Eskia

I've had my Eskia since 2002 or 2003. At 6'4" tall, 240 pounds and with size 14 feet the size of the large cockpit opening and the very generous height under the front deck of the Eskia were major selling points. At the time we lived in the eastern Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York and if I left the Eskia on the ladder rack of my F-350 I could have it in the water at Skaneateles Lake or the Seneca River 15 minutes after walking out the kitchen door and just a bit longer to Otisco or Owasco Lakes.

Over the years the Eskia and I have been in Lakes Ontario and Erie, all over the Adirondacks and paddled the the waters off Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and in Block Island and Long Island Sounds. It has been paddled in both calm and rough water when empty or heavily loaded on camping/touring trips. While I've never had it in waves higher than 8-10 feet or in really severe squalls I have never felt like it and I were overmatched. A little white knuckled at times but never feeling like I was in immediate danger. It's a rugged boat that has served me well.

Like others, I found the seat uncomfortable for longer stints in the boat and found that a thin gel seat pad and occasionally changing the length of the rudder pedals relieved the pressure that otherwise sometimes put my leg(s) to sleep. And finding your legs asleep when you've just punched the boat through the surf and are trying to slide out and drag it up the beach before getting swamped can be tough (umm....don't ask, please....)

Now that we've retired to the foothills region of North Carolina it gets less use than it did before but just last month my wife in her Necky Narpa and I in the Eskia kept up just under 4 MPH headed into a stiff breeze on a quick one hour trip.

We just gave our kayaks and canoe their fall coat of SPF-50 Boat Guard protectant and hung them up but before that I took the measurements to order new custom straps for the kayaks cargo hatch covers, new lines for the elastic tie down cords, the rudder cords and the rigid rescue cord that runs around the perimeter of the top deck. I also need to replace the elastic cords that return the rudder pedals to the forward position as they have gotten well stretched over the years. I suspect that when I'm done sometime this winter I'll have somewhere around $100-120 in both boats. As that will be the first "repairs" in all the years we've had them and in all the miles we've paddled them I think Necky did a pretty darn good job with these boats. It's a shame they went out of business.

I have owned two of these Kayaks for 10 years. My family and I have enjoyed many day and overnight trips using these boats. Lots of room for storage, good handling in the water, stable paddle! Only drawback as I am getting older is their weight - getting harder to get them up on the roof rack!

Pretty fast for a very stable kayak. Just paddled 50 miles on MO River in 8 hours. Held my gear very well. I'm 6'2", found it very comfortable.

I have had my Eskia for 10 years and I love it. Bought it from a rental shop in Maine, so it wasn't even new when I got it. It has been kept outdoors the entire time and has held up very well. Agree with all the other comments. I am only 5'10, but at 230 lbs. when I bought it (less now), it provided great flotation and comfort. Biggest issues are the weight of the kayak and poor tracking with rudder up, so I just use the rudder all the time.

The seat back was too low, but a nice birthday present was a custom seat with full seat and back support - makes it ride like a luxury sedan!

I've had my Eskia for some time (I actually don't remember!) and absolutely love it. At 6 ft. 250 I'm a big paddler and this boat handles me and my cargo very well. Just don't get in a race with it :-) !

I love this boat. I own 7 kayaks and this is my boat of choice for most of the paddling that I do. I have owned it since '05 and there are only 2 things I don't like. The seat back wasn't high enough for good support, so I added a back rest from a sit-on-top. The other thing is, the clam cleat for the rudder line is right where I hit it with my elbow, and always seem to hit my funny bone.

I am 6' 3" , 180lbs, and this boat is perfect for me and all the gear I want to take for me and the family.

Being new to kayaking and 50, I shopped thru many kayaks until I found one big enough to accommodate my size 14 shoes and 6-4 frame. I tested many but as soon as I test paddled this one, I bought it.

It has been in rough river and wind conditions and seems very stable, although it tracks terribly unless rudder is used, and it is slow, but a fair compromise for stability. It holds plenty and is well made for a plastic boat. This boat would not fit a smaller person very well so if you are taller than most with big feet and want excellent stability this is a boat I would recommend, other than spending $2500 and up for a kevlar or fiberglass.

I've been paddling the Eskia for two seasons now. This is a roomy and comfortable boat that can accomodate large paddlers. In my opinion, the flat hull compromises tracking ability and I find that I cannot maintain an efficient course in winds and unpleasant sea conditiions without the rudder. That is, I'm making too many corrective strokes compared to others paddling with me.

