Review of the P&H Capella 163

I bought this P&H Capella 2006 model in April of 2019 from a seller advertising on Craigslist. The seller indicated that the boat was in quite good shape, but needed new bungees and showed a scrape at the very front of the deck. He also indicated that the deck lines were fine and the skeg worked smoothly. This was accurate information – hooray for that particular seller on Craigslist.

For background on my perspective in writing this review note the following. I have owned quite a few sea kayaks including several other British-style boats. I kayak about 60 days per year with perhaps 2 or 3 trips off Vancouver Island, each lasting about 5 days. Otherwise I stay on our local lake (110 miles around the circumference), I would consider myself an intermediate paddler with no yen for rough water, rock hopping, etc.



Construction.

Manufacture of the Capella line moved from P&H to Venture Kayaks around 2010. The Capella model has since disappeared. P&H was known for consistently high quality work and this was certainly the case for the Capella that I bought. You do see them for sale, albeit rarely. Various lengths of Capella kayaks were made (including some rotomolded), but I don’t know anything about those others.

The 163 is a composite kayak using fiberglass with some diolen reinforcement. Upon purchase I redid the bungees, making my own modifications as I went along e.g. a place for the manual bilge pump under the deck just beyond the front of the coaming. The deck in front of of the coaming is somewhat high, leaving plenty of room for my feet and the bilge pump. My feet wear a USA size 9 shoe, but with my dry suit I wear a size 11 water shoe over the dry suit socks. I appreciate the room for my feet.



How Neutral is this kayak?

This boat is 16’ 3” x 22” with enough rocker to make it maneuverable and, as a result, not all that fast. I haven’t weighed it, but it is supposedly around 55 pounds. I personally prefer a skeg rather than a rudder and particularly like a neutral kayak that needs the skeg very little. I did have a Mariner Express which had neither skeg nor rudder, and needed neither. I sold the Mariner for unrelated reasons. My main kayak at this point is a SKUK/NDK Explorer and it rarely needs its skeg. So how does the Capella 163 stack up?

On my first test run, in light to moderate wind, the Capella weathercocked gleefully. This can be tuned out with the skeg, which fortunately works well. Nevertheless, I moved the seat as far backwards as possible and will load the kayak stern heavy to counteract the weathercocking if only slightly. Moving the seat also provides extra room to get my shins into and out of the kayak.

After the aforementioned modifications the weathercocking was clearly lessened, but still present (thankfully no leecocking) - so the skeg remained useful. Moving the seat to the rear of the cockpit made getting into and out of the kayak much easier for my elderly body. It is a little tricky to get the spray skirt on because of a relatively tight deck to rear-of-coaming spacing, but I’ll get better at that.



How Fast is this kayak?

I am not a racer, but do join races occasionally – mostly to guarantee that other participants will be able to beat someone. My test runs showed that the Capella was rather slow, allowing me to continue my race career unimpeded by finishing races too soon. Actually I will probably keep racing in my not-quite-as-slow Explorer, and thereby finish before the race organizers go home, at least before dark. However the Capella is fast enough to keep up with other sea kayaks on a group trip – assuming that the other trippers are not overly enthusiastic. If you are not a racer, this would be a fine, well constructed kayak.



Maneuvering this kayak

As mentioned earlier, I am an intermediate kayaker with modest skills. This kayak seems to cooperate fine, but someone with advanced skills could provide a better review in this area. Further, our lake water is currently at +7 °C so I’ll wait to roll this until the water warms up. The form factor is not all that distinct from my Explorer, so I’m hoping it rolls as easily. I have experienced no leaks in this kayak, but rolling will provide a more stringent test.



Bottom Line

The Capella 163 is a well constructed kayak that will fit my purpose. For me, it is not as splendid as my Explorer, but its certainly good enough to keep.

