Squall

First of all, I didn’t choose this boat because I was looking for it, I purchased it to finish a trip. Let me back up and give a little history before my review on the Squall GTS. In 2015 I decided to paddle the 740 mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail. I trained and completed the trip in a 17’ Wilderness Tempest (rotomold with a skeg). The boat was about 66 pounds and with my gear and portage cart it was pushing 130 pounds. With this boat, I completed the 748 miles in 25 days. Other than the weight, I was pleased with the Wilderness. In 2016 I decided to repeat the trip with a lighter boat and purchased a used Perception Eclipse Sealion, 17’ Kevlar with a rudder.

I trained in the spring exactly the same number of miles with this boat and started my trip within 2 days of exactly one year later. At 45 pounds and a lighter gear load (getting smarter) it was around 100 pounds. My first two days I averaged over 40 miles on lakes, rivers and portages...a nice fast boat and loved the rudder vs skeg. On day three the white waters of the Saranac River in the Adirondack Mountains put me out of business, with two long hairline cracks and a 12" gouge that I could put my hand in.. I was taking on water crossing Lake Champlain and needed a new boat. I know I was foolish to even try a gelcoat boat, but that’s just me.

Now I get to the Squall GTS. Day 4 of my trip I got a ride back to Old Forge New York and with a huge inventory of boats, they had ONLY one sea kayak with a rudder. A 2012 Current Design Squall GTS. At 15'11", a foot shorter than my Tempest and Eclipse, I was concerned I would not be able to fit my spare paddles and touring gear. I was pleased with the storage capacity but immediately got rid of the big rubberband that went around the hatch cover? I needed to be able to strap my kayak cart behind the cockpit just like my other boats. The stock decking was all elastic, but the boat came with some deck lines that I needed to add so I could securely strap my wheel cart on. The GTS seat was OK but my Tempest gets the best grade for seat comfort. The foot peddles for the GTS are horrible compared to the Eclipse. I attempted to adjust them several times as my feet cramped up trying to press forward. NOTE: after completing my trip. I shortened the cable on both sides (Beyond factory adjustment) and it is better, but not good.

With a balance of 550 miles, I started out crossing Lake Champlain, then 175 miles paddling and tracking up river. This is where the GTS excelled over both of my prior boats. The cockpit opening for the GTS is much larger and easier to enter and exit and I was every bit as fast traveling up river. In the big lakes I was glad to have a deck mount storage as it blocked much of the water from breaking waves. This boat is a wet ride compared to my others....take your spray skirt. I was quite uneasy in the waves as it's stability seemed shaky and my hips were on a constant swivel that became a real stress on long stretches.

I would not recommend this boat in big water for long distances. The final section of my trip through the Allagash Wilderness let me test out some white water and faster current. High scores here as I felt comfortable for a sea kayak in white water.

Overall I wish I would have been able to shakedown the boat before my trip, but regardless, even with a day to find a new boat, I completed the trip in 22 days. I'm planning to paddle Northern Forest Canoe Trail again in 2017 and I think I'll give the Current Design Squall GTS another try.

I've owned a Squall for 5 years now and enjoy it as much today as when I first bought it. After 5 years its taken a bit of a battering but still performs well. Have had many day and week trips in it and it has handled them well along with the variety of sea, lake and river paddles.

I have found it fast and an ease to paddle through all types of weather conditions. Even though I have now upgraded to a bigger touring style sea kayak I will still be keeping my Squall.

My only bad comment is at the end of a long days paddle, putting the kayak back on the roof of the ute it tends to be a bit heavy. It does weigh a bit more than others in its class, even my new eco at 5.4 metres long is lighter. I still will be enjoying my Squall for many years to come

I've now been paddling for nearly 10 years. I have owned 4 boat (1 kevlar, 1 fiberglass, 2 rotomolded). I can say that the workmanship is wonderful on the Current Designs. The previous reviewer must have had a lemon or something. On to my review.

I'll begin by saying that this review comes after paddling 60 to 70 miles in the boat, a 4 day trip in the Everglades, and some serious weather (4' seas 25 to 30 mph winds - hard rain). I'm 5'8" and 150 lbs. The boat fits like a glove. I wouldn't suggest anyone over about 165 in weight and 5'10" tops in height - any taller and it would be tough to get your knees in under the deck. Initial and secondary stability are both good and predictable. The boat is actually very forgiving. Seems to handles better with a load as with many touring boats. This is probably the fastest rotomolded I've paddled. GPS says tops out at about 6mph on a hard push, 4 to 4.5mph with a good steady cadence, 3 to 3.5 with a good easy cadence. My buddy has a CD kevlar Caribou and our speeds were almost identical.