Unfortunately, this boat is about as fast as a sand barge. When paddling with my club, I find it difficult to keep up with the slimmer and lighter fiberglass and Kevlar boats. However, I've had this boat in some rough chops and tidal rips and it has never gone over. It also has a large storage capacity and can even swallow small two-piece beach umbrellas. It turns reasonably well without the rudder. I've experienced a sea condition where I was parallel to never-ending, wind driven boat wakes and waves and the Eskia absolutely refused to turn perpendicular to the waves without a rudder assist.

Initial and secondary stability is high and I too would rate it a ten if it tracked better and could hit 4.25 MPH without killing myself or without a tide/wind assist (measured with a GPS). In contrast, I've paddled an Eddyline Merlin XT which paddles like a Corvette when compared to the Suburban-like handling of the Eskia.

I purchased my Eskia 16 months ago as an Expedition boat (to supplement my Looksha Sport) and paddled it 300+ last summer on the Gulf of Maine Expedition, in a huge variety of wind/sea including some exciting open water crossings - it performed very well in all conditions (a fairly wet ride in seas due to low dolphin bow - but it also tracked well in quartering seas - a compromise that works for me).

The boat carried a great deal of gear including substantial deck loads at times without complaint, and paddled very easily for a fairly short, fairly wide touring boat.

After six weeks of living in the boat and camping downeast Maine to the top of the Bay of Fundy, I ended up liking it more than when I started!

Note: I am a big guy - 6' and 240 - and the boat was a comfortable fit. Might be too roomy for a much smaller paddler.

I purchased an Eskia a couple weeks ago. I went to buy a current designs or dagger, both of which are fine boats. But when I looked at the Looksha IV in the showroom, I was amazed at the attention to detail and quality of the fittings, riggings and design. I tried the Looksha and found it low in initial stability, good in secondary, but a bit narrow and too low a foredeck for my hefty 5' 11" 210lb body. I was shown the Eskia, and immediately it fit and felt better. It is outfitted very similarly to the Looksha IV, but has flush hatch covers which is a nice touch. I've gotten to paddle the Eskia once for about 4 hours the day I bought it. Protected bay situation, very mild swells in inlet. Against tide, moderate wind 10-15 knots. The boat tracks very well without the rudder, and with it, it is exceptionally easy to maintain a course if there is weathercocking or current requiring a ferry angle. With a bit of speed you will turn on a dime with the rudder. The foot peg/rudder adjustments are very nice on this boat, no hard to reach metal buttons to depress, just a handy buckle/bungee system lets you put the foot pegs exactly where you need them. I find the seat a little uncomfortable after a couple hours. The backband adjustment mechanism is very nice, easy to operate seated. I wish the band had a bit more padding and was slightly higher. The seat features a neat inflatable bladder underneath a top molded pad. There's a "blood pressure cuff" style rubber bulb to inflate and a screw cap valve to deflate the seat cushion, both of which work extremely well. The problem is that the air bladder tends to lift you evenly all around, slowly jacking you up in the seat, which lessens stability. It'd be better if it only raised the thigh portion of the seat bottom to make a deeper bucket. Perhaps there should be two air bladders independently adjustable. And whatever happened to the memory gel stuff bike seats have?

Boat was equipped with good perimeter line, a safety plus. Deck rigging layout is nice and you can change the bungee arrangement if you like. Good recessed fittings for clean lines and unscraped knuckles. Front and rear bulkheads are foam, but seem sturdy enough. They should be placed closer to the foot pegs and directly behind the seat. Behind the seat storage is awkward and wet and the space would be better served in the dry hatch. The diamond chined hull is great with stability all around. Did not roll the boat yet. Carry toggles are great! Thigh braces are good quality.

There are some exposed screw ends under the deck, but not in places they might be a real problem in. Carves turns without rudder fairly well, feels solid on edge. Nice draining depressions around cockpit coaming. Boat seemed a bit more influenced by windage than some, but not terrible by any means.

A very high quality plastic kayak. Not the most elegant, not the fastest, not the lightest in polyethelene, but very well appointed, safe, very seaworthy, competent in the calm conditions I experienced, and I am assured it handles rough water equally as well. I don't doubt it.

Tried the Eskia for a week in Maine. It performed well on flatwater, with good stability all around. This boat is long enough to track well (and go fast) but short enough (w/rudder) to turn reasonably. It felt light, but i'm a small paddler (150lbs). It handled well on the ocean in rough chop and wind, and the rudder was a great help. Was able to land in surf without spinning of rolling. I'll emphasize that in a week of paddling on mostly ocean I didnt roll once. Hatches stayed dry but were a little difficult to put on. They consist of a soft cover with a plastic cap buckled over. Deck rigging was good, rudder was excellent (esp.adjustment systen) and my only real complaint was that the seat was uncomfortable. Others may find this different. Overall, a great kayak for beginners on up.

This is a great kayak for larger paddlers. It is very comfortable, tracks well in the water and has large storage hatches. Great boat!