Well, it certainly took effort to get a couple Skim kayaks over to Wisconsin. Thanks to Goran Pehrson & Darren at Rutabaga for making it happen. Oh and of course thanks to Rockpool and Trak for understanding me trying other boats and writing about them here.

Of course the Dex was sold before I ever had a chance to try it. Actually I’ve found a leaning toward smaller boats in the last year and really wanted the opportunity to try the Dex. Well, be that as it may, I did get to take the Distance out for a day in the lakes around Madison, Wisconsin. Rene’ and Sea Kayaker Magazine have already done intensive reviews and big water tests so let me just talk a bit about some impressions. Heck I couldn’t draw a Righting/Heeling curve if my life depended on it!

So when choosing a kayak the first thing you should be thinking about is what am I going to do with it? Way too many people in my opinion are buying big expedition boats that in the end they will never need. Certainly there is some argument that the extra length is worth it, but if you’re going to paddle an empty boat most of the time I’m not sure that length really makes up for the extra weight and windage. Just my opinion of course. So keep in mind that the Distance is designed as a fast “long-range” expedition kayak. It’s not really intended for noodling around rock gardens or freestyle finesse.

On the grass. . .

After we hauled the Skim Distance out on the grass, I of course started taking pictures and looking around the kayak. The Distance is a long, sleek, low slung kayak that looks like a high-tech torpedo. It’s built very well and nicely augmented with all the little features you’d want in an expedition boat. I really loved the recessed towing system. I’ve had enough of crawling over cleats in the past.

There were only a couple “negatives” that stood out to me. The first issue for me was closing the oval hatch covers. You can’t just push them down and wait for the “snap”. In fact, I would have to thread my fingers around them and push the rubber in under the lip to be sure they sealed. You have to be sure to follow the rim all the way around as well since the cover will not just pop in place. It would be way to easy to miss a spot or not get the cover down right. Being someone who has made a mistake with a hatch cover before, these ones from Kajak-Sport just seem too complicated to deal with. I can imagine with cold, wet fingers they would be even more problematic.

Now I know there is a real fascination with outriggers for paddle floats. Skim did a great job creating their system. The straps are easy to connect and release. Good Job there. The thing is, what if I don’t use an outrigger system? Of course we can get into the debate over paddle floats and I’m not doing that here. Still, If I am going to use a paddle float it’s a hundred times faster to put the paddle shaft up to the cockpit combing and jump or swim up on the back deck and in. In most kayaks, even with outrigger systems you can still do this. However I noticed on the Distance that the recess around the combing was too small and curved to allow a paddle shaft to brace against the combing rim while going straight out into an outrigger position. Sure, there are a hundred ways to do a self-rescue and a paddle float is the last thing on my list. In fact if you don’t do that combing thing during a paddle float recovery, you’ll never notice.

The peddles on the Distance are interesting in that they are flexible. I imagine this is for a rudder system which is optional on the Distance. Personally I’d rather have a fixed peddle but that’s just a personal preference I’m sure.

So on dry land the Distance is a beautiful, well-built, sleek looking craft. I enjoy the 1969 Camero paint job too. You’ll be impressed by the workmanship and attention to detail. But you might find those hatches a bit annoying.

In the Pond

Ok, so the kayak is not too heavy for a big kayak. Only 57lbs or so and is easy to carry to the water. However this is also the first place you notice there is a lot of boat in front of the cockpit! Still it does balance fairly well. I launched the kayak out into the glassy pond and jumped right up on the back deck. The kayak is very, very stable. Keep in mind of course that I spend a lot of time ON kayaks in addition to being IN kayaks. LOL! But I could see that it would be easy for most people to get out and crawl around on the deck. It’s surprisingly stable for a boat with a 20.5 inch beam. Nice. After jumping in I had good connection with the boat and it was easy to put it up on edge and hold it there. I can tell the nice secondary would come in handy in bigger conditions as well.

One thing that surprised me in the pond was how nimble the Distance actually is for its size. I could turn the boat quickly with just an edge, no paddle needed. It responded to all those little moves; draws, rudders, side-slips and the rest perfectly without any resistance. I’ve had kayaks in the past that demanded perfect execution by the paddler to perform. The Distance will let you get away with a few half-hearted maneuvers in flat water. It seems to know what you want it to do and just does it. LOL!

