Skim Distance Review
Published September 16, 2007 | 
Well, I’m not a kayak critic. So when I got the chance to review the new Skim Distance my first thought is I’m probably not up to the task. Certainly Sea Kayaker Magazine and Rene have done good in depth reviews. Much more detail than I would go into for sure. But what I can do is tell you what my experiences with the distance were and what influenced my thoughts. So let’s see where this goes. . .Personally I know right off that I would love to try the smaller Skim Dex. Sadly that was purchased before I even had a chance to try it. Thing is, I have a feeling that most kayakers just don’t need quite as much boat as they think they do. Certainly if you are going on month long, unsupported expeditions volume becomes an issue, but for most of us the big expedition boats are just more volume than we actually need. Keep in mind that the Skim Distance is a large kayak.
That being said, the Distance is pretty nimble in flat water. By looking at the boat I didn’t have that impression. My first impression was this was going to be a fast craft that went straight. Certainly it is that, but put it on edge and it turns as well as many of the 16 foot, high rocker boats I’ve paddled. In addition the Distance is very stable. I jumped right on the back deck and started playing all the games I do. Standing, sitting, crawling all over. The Distance was a secure platform for us goofy people who play on our boats. Easily this is a stable craft when sitting in the cockpit. I had the same solid experience putting it on edge. The kayak slips right over and finds it’s spot. You could sit on that edge all day.
Next I took the boat through a channel where the water was glassy and just pushed it. I had the distinct feeling the boat was just way too fast for me. I knew that at my full speed, I was no where near where the kayak wanted to be. I think with a wing paddle I could have found it’s top speed, but with my standard Euros I just came to a point where I was no longer gaining anything. It is a fast boat. I did feel though, that it took some time to get up to speed though. But then, I’ve been paddling smaller kayaks recently.
I paddled the Skim out under a bridge where the complete flow between two lakes was gathered forming a fast current and small waves. In those conditions the Distance still performed quite well. I would jump out of the eddies and catch the current and spin playing with rudders and draws in the current with easy control. Up to this point I was pretty much just thinking, “Ok, nice fast boat.”
Of course then the wind picked up. Of course in the smaller inland lakes the waves did not build. Instead you have wind pushing and creating broad currents accross the lake. Quickly I relized I could’nt keep the boat straight for the life of me. The big nose seemed to lock the kayak in the water and let the back slip right around, thus turning me right into the wind. Now of course the solution is the skeg. It did’nt take much to get it right back on a line.
- More Photos Of The Skim Distance
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