in mind, it felt very tippy at first because it's definitely for advanced paddlers. However, that same quality translated into amazing stability with beam rough seas. As the ACA instructor on this thread demonstrated, it surfs extremely well. The upturned nose keeps the bow out of water in following seas. I learned to roll in this kayak and doing layback rolls are comfortable with the low back deck. Nowadays, I don't notice the tippiness at all.

Of all my kayaks, this is probably the fastest. I am a Greenland/traditional paddler and find I have to lower my cadence so I'm not pulling ahead of others too often. This translates into efficiency which I welcome on long trips.

With a narrow waist, it's a tad too wide for me but I put in Valley side padding which gives the perfect balance of contact while allowing for pelvis rotation.

Cons:

One thing I've noticed is that it weathercocks a bit too, so tracking isn't great. The easy way to adapt to this is to put a little bit (1/5) of skeg down.The skeg can go very deep, far more than any other kayak I've paddled but I find I rarely need the full length.

I wish it had a compass mount, as it's a great kayak for long trips but I strap-on compass does the job.

Yakima pedals slip too often, so I replaced them with Sea-Lect pedals which give more foot coverage and the little flag lock-release is way easier to reach.

It's definitely on the heavy side at 56-57 pounds but that's not really a concern apart from carrying it from car to ocean. Balance bracing takes a committed, strong leg posture.

The last con is that Boreal Design doesn't make these any more. Likely they use the Baffin as the replacement, but I've paddled this and it doesn't have the same grace as the Ellesmere, nor the capacity but it's definitely worth a try if you're looking.

To sum up, it's a beautifully made kayak that performs superbly. This will be one kayak that I will keep while my others may come and go.