Profile

I recently bought a used 10-year old 600X in carbon/Kevlar. Overall, I'm very happy. The combination of a 21 inch width but rather shallow vee to the bottom makes it surprisingly stable (no less stable than two other kayaks I have: a Necky Looksha IVs and a Seaward Luna Grande), but at the same time lively feeling. It also turns remarkably well for a boat with such a long waterline and only moderate rocker. The hull on my 10-year old boat feels rock-solid: no flexing, nothing coming apart or delaminating and very stiff. And aside from scratches, the finish still looks great. So I'd say the carbon/Kevlar layup is a winner. I also like the stock seat pan/pad/backrest. My 600X weighs 45 lbs with a Smart Track rudder - not the lightest of light boats but pretty good considering the durability. Negatives are that my boat was used on the ocean and probably wasn't rinsed often to get the salt water off. Some of the stainless hardware has rusted so QCC may have used "Home Depot" grade 304 stainless steel instead of marine grade 316. And my aluminum foot control rails for the Smart Track rudder have been destroyed by corrosion, so bad that two of the four mounting holes are completely eaten away. I knew the rails had issues when I bought the kayak and have since replaced them with all-plastic ones. I'd guess that my kayak experienced "severe" salt water exposure and my comments might not apply to kayaks that are rinsed regularly inside and out. My hatch covers with the original 10 year old seals are also leaking a bit but I expect the original owner never removed them during storage to let the seals relax.

My Luna Grande is a 2002 build that I bought used about ten years ago. The build quality is as good as other reviewers have described. It just feels like a quality boat. The cockpit is comfortable - a nice combination of snug but not confining. The fairly long cockpit length helps. Primary stability is moderate for the first few degrees of roll and then the solid secondary stability kicks in. This along with the relatively short waterline and rocker make the Luna feel very maneuverable and lively, but it also tracks great and doesn't feel slow.

My Luna weighs 52.5 lbs with the rudder and a deck compass, so Seaward's spec of 52 lbs. appears accurate. It's not a lightweight, but not bad for a fiberglass kayak either, especially with this solid build quality. Being an older build, mine has the aluminum "gas pedal" rudder controls and the foam block seat pan. It sounds like Seaward has changed these in later years. Overall, I'm very happy with this kayak and it's one of few things I own that actually deserves a top rating.