If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it. – George Burns
Just picked it up yesterday. First paddle will be today. Much more later.
This entry was posted on April 4, 2009 at 10:44 am and is filed under sea kayak . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed
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My name is Mike Zeppegno. I am an ACA Open Coastal Kayak Instructor. I live in Humboldt County which is on the north coast of CA. Our coast line provides a wonderful assortment of places to paddle. From the rugged coastline with numerous sea stacks, challenging rock gardens and slots, and some good surf spots. I am a member of the Explore North Coast Kayak Club. Our group paddles 12 months out of the year in often very interesting conditions.
I have been paddling a roto-molded Tempest 165 which was a proto-type for the production unit Wilderness Systems introduced some years ago. My 165 has a great deal more rocker than the production 165. The Tempest has really served me well but in the fall of 2007 I started my search for another boat. I wanted something that was lighter, faster, more maneuverable, and paddled well in big water. I am 5’10” tall and weigh 155 lbs.I looked at a number of boats at the 2007 West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium, and continued my search through September of 2008. A sample of some of the boats I tried include the Avocet, Avocet LV, Montauk, Romany, Romany LV, NordKapp LV, every model of the Current Design line I could fit into, and a Chatham 17. I also tried the Xplore and Xcite from TideRace.
I liked a number of the boats I tried particularly the LV models. However, as much as I enjoyed a few of these boats I felt that they were not much of an improvement over what I currently had. If I was going to put out the money for a new fiber glass boat I wanted something that I could get really excited about. I did find the NorkKapp LV was the closest thing to what I was looking for. The surfing and maneuverability were excellent, but the cockpit was too big for me. I also found the rear of the cockpit combing was too high and it prevented me from laying out on the back deck while rolling. While it was a finely constructed kayak I wanted a boat that was lighter than 49 lbs.
In September I had the opportunity to paddle the new Illusion that had been designed by Sterling Donalson, fined tuned from extensive testing by George Gronseth, Reg Lake and numerous other top quality N.W. paddlers My first test paddle was off of a steep beach at high tide near the Trinidad Head. The surf zone was incredibly busy with rebounding waves crashing off the Head, long interval swells and dumping waves. All of this combined with a rip that was running parallel with the beach.
From the initial launch I was impressed by how well the boat handled and it didn’t take long to figure out that this was the boat for me. The surf had a lot of punch and I had water coming at me from three different directions. The Illusion handled this with ease. I got surfed backwards, spun 270 degrees and 180 degrees several times. I was able to climb over incoming waves like no other boat I had ever experienced. In most other kayaks I would have been overturned while trying to break out. The Illusion with just a couple of strokes climbed over the tops of the incoming breakers. It turned out to be the wildest surf zone paddling I had ever experienced in a boat I was not familiar with. Amazingly the boat was absolutely rock solid. The next day I went to a surf spot and found the Illusion was an incredible boat to surf waves. It has great hull speed to get on a wave, turns on a dime, and holds its position on a wave to surf in a straight line.
When I got home I called Sterling and ordered a new Illusion. It is important to point out that Sterling customizes the boat to your physical dimensions. In my case he lowered the deck by 1 inch, moved the insets for some of the deck mountings to accommodate my size 11 booties, and moved the bulk head forward to give me the leg length I needed. I did pay an additional $200 to have Sterling use his infusion process for constructing my boat. By selecting this option I got a stronger boat that is 5 lbs lighter than the standard fiber glass layup.
I have now had the boat for six months and still get those “aha” moments as I discover something new about the performance of the Illusion. I have come to realize what a great job Sterling has done with the design of this boat. The cockpit fits me really well, and is very comfortable with its custom foam seat. The boat design places my center of gravity in a very low position in relation to the water line. In my opinion being low in the water improves the performance of the boat, and has resulted in making me a better paddler. This low center of gravity along with the rocker makes for an incredibly maneuverable craft.
I have found that it is a great rock garden boat as it holds an edge so well and allows me to maneuver effectively in tight quarters. Your stroke proficiency will improve with this boat. Since the boat holds an edge so well it turns 360 degrees in a very tight radius. The Illusion has a great deal of rocker. One of my students said my boat looked like a potato chip. One would think that because of the rocker this boat would not track well. Big surprise, it tracks extremely well. I have had it out in 20kt winds with large trailing seas and it handled the conditions beautifully. A couple of other nice things about this boat are the Sea Dog hatches and foot braces. After spending time in the surf or practicing rolls I have yet to have any water get in the hatches. The foot braces are great as you can adjust the length while under way. I find this convenient on longer paddles.
If you are looking for a boat that is stable, offers great performance in all environments, and is a pure joy to paddle this is it!! Also the personal service you get from Sterling Donalson is another benefit of owning an Illusion.
Thank you, this is a helpful review. I live in Petaluma, and am wondering if you know anyone down here with an Illusion who might let me demo it. I have been interested in a Tiderace Excite, but have not had a chance to paddle one yet. Just recently came across information and pictures of the Illusion. Wondering why you chose it over the Excite, which I imagine is a faster boat.
Just picked it up yesterday. First paddle will be today. Much more later.
April 6, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Looks awesome! Congratulations… I look forward to seeing it in action.
