The Elan Test Drive

Monday October 5 was my last kayak outing of this season. The lake level is currently being drawn down by ~11 feet for the cooler months, as is usual. I paddled from 3rd Avenue pier, under the highway and railroad bridges, and then up Sand Creek - my most frequent route.

I had a particular mission. I was trying out a kayak I just inherited from a dear friend, the Elan model from Mariner Kayaks. I had written in an earlier post (July 18 of this year) how my Boreal Designs Ellesmere kayak was my favourite kayak at that point - and I have tried many kayaks over the last ~20 years. So the mission was to determine whether I liked the Elan better than the Ellesmere. 

Mariner Kayaks produced a series of what have become cult favourites, especially their Coaster model. Only 72 or so Elans were built and Mariner ceased operating not too long afterward (~2007). This particular Elan had a rear watertight hatch, but originally no bow hatch. However, Victoria's John Abercrombie added a bow hatch before selling it. John builds or modifies kayaks and does splendid work. The Elan was built for a small person and I made temporary modifications to the cockpit so I could fit comfortably, considering my brawny 140 pound, five foot five inch frame. 

The Elan has no rudder and no skeg. Yet it supposedly neither weathercocks nor leecocks at wind speeds beyond which I do not venture. It has no foot pegs and, when configured properly, your feet rest against the front bulkhead. It weighs 51 pounds (heavier than my kevlar Ellesmere - but quite manageable). If the Elan handles as well as the Ellesmere (without the extra frippery i.e. foot pegs, skeg), it could become my new favourite. I like that idea - no fussing with a skeg (or rudder), no constraints on foot position dictated by foot pegs. Note that skegs, rudders, and foot pegs can need repair - done that, been there.

So, how did the test go? The water was flat calm and remained that way, perhaps not ideal testing conditions. The kayak behaved well, going in the chosen direction and turning when desired. I loved having neither skeg nor rudder. The speed was much the same as for the Ellesmere.  The Elan backband, vertically reinforced by minicell foam needs some more carving. That will let me sit a bit further aft and maybe make it easier to get the sprayskirt on. So the jury is out until next spring, but I am now predisposed to declare the Elan as my new (and final) favourite.