Salacia Testing Finished

I just modified the Capella 163, moving the seat further toward the back of the cockpit. Immediate results were

* to lessen weathercocking, and

* to make it easier for me to get into and out of the cockpit

This test run lasted for 2+ hours and I was happy to find the seat quite comfortable. This is somewhat unusual for me; more typically I need to reconstruct the back band when I bring a new-to-me kayak home.

There is one more improvement planned, adding a keel strip. This will be deferred until the weather warms significantly. My plan is to use only an epoxy layer, in particular, G/flex 655. I'll cover that with peel ply until the epoxy cures. The cure time is very slow in cool weather, hence the wait for warmer temperatures.

Salacia is a kayak for our visitors. It seems stable, although I've not been out in foul weather. However, we would typically avoid foul weather anyway. I haven't attempted trying to roll Salacia, waiting for warmer weather and a significant rise in the lake level (usually OK by late May).

Salacia has passed her final test.

Salacia Test Run

Salacia is a fine, well constructed kayak. She is definitely not fast, but she does like to weathercock. It's too cold to try rolling at 43 degrees Fahrenheit. Further, the lake level is still too low to find a good rolling location for a more severe test for leaks. I did not have a well fitting skirt, but had one that was serviceable. Getting it on the coaming was a challenge. I noted no leaking in any of the 3 hatches (the skeg box is happily not problematic). My test run was about 4.5 nm, with enough wind to see the weathercocking.

To combat the weather cocking I've moved the seat back as far as possible, which will also help me get into and out of the cockpit. I'll also load the rear hatch heavier. Salacia has a smooth skeg, so the weathercocking is not a major nuisance. I've ordered a better fitting spray skirt. I have also installed a paddle park.

I'll do another test run next week, but after the next series of rainy days. I don't expect the weathercocking to disappear, but it may improve somewhat.

Salacia

Well, I purchased the used P&H Capella 163, a fiberglass kayak with some diolen (poor man's kevlar) reinforcement. Her name shall be Salacia, the Roman deity worshipped as the goddess of salt water. She was, after some initial reluctance, the wife of Neptune. Amphitrite and Poseidon were the corresponding figures in Greek mythology. The pronunciation of 'Salacia', as found on the Internet, varies. I'll go with Church Latin, but typically refer to her as 'Sal' (salt in Latin).

Despite her years with Neptune, Sal is not all that disheveled. She needs some rigging, particularly replacing the bungees - but I tend to modify and redo that extensively anyway. The static deck lines seem fine. I'll also replace the lines for the bow and stern handles, add a (Mariner-style) paddle park, and also a keel strip. I haven't yet taken her out on the lake, but I'm guessing that the comfort/support of the seat and backband are OK.

A new keel strip will be the most ambitious modification. I plan to use just G/flex 655, a thickened epoxy adhesive. I'll cover that with peel ply until it cures. In the past I've used Keel Eazy which works OK, but must be carefully watched because the edges can become loose and provide a place for sand/grit to gather. Our other kayaks use the Keel Eazy approach. I hope this new approach works. It should be easy to repair.

At any rate, Sal is for the use of our kayak-oriented visitors. However, I'll give her a try also. She should be slower than Sedna (my SKUK/NDK Explorer), which is not that fast itself. I'll probably hold off on rolling practice until the implants from my imminent cataract surgery become less vulnerable. That surgery is scheduled for May 1, before the lake is warm enough for rolling.

Kayak Fleet Evolution Revisited Yet Again

The Guillemot was not as expected. In particular, although there were two hatches (fore and aft), there were no bulkheads! The workmanship was quite nice, but not at all overwhelming ... so I passed. I already had some misgivings about the maintenance required for a wooden boat, so it was for the best. I'll next look at a 2006 P&H Capella 163. This is fiberglass (diolen reinforcement) with skeg, a rather typical British design.

It does not look dissimilar from my SKUK Explorer, but should be more maneuverable. I will look at it Monday, if plans materialize as expected.