April 12, 2009 at 11:36 am
Very sharp boat! Congrats! I look forward to your reviews. Thanks for a great blog.
May 26, 2009 at 9:57 am
My name is Mike Zeppegno. I am an ACA Open Coastal Kayak Instructor. I live in Humboldt County which is on the north coast of CA. Our coast line provides a wonderful assortment of places to paddle. From the rugged coastline with numerous sea stacks, challenging rock gardens and slots, and some good surf spots. I am a member of the Explore North Coast Kayak Club. Our group paddles 12 months out of the year in often very interesting conditions.
I have been paddling a roto-molded Tempest 165 which was a proto-type for the production unit Wilderness Systems introduced some years ago. My 165 has a great deal more rocker than the production 165. The Tempest has really served me well but in the fall of 2007 I started my search for another boat. I wanted something that was lighter, faster, more maneuverable, and paddled well in big water. I am 5’10” tall and weigh 155 lbs.I looked at a number of boats at the 2007 West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium, and continued my search through September of 2008. A sample of some of the boats I tried include the Avocet, Avocet LV, Montauk, Romany, Romany LV, NordKapp LV, every model of the Current Design line I could fit into, and a Chatham 17. I also tried the Xplore and Xcite from TideRace.
I liked a number of the boats I tried particularly the LV models. However, as much as I enjoyed a few of these boats I felt that they were not much of an improvement over what I currently had. If I was going to put out the money for a new fiber glass boat I wanted something that I could get really excited about. I did find the NorkKapp LV was the closest thing to what I was looking for. The surfing and maneuverability were excellent, but the cockpit was too big for me. I also found the rear of the cockpit combing was too high and it prevented me from laying out on the back deck while rolling. While it was a finely constructed kayak I wanted a boat that was lighter than 49 lbs.
In September I had the opportunity to paddle the new Illusion that had been designed by Sterling Donalson, fined tuned from extensive testing by George Gronseth, Reg Lake and numerous other top quality N.W. paddlers My first test paddle was off of a steep beach at high tide near the Trinidad Head. The surf zone was incredibly busy with rebounding waves crashing off the Head, long interval swells and dumping waves. All of this combined with a rip that was running parallel with the beach.
From the initial launch I was impressed by how well the boat handled and it didn’t take long to figure out that this was the boat for me. The surf had a lot of punch and I had water coming at me from three different directions. The Illusion handled this with ease. I got surfed backwards, spun 270 degrees and 180 degrees several times. I was able to climb over incoming waves like no other boat I had ever experienced. In most other kayaks I would have been overturned while trying to break out. The Illusion with just a couple of strokes climbed over the tops of the incoming breakers. It turned out to be the wildest surf zone paddling I had ever experienced in a boat I was not familiar with. Amazingly the boat was absolutely rock solid. The next day I went to a surf spot and found the Illusion was an incredible boat to surf waves. It has great hull speed to get on a wave, turns on a dime, and holds its position on a wave to surf in a straight line.
When I got home I called Sterling and ordered a new Illusion. It is important to point out that Sterling customizes the boat to your physical dimensions. In my case he lowered the deck by 1 inch, moved the insets for some of the deck mountings to accommodate my size 11 booties, and moved the bulk head forward to give me the leg length I needed. I did pay an additional $200 to have Sterling use his infusion process for constructing my boat. By selecting this option I got a stronger boat that is 5 lbs lighter than the standard fiber glass layup.
I have now had the boat for six months and still get those “aha” moments as I discover something new about the performance of the Illusion. I have come to realize what a great job Sterling has done with the design of this boat. The cockpit fits me really well, and is very comfortable with its custom foam seat. The boat design places my center of gravity in a very low position in relation to the water line. In my opinion being low in the water improves the performance of the boat, and has resulted in making me a better paddler. This low center of gravity along with the rocker makes for an incredibly maneuverable craft.
I have found that it is a great rock garden boat as it holds an edge so well and allows me to maneuver effectively in tight quarters. Your stroke proficiency will improve with this boat. Since the boat holds an edge so well it turns 360 degrees in a very tight radius. The Illusion has a great deal of rocker. One of my students said my boat looked like a potato chip. One would think that because of the rocker this boat would not track well. Big surprise, it tracks extremely well. I have had it out in 20kt winds with large trailing seas and it handled the conditions beautifully. A couple of other nice things about this boat are the Sea Dog hatches and foot braces. After spending time in the surf or practicing rolls I have yet to have any water get in the hatches. The foot braces are great as you can adjust the length while under way. I find this convenient on longer paddles.
If you are looking for a boat that is stable, offers great performance in all environments, and is a pure joy to paddle this is it!! Also the personal service you get from Sterling Donalson is another benefit of owning an Illusion.
Mike Zeppegno
Arcata, CA
707-826-7035
November 1, 2009 at 11:02 am
Thank you, this is a helpful review. I live in Petaluma, and am wondering if you know anyone down here with an Illusion who might let me demo it. I have been interested in a Tiderace Excite, but have not had a chance to paddle one yet. Just recently came across information and pictures of the Illusion. Wondering why you chose it over the Excite, which I imagine is a faster boat.