The Skua was designed by its creator, Leon Franken of Cape Town, as an expedition kayak for himself because he could not find a kayak that would meet the demands he was to place upon it.
This is a very sleek, very fast, extremely light, but very strong and exceptionally stable kayak with an impressive load carrying capability. The sea kindly hull rides waves with ease without throwing water in the paddler's face, even with the wind just off the bow. Responsiveness has not been sacrificed for stability and it can still be lean turned when fully laden, yet the Skua provides the comfort required for all day paddling. This is the ultimate expedition kayak quite easily capable of self contained voyages of several weeks at a time and more than 30 miles a day, for day after day after day...
The Skua is a superbly balanced design providing unsurpassed rough water ability, an enviable payload capacity for expedition touring (165kgs) and extraordinary stability, which instils beginners with confidence but without losing the responsiveness that experienced paddlers demand. The Skua is a kayak with which you can expand your experience and still appreciate when you are an advanced paddler.
She is in a class of her own with regard to weight, even in the standard lay-up of advanced GRP sandwich, the Skua, fully rigged for the water with seat, deck rigging, inner and outer hatch covers and rudder weighs just 23kgs. While a vacuum bagged, vinylester resin and foamcore layup Skua, fully rigged as above, is an incredible 19kgs, yet is stiffer and offers even greater impact resistance! There is nothing on the market that can compare. Even loaded at 140kgs the drag at 6.5 knots is just 6.4kgs (14lbs). This is less than a racing kayak with a lighter payload (113 kgs against 140 kgs) by 4 lbs!* Once you have paddled one you will not want to give it back! She surfs well, due to her South African heritage, where Skua owners go playing in the big Atlantic surf for fun. She is built to take the rough and tumble of this kind of water in her stride and long, open water crossings in the ocean is what she was designed for which makes a day paddle all the more enjoyable.
The Skua comes fully rigged as standard. Two large, well sealed deck hatches, deck rigging for additional stowage, a comfortable, moulded seat with excellent back support, rudder and pedal controlled steering with an easy to use up/down outrigger haul. The cockpit is given a large entry and is very easy to enter or exit but still provides protection and comfortable coamings for knee hanging. Unlike most kayaks the Skua comes complete with a cockpit cover and skirt.
Optional extras include dedicated deck bags and a purpose designed sailing rig which is as innovative as the kayak with a built in mast step to ensure structural integrity (you are not stressing the foredeck). A neoprene skirt can be ordered as an upgrade.
Paddling the Skua is a revelation. She is very responsive to body input yet possesses remarkable secondary stability that you can make use of in wild angles of lean as your ability develops. She is stable enough to be able to drive at over 7 knots with the sail even when paddling empty!
*performance figures obtained by Sea Kayaker for the Zoom Nimbus compared to Skua hydrostatics.
The price for the standard Advanced GRP Sandwich, fully rigged, to include cockpit cover and nylon spray deck with pocket together worth ?60, is ?1495.00. Epoxy lay-up (19kgs) fully rigged as above but stronger and lighter is ?1895.00.
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