The kayak is equipped with a responsive plastic understern rudder as standard. It provivides excellent tracking and easy steering but is exposed to imact damages of both the rudder blade and the boat hull.
However choosing the durable stainless "marathon" rudder will slightly decrease the response of steering, it minimise weed pick-up that is often a must for summer paddling in still water. Hence this is our most popular non-standard fitting option for a fitness kayak.
Front & rear compartments have enough space to store cargo for daytrips. Threaded deck hatches with a diameter of 15-15 cm are recessed & installed on the front & rear deck. Leaving them open when the boat is not in use let the compartments to dry and to ventilate the stored boat.
Bungee cord or a bungee net can be installed on the rear deck - usually right behind the cockpit.
Carry handles can be installed to help moving boat to and from the water or to make portages easier.
Overstern rudders are also available for the model. They have a kick-up system so vertical impacts will cause the rudder blade to rise up and avoid any structural damage. It is to protect the hull and the rudder system at once.
Overstern (kick-up) rudders are advised on shallow, quick rivers with rapids and riffles, in strong currents or close to rocky shores or ripraps when powerful and precise maneuvering required.
The professional "SmartTrack" rudder (basically used in sea kayaks), as well as our in-house made "Klappsteuer" stainless overstern rudder can be installed. The "Klappsteuer" gives a very smooth and even steering around the center of a rudder wheel, but can't be fixed in horizontal position.
Constructions differ in the materials and technologies used during the manufacturing process. These determine the stiffness, the weight and the interior appearance of the boat. In practice, an upper construction results a stiffer, more lightweight & spectacular boat, but it requires more caution during use
Besides, the standard and available fittings may be also different in some constructions. These are listed at the "Fittings" section of this article.
ease of handling
easy to repair
heavy weight
flexible hull
ease of handling
easy to repair
more stiff hull
heavy weight
stiff hull
lighter weight
clear carbon-kevlar hull
moderately fragile
limited repairability
stiff hull
lighter weight
clear carbon hull
more fragile
limited repairability
ultra stiff hull
lighter weight
clear carbon hull
less fragile