Sat - January 21, 2006

Rapier 20 and 18 from Valley Sea Kayaks - New Racing Sea Kayaks



In May of 2005, Ian Tordoff set a new record for crossing the 33-kilometer English Channel. He crossed in 3 hours and 22 minutes, besting the previous record by 11 minutes. He paddled Rapier 20, a new racing sea kayak from Valley Sea Kayaks. It is interesting to note that the previous record was almost 30 years old and it was set by Andrew Samuel in September 1976 in a marathon kayak.

Canoe and Kayak is listing the Rapier 20 as a new kayak in 2006 with a price of $2999. However, I couldn't see the Rapier in general catalogs of Valley Sea Kayaks or Great River Outfitters, their US distributor. Finally, I have found the Rapier 20 and Rapier 18 listed in Scottish Kayak Supplies.

Rapier 20. Length: 20' (609 cm), width: 17.75" (45 cm.), depth: 14.25" ( 36 cm), weight 47 lbs. (22 kg), price: £1649. A real open water speed machine. They don't come leaner and meaner than this. It has already set a world record for the fastest crossing from England to France by kayak and won Britain's toughest adventure race in the Hebridean islands.

Rapier 18. Length: 17' 11.5"(547 cm), width: 21.75" (55 cm), depth: 5" ( 38 cm), weight 46 lbs. (21.5 kg), price: £1649. Designed to be the ultimate fitness oriented sea kayak. it complies fully with the current (at August 2005) United States Canoe Association sea kayak rules and is eligible for many sea kayak races, sub 18' class.

These boats look really heavy in comparison with West Side Boat Shop kayaks or Ruahine Ocean X. It must be a heavy duty British construction. However, the boat Ian Tordoff used for the English Channel crossing was of carbon/Kevlar construction, weighing in at just 14 kg fully fitted with hatches, bulkheads and rudder.

Short reviews from paddling prototypes from ConnYak Board: Rapier 20 and Rapier 18.

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Posted at 08:53 PM    


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