The Distance was easy to roll. The good connection I had with the boat and low back deck made it easy to do standard rolls and the various Greenland rolls I know. I could hand roll it easily as well. Yeah, the flexible peddles could be weird for some people but I don’t really press on them when I roll so I didn’t have any issues there.

One the lake

Well, on the way out of the pond and into the channel I dug in to see how fast this baby could go. It took a bit for me to get it going but once there, we were flying. In fact I could tell I was not able to get it up to full speed. I just couldn’t paddle any faster or get any more dig on the water. I knew this kayak needed a Wing paddle. Yeah as advertised, it’s a quick boat.

In the lake there was a good bit of wind and small chop. I paddled out to a spot where two lakes came together and the flow was funneled under a small bridge. Here there was a good bit of current where I could play with the kayak a bit. It responded well. It was easy to get in and break out of the current. The nice fit and solid secondary made it easy to ferry across without too much effort. Of course with all longer kayaks they want to turn straight up and not hold the angle as well as a smaller kayak. Still in the current the Distance responded better than I imagined it might. I was happily impressed given the length of the boat.

Leecocking?

Here is where I hate to try to review something. It seems I often have unique experiences that don’t follow the norm. As I mentioned I had a bit of wind. Maybe 10-12knts. Now taking into consideration that I was on a small lake that was easily effected by wind, the wind, wave and surface current was all pushing me in one direction. The waves were less than a foot and mostly just cat’s paws. Yet I’ve noticed that in those “small wave” conditions kayaks can respond in new ways. Instead of having the leecocking experience everyone else seems to have had on the sea, I had just the opposite! Even looking at the kayak I would have expected it to leecock. Which reminds us to test boats ourselves in many different conditions and not depend on reviews. LOL!

Note that the kayak was empty, however I’m not a light boy either. Paddling back with the wind on my left the big nose seemed to anchor and the back would slide right around effectively turning me right up into the wind, known in the vernacular as “weathercocking”. Now, I learned a long time ago not to depend on a skeg. But in this case, I just could not easily control it with paddle strokes. You needed a lot of muscle to overcome the wind and if you relaxed at all you’d be turning right back up into the wind again. Of course as soon as I put just a bit of skeg on the problem stopped. With the skeg it tracked fine again. However I still felt this sensation of getting blown down wind and needed to correct to stay on course, which is normal for any kayak. However, with the skeg down, It was very hard to put the kayak on a slight angle into the wind. Maybe it’s just an issue of skill, but I’d never had this experience before. Without being able to keep the bow at an angle I continued to slip down wind. Now, when I was ready to turn up wind, with the skeg down a bit, a bow rudder was useless. I just stayed right on track. LOL! I had to lift the skeg to turn. Of course with the skeg up the kayak practically turned itself.

Now because I knew this seemed odd compared to what I read, I went back and got another kayak and paddled the same conditions right away. Of course I was in a much shorter boat with a lot more rocker, but that did confirm what I was feeling was not really a fluke. Even the smaller kayak wanted to weathercock a bit in the same conditions however I could compensate and keep the boat on the angle to go from point a to point b across the wind without slipping downwind. In the Distance you just have to expect that a 19+ ft boat wants to go one direction in certain conditions. The skeg just reinforces it. I’m sure with more time in the boat I would figure out how to get it to play nice in those conditions. Again, everyone’s experiences can be quite different and I’m more than willing to accept that maybe I just lack some skill. LOL!

Final Word

The Distance is a nice sleek, fast kayak. It’s built well, looks cool, very nimble for it’s length, very stable, and yet easy to roll. It’s certainly worth being on the sort list of expedition kayaks. It seems there is a consensus that the Skim Distance is for intermediate to advanced paddlers. I’m going to agree with that only because in wind you’re going to need to know how to control a kayak whether it leecocks or weathercocks. In the end it’s just an issue of knowing how your boat reacts and how to control it. To give a boat a fair review I think you have to paddle it over time, not just have it out for a day. (I’d still like to get the Distance out on some big water and surf) So with that in mind I think it will be fun to watch René Seindal who is sponsored by Skim as he along with Wendy Killoran Circumnavigate Sicily and Sardinia. By the end of the trip he will know the Distance better than almost anyone.

More On The Skim Distance

Official Website

My Distance Photos at Flickr

Rene’s Reivew