P&H Orion

The Orion was some of the last designs from Derek Hutchinson for P&H. It is clearly a descendant of the older IceFloe and Fjord designs. Reading many positive reviews on the internet I got the feeling this boat is a bit underrated here in Holland. May be the large beam makes people think this is a slow and heavy boat for fat people.

The Orion has a high but not very buyant bow

On the contrary, the Orion appears to be a very vivid boat. Very manouverable. Reacts very quick on edging. Of course this is a benefit of the wide beam in the middle. On speed it tracks well and in rest you can turn it on a dime. The stability is much better and the boat feels very confident. Despite it's width it rolls easily. Well, it must be slow then? Actually, the Orion seems a bit faster to me then the Dawn Treader Odin. May be because of the simple hull design. With no integral skegs, it looks much more like a surfski than the complex hull shape of the Dawn Treader with it's deep V and sharp ends.

Simple shaped bottom

Are there no drawbacks? Well, I noticed the Orion tracks less convincing in following seas. The tail is sometimes pushed aside even with the skeg down. It is easy to correct though as the boat is very maneuverable but the Dawn Treader Odin does this better. Also the bow is not that buyant, I get much more spray into my face. And while surfing, a large part of the bow burries itself into the wave. Even with small waves. Not very assuring.

The non original foam seat with integral side pads

The seating position is much better even with (or because?) the non-original foam seat. The deck is lower which is a good thing for a tight fit but there is less room for my feet. I get the impression the overall volume is not that large as many people think. With my 95 kg the boat is lying already enough deep in the water. No need for ballast. The front compartment looks smaller than the Dawn Treader Odin. The aft compartment looks longer and wider. As you can see the Orion has also no hatch behind the cockpit. This still has to be added.

Overall, I am happy with the Orion. It seems to be a better allround kayak for me at the moment. If you compare it to the Dawn Treader Odin it is much more fun to paddle and a better platform to develop skills and technique on. However I didn't paddle it yet under more demanding circumstances so my opinion may change. I am especially curious to it's behaviour in a big surf...

P&H Dawn Treader Odin evaluation

After the very nice week at Vlieland it was clear that I want to continue sea kayaking.
I was thinking on next steps to take.

The Dawn Treader Odin did a good job as a low budget boat but it would need some serious work to upgrade it to a higher level of safety: foot pump, extra hatch behind the seat for easy emptying, compass. The question is: do I like the boat that much that I would like to do these investments? The answer is no, there are a few points that bother me:

First the stability. Why not change to a more stable boat? There are many good allround boats today that are more stable without sacrifying speed and seakeeping capabilities. Would it not be smarter to get an easier boat? You might say that you can get used to the stability during time but I doubt if I will reach the point that I can eat my sandwich in the waves without using my paddle.

Secondly the fit. The larger cockpit proved to be a loose fit. While upside down I literally fall out the cockpit or it takes a lot of effort to clamp myself in the boat. May be the fit could be improved by adding larger knee braces to the cockpit rim but that will make entry more difficult. A smaller ocean going cockpit seems a solution that is a lot easier. Or a larger keyhole cockpit where I can put my legs in while seated.

Anyway, I had made up my mind and decided to look for another boat. In any case the fit and the initial stability must be better. It didn't take long to find a boat that matches these requirements: an old P&H Orion. With it's ample width the stability must be great and the small cockpit gives a much better fit. The boat had some (ugly) repairs and a foam seat but the bottom was almost without scratches. It was cheap, so I bought it.

Goodbye Dawn Treader Odin

It took some time to sell the Dawn Treader, even for a low price. It is not a popular boat and it wasn't the right season. Finally it founds it's way to someone who is hopefully happy with it.

With the Dawn Treader to Vlieland

It was holiday time and I headed (by car) to Vlieland, an island in the north of the Netherlands. The trip was organized by zeekajak.nl. The group was mixed with less and more experienced paddlers. Even international with two German participants. Because of the hard wind we had to take the ferry.

Kayaks on the ferry to Vlieland

I was not very good prepared for this week. After the purchase of the Dawn Treader Odin I only made a few short trips on protected waters. My equipment was also not complete: no compass, no spare paddle, no day hatch, no cooking gear... Before investing in these things I wanted to be sure that I really liked sea kayaking again. The compass was the only attribute I really missed. Happily, the instructor has taken one with him that I could lend.

Me in the Dawn Treader Odin on the coast of Vlieland

We paddled the week under various circumstances, not too difficult. It felt nice to be at sea again. The paddling went well and sometimes I forgot that I didn't paddle for 14 years. Paddling is like biking: you will never forget. The only thing I was forgotten is rolling: it didn't work anymore. That's a pity and to be fixed during the swimming pool sessions in the winter. However, every day there were moments I felt unsure in the boat: feeling tippy at moments that we have to wait or doing excercises in the waves. I watched with admiration how other less experienced paddlers were grabbing in there day hatches or loosen there sprayskirts while I was keeping my blade in the water to stabilize myself. Could be a question of time to get used to it but there are more stable boats than the Dawn Treader Odin. For example there was a nice wooden XL Frej, a design of bjorn thomasson. It was long with lots of rocker, very stable and very manouverable. May be my next boat?