I believe you could pack the boat easy for a week of camping - 10 to 12 days on a stretch (dehydrated food and obviously sharing camping gear with a buddy). Some have complained about the high deck, I don't find it to be a problem, actually provided for a pretty dry ride in the rough stuff. No water in any of the compartments and we were definitely in the right conditions for water to be in everything. Tracking isn't bad (nothing like the caribou) and the weather cocking can be noticed at times but all this is corrected by the rudder.

Some have also complained about the seat. I don't find it to be uncomfortable, put a thin air seat under your bottom and one under your heels and you're good to go. All in all, I don't know if there is a better touring "rotomolded" boat out there for the midsize paddler. I really do like mine. In addition, this is my third Current Designs boat and all of them have been very well made.

I am following up my review from about 2 years ago, because I used the Squall to paddle from Ketchikan to Skagway, Alaska this summer. I feel a long-term review might be useful to other small paddlers.

Though the Squall is not a big boat, I managed to load it up with camping gear and enough food for up to 2 weeks at a stretch. (We sent caches of food to post offices along the way.) The catch is that I put any food that did not fit in the hatches in a big drybag that sat on my rear deck. Not exactly a great location for reasons of weathercocking and stability, but the boat actually remained stable, possibly because I am a bit light for the boat in the first place. A Pelican box for my SLR camera sat in front of my feet in the cockpit.

So.....it IS possible to use this small a kayak on an expedition, but if you don't like bags on deck, one week of camping would be a better duration so that the decks can remain "clean." Typical speed during this day-after-day stretch of loaded paddling dropped, compared with unloaded day paddles--about a quarter to a half a mile an hour. This was expected.

As also expected (from previous experience), the loaded kayak felt heavy and bargey, not exactly confidence-inspiring for leans but I still *could* lean it when I (tentatively) practiced with it like that. However, in actual progression I usually just flipped down the rudder and used that instead of body language. Less tiring. This was another big difference from using the same boat for day paddles.

Being plastic, the Squall endured the abuse from typical Alaskan "beaches" well. It came back with more scratches from 25 days of shore-hauling than it had garnered in the previous 2 years of day paddles, but nothing horrible. One odd thing everyone in my group noticed was that sea lions always popped up behind my blue Squall, NEVER behind any of their yellow kayaks.

Anyway, the Squall did its job well and I would say that I have gotten my money's worth from it. It is forgiving enough for a beginner to learn on, yet it still rewards diligent practice with improved handling. I just wish CD had made both the front and aft decks a bit lower.

Well I won't give it a pure 10 cause nothing is perfect. I do have to say that after 6 months and 30 miles of paddling I'm can honestly say that I'm happy with the boat. Using a gps to monitor distance I can push out 5mph, but its more confortable around 4. My biggest problem more than anything is my own ability over any shortcomming of the boat that their might be. I love taking it in 2 foot swells and busting the waves. It seems to drag a bit when going with the waves but this is a phenomenom beyond my ability or comprehension right now. It leans easy and can be too easy to get up to the comming so I need to get a spray skirt to avoid filling it up. I did tend to get sore heels and bumm after a 10 mile ride though I think some padding would help. I'm sure this is rambeling but I want you to know its a good boat. The only problem I had was from the way that I trasported it had a sharp edge to it and put a small creese in the hull. This was fixed by letting it sit in the sun and it eventually popped it self out 80% or so. I'm sure, its nothing to worry about. I do feel it is (and this is what the dealer said too) faster and less draggie feeling in choppy water than in placid water. But then I have tended to have to deep of a paddle stroke too. Anyways, its money worth spent if you can't justify the extra 1000 for glass.

Now that I've been paddling this boat for 6 months, usually twice a week, I feel like I have enough information to do it justice in a review. The Squall fits my 5'2"-110 lbs body reasonably well. I did have to add some padding under the thigh braces, and I hated the seat back so I immediately replaced that with a Snapdragon seat band. For someone of my build, this boat is stable and forgiving in rough water. I have paddled it in gusts over 40 mph (though I definitely do not *recommend* doing so) without being dumped.

Since this was my first narrow kayak, it's the one in which I learned to do J-leans, hip snaps, low and high braces, and sculling -- anything that uses edging or leaning. Recently I also learned to roll it. This boat behaves predictably (maybe because of the rounded hull?), making it easy to learn new skills.

