Racing Kayaks
Laser
Simon River Sports
www.simonriversports.com
Length: 17'
Width: 20.25"
Weight: 27 lbs (all carbon)
Price: $2,175 as tested
When grabbing a boat for a quick 45-minute workout on a nearby lake, I inevitably grabbed the Simon River Sports Laser. For those in cooler climates or more accustomed to touring boats, the Laser will probably feel like home. Based on an Olympic sprint boat, the Laser maintains an Olympic boat’s turn of speed but does away with its neurotic instability. It accomplishes this with a hull that is a very shallow V design instead of an all-out race boat’s round or radical V bottom.
Unlike a surf ski,the Laser is decked and can be skirted for paddling no matter how cold it is outside.
While most surf skis put the paddler’s butt and feet at the same height, the Laser’s seat elevates the paddler’s behind, taking strain off the not-so-flexible lower back and hamstrings. And unlike a surf ski, this boat is decked and can be skirted for paddling no matter how cold it is outside, as long as you can find open water. In an all-carbon layup, our test boat’s hull was extremely stiff, while the cockpit rim did flex when we were entering or exiting the boat.
All in all, we found virtually nothing to complain about and very little to rave about regarding the Laser. It just felt right and turned out to be my everyday boat for aerobic workouts in sheltered waters.
Eliminator
Cobra
www.cobrakayaks.com
Length: 16' 6"
Width: 23"
Weight: 42 lbs
Price: $1,107 as tested
We love the toughness of plastic boats but relish the performance of composite boats. When the Cobra Eliminator showed up, we were struck by its highly asymmetrical hull, which would look more at home on an exotic carbon-fiber go-fast boat than on a “Tupperware” boat. Once in the water, however, it was clear that the Eliminator was one of the fastest plastic boats I have ever paddled. Here was a boat that you could use for your fitness paddle and then turn over to a 12-year-old to go gunk-holing in tidal flats.
Once in water, it was clear that the Eliminator was one of the fastest plastic boats I have ever paddled.
And while it was fast, it wasn’t overly tender. In fact, it was stable enough to be inviting to very casual recreational paddlers, who quickly appreciated its speed. While the hull itself was fast and well designed, the outfitting was less so. Some of the hardware seemed to have come straight from the corner hardware store, with little thought to function. The foot brace, for example, is little more than a narrow piece of stainless steel that is not suitable for someone pursuing fitness paddling. Most of these ills, however, could be cured with an afternoon of outfitting. Given the Eliminator’s price, and the user-friendliness of its take-a-licking plastic hull coupled with its relative speed, an afternoon may be a small price to pay.