Frej is the grey kayak

The week ends and with a selection of the group we paddled back to the main land. There was almost no wind and it was warm. The Dawn Treader Odin was slow, normally I paddle at the front of the group, now at the back. May be it was the heavy wet tent in the aft compartment spoiling the trim. May be it was my lack of condition. I was glad and tired when we arrived at Harlingen harbour. But it was a terrific week and I enjoyed it very much. The sea kayaking spirit has revived in me!

Return from Vlieland to Harlingen, photo taken from the ferry

P&H Dawn Treader Odin

First a disclaimer: I am not a professional reviewer, nor do I have much experience in testing other boats. I only want to share my personal experiences with the P&H Baidarka Explorer / Dawn Treader Odin that I have paddled for about 10 years.

As I mentioned in my previous post the Dawn Treader Odin is in fact identical to the much more known Baidarka Explorer.

The Baidarka was one of the first designs of Derek Hutchinson. As I believe he crossed the North Sea with it. It was designed for great sea keeping capabilities and with expeditions in mind. If you compare it to more modern designs there are a few things that jump out:

  it is quite narrow at 51cm

  it has a straight keel line with no rocker

  it has a relative deep V-shaped bottom

These characteristics result in particular behaviour: the narrow beam and V-shaped bottom make the boat feel tippy. The initial stability is not great. Not everyone can get used to this and it is one of the reasons the Baidarka has got his notorious reputation.

Another reason for this reputation is that it is quite difficult to turn. The long straight keel with the deep V-bottom asks a lot of power and leaning to change direction. Edging helps but you have to edge much more than other boats for the same effect. Certainly more than you can expect from a novice paddler that already feels nervous because of the lack of stability...

But it is of course an excellent tracking boat. Directional stability is very good. Some people think that this is an argument for not having a vario skeg. This is a mistake. You certainly need a skeg to correct the weathercocking. As any well designed kayak it will luff in the wind and due to the hull design it is not easy to correct direction. Without a skeg you will have a hard time to fight the weather cocking. With a skeg however you can point the boat easily in any direction you want and it will stay on course like an oil tanker. I don't think there a other designs that can equal this.

If you are used to the stability, the hull shape makes indeed for a comfortable ride in all kinds of waves. It surfs well but you have to make enough speed to catch the wave. So it is a safe boat if you don't want to surf. If you are in a surf it is like sitting on a torpedo, very exciting. The buyant bow will not dig deep while surfing. Due to the excellent tracking it is possible to make long surfs but when it starts to break-out you better let it go and prepare for a brace. Correcting this long keeler is simply not an option. Best is to turn on a wave top. The Baidarka is not a play boat for in the surf or rock hopping. There are other boats for that. But it is a very good expedition boat.

To be able to control the boat it is very important to have a good seating position. The narrow, high deck is not ideal for good boat contact. You have to adjust it with some foam to find enough support for your legs to be able to edge and roll. My Dawn Treader Odin has a larger cockpit than the Baidarka. At first I thought that was a good idea for my long legs. It proved to be not such a good idea: I couldn't find enough support for my legs under both sides of the cockpit rim. In the Baidarka with ocean going cockpit I could at least put my knees under the deck.

The Baidarka has a clear "Swede" form: the widest point after the cockpit. Together with the narrow beam it could be a fast boat but there a lot of factors that determine the speed potential of a kayak. The deep V cross section and the extra "deadwood" (integral skeg for and aft) gives extra wetted surface that slows the boat down. Actually I don't know whether it is particulary fast or slow. 

Purchase of a sea kayak

The choice of which kayak to buy was easy. Earlier I owned a P&H Baidarka Explorer. It is not an easy kayak but after a short but steep learning curve I really have enjoyed this boat. So I searched the internet to find a used Baidarka for sale. There was a Dawn Treader Odin for sale very close to me. The P&H Dawn Treader Odin (quite a long name) is almost identically to the Baidarka Explorer. They share the same hull, however P&H removed the "tips" on the bow and tail, probably to make it look more modern. Actually I like the original design of the Baidarka more. There was another difference: the cockpit size is larger. On that moment I thought that was great and better than the ocean size cockpit of the Baidarka. The boat was in good original state, never repaired and cheap. So I bought it. Together with a used Lendal Nordkapp paddle that I also found on the internet I was ready to start for a new sea kayaking adventure...

Below an old photo of my previous owned Baidarka, note the non-standard day hatch, compass and foot pump which I had added myself.

And here a photo of the new Dawn Treader, original, with only a hand pump on the rear deck.