The Squall has served me well on camping trips along the North Platte River (Wyoming), Lewis and Shoshone Lakes, and Yellowstone Lake. While the longest trip I took was 3 days/2 nights, it appears that a week's worth of supplies would fit if I used the water filter instead of carrying it as backup. Four gallons of drinking water takes up a lot of space. While there is adequate room for camping trips (if one packs carefully), the Squall is no slug for daytripping, either. It has a nice glide, very noticeable when I demo'd it before and after other plastic boats. I have had no trouble averaging 4 to 4.5 mph on outings of 7 to 10 miles, and a friend with a GPS has clocked me (us) hitting 6.1 mph in a sprint. It's a plastic boat, but don't let that deter you from using it to the max; it might surprise you.

If you want to TURN fast as opposed to barreling ahead fast, you'd better put the Squall on edge, because when sitting flat it is a leisurely turner. I have not found this to be an obstacle, though.

Lest it sound as though I consider the Squall perfect, let me describe the shortcomings also. I find the foredeck higher than it needs to be; I have a paddling style with high enough angle that I rarely scrape knuckles, but the height undoubtedly contributes to weathercocking. (Some people thought the deck might be too high to allow me to roll the boat, which has not turned out to be the case.)

Another area that could use improvement is the standard rudder footpeg/rail system. I do not like the fact that the footpegs move if I have the rudder deployed -- there are times I put the rudder down merely to improve tracking in a quartering wind and do not wish the footpegs to move when I am exerting normal pressure on them. (I do like Current Designs' rudder activation lever better than the usual pull-on-the-cord-with-hands set-up.)

Finally, my boat shows some sloppy touches that I am surprised passed inspection. For example, a bolt on the left side of the cockpit does not align with its counterpart on the right side. Also, the stern hatch cover (the plastic lid, not the neoprene undercover) has two buckles whose release snaps are oriented in opposite directions, whereas on the bow hatch cover they both face the same way.

Overall, the Squall seems like a good touring all-rounder: stability in waves, decent speed, enough volume for several days of camping, predictable handling.

I just bought a used Squall. I am upgrading from a Perception Carolina. I still think the Carolina is a great boat and will continue to use in on rivers and lakes, but I wanted something faster and easier to paddle on bigger water. Here is what I like about the Squall.

1) It is very fast and easy to paddle. My wife and I went out She in the Carolina, me in the Squall. While the Carolina could keep up in calm water, it took a lot more effort to do so. In rough water, there was not contest. 2) Tracking is awesome. I went for a paddle where calm conditions changed to a strong wind. I tried paddling in all directions, headwind, tail wind quatering winds, etc. and the boat went straight. I didn't have to lower the rudder. 3) It handles rough water very well. That upswept bow slices right through waves without too much spray. It Has very good secondary stability as well. 4) It is a great fit for a smaller paddler. I'm 5'6" and 150 pounds. I wouldn't recommend this boat for a big person. The neat thing about this boat is that it is designed for the little guy, but it is 16'6" long. Most boats designed for small people are shorter. 5) The rudder has very low drag. I really don't plan to use it, but it is one of the nicest ones I have tried.

Now what I don't like.

1) The fit and finish is a bit disappointing. I bought this boat used and would hesitate to pay over $1000 for a boat built with this little regard to the finish. 2) It is plastic. While this boat is a great performer, it is not a fiberglass boat. It will never go as fast and it is a bit heavier.

Bottom line is, if you want a good performing kayak and don't want to spend $2000+, the Squall is a great alternative.

Yup, the oil can problem (tendency to dent/pucker/bend, esp. when transported on car-top) is a downer. Otherwise, I'm very satisfied with my choice, except for the excessively high deck right in front of the cockpit: I find myself bumping the deck with my paddle on occasion. It's a very fast boat, though, and handles well when put on edge. Rolling it is also pretty smooth. So, if the plastic has been improved, the high deck right in front of the cockpit is the only other thing I would have changed on this boat. I gave a 7 out of 10 because I'm very stingy with my 10 ratings.

The Squall is the smaller version of the storm, with a small and tight cockpit. The boat paddles well and tracks like a dream, but manueverability is sacrificed. If you are destination focused, this is the boat for you. If you like exploring areas with lots of obstacles, look elsewhere - Squall is a cruiser! The bottom does oil can easily and requires care. CD has changed their plastic for the 2001 models and i wish I had waited. Beautiful boat, I will always paddle CD boats.