Friday

Valley Nordkapp Jubilee Sectional Review 2001


Submitted by: RG 11-26-2001 The Nordkapp Jubillee w/ built in skeg and knee tube is an inspiring boat to be in. I have the three piece version for travel. The boat needs to be laid over for turning. Directional stability is excellent. Workmanship is outstanding. Boat is extremely fast. Quartering seas (3-6 ft) make the boat lively, but secure. Quartering or beam winds do make the nose come about if they blow harder than 25 knots but far less than any boat I've yet been in. Truly water tight hatches, even after extended rolling and sculling. Low rear deck and recessed cockpit rim make lay back rolls excellent.
Cargo room: Whose asking? are you a dual burner coleman guy with the 4 man tent? you'll suffer. Are you a backpacker with the Ray Jardine "Go Lite" mentality? You'll swim with room. I am confident I can take a go lite approach in arid country and still have room for a ten day trip. In water plentiful country it can go in the 3-4 week length of time. That question is so subjective it depends on the personal camper's habits. I'm a backpacker and I go to look at what is there, not at all the crap I can surround myself with. I still have room for photography gear, though. Hey everyone has at least two Achilles Heels.
3 piece version for travel is built like a tank with glassed in threaded shanks, dual gasket system that needs to be very tight, and stainless hardware. It took 30 minutes to assemble and the same to disassemble. longer head on 17mm ratchet would have cut 10 minutes off that time. Costly to get through airport: $225.00 USD for three bags. Skycaps or "porters" are necessary because they have the carts large enough to get it to the curb. Truly, it is no folder in ease of transportation. It requires larger vehicles at destination to get you to water. It was such a spendy, logistical hassle to bring on a simple week long cruise I may not bring it for many more of those trips, I'll sell the one piece Nordkapp and buy a used Khat's for those trips. I'll save the 3 piece Nordkapp for the longer trips where it will be worth it. The boat is a ten; the three piece concept is a 5.Rating: 10 of 10

This review compliments of RobG on paddling.net

RobG goes on to add information in 2007 regarding sectional versus folder, also from paddling.net (an outstanding source for paddlecraft information):

I will say that a 3 piece is harder to move around than a folder. A large cart is all that is necessary. Pay attention to your transportation at the destination. Your kit can be checked in like anything else. The bow, stern and middle sections have their own bag. I stuff clothes in with them to pad for abuse. The bow and stern section lashed together are under 50 pounds so I add part of my kit in the hatches til it just gets under 50. All food and valuables come on board with me as carry on except liquids. I don't want the TSA (Take your Shoes off Agency)to be walking off with my Leica's or headlamp.The cockpit section is where I add my paddles and bulky things. It also has its own travel bag. You can expect to pay $50 per bag/bundle as they are oversized. If the bow and stern are lashed together you may only get charged once, for the cockpit section, as it is the longest section.The main difference in travelling with a folder and a hardshell is moving the bags. It is harder if you do not do it right. Assembling my Khatsalano is harder than the 3 piece, as is loading it. Either of them are comfortable and rewarding to paddle.Let's say you want to go to Baja for a 2 week paddle. Buy a ticket. Buy a chart or yachtie cruising guide covering the area you want to paddle, I recommend Ed Gillette's for Baja. Have someone drop you right in front of the ticket counter. Get a big cart. Roll right to front of line and get in back of the line. Check on. You don't need a big name or a big trip to do this. Ordinary, everday run of the mill suckers like you and me can do this, too.Upon landing get a big cart and one of the locals to help. They work inexpensively and make life easy for you. Get your kit and go outside and of all the taxi/bus options, get the guys with the big roof rack. Your 3 piece fits fine in most of those. Go to hotel near launch point. Ask them to hold on to your travel bags and travel clothes, otherwise you will have to schlepp them along. If you have to schlepp them along, roll the bags together and put behind seat and in front of foot pegs. Wear camp clothes on plane, (nice ones, have some panache when you go to REI). Put boat together and paddle.The daily loading and unloading with hatches on your hardshell is easier than the folder. The internal frame trips things up and there is not nearly the space. The Khatsalano has 50 pounds less recommended burden than my Nordkapp. The hatches are WAY more surf proof on my Nordkapp than my Khats. The roll up drybag style does not stand up to surf. My buddy's back hatch in the K1 was bombed through in our Costa Rica trip. It has to be supported from underneath by your kit.All in all, it's 6's or pairs of 3. They each have advantages and disadvantages. It is easier to travel with the Khats, but there are little daily nuisances that eat up that margin to where it no longer exists. If you like hardshells over the softer, Lowrider like ride of the folder, you will love the 3 piece. If you like hair nets and white tank tops you will like the folder's ride. The Nordkapp puts 10-14 day water dependent trips on the map for me. The Khats, I'm lucky if I can get a week of water plus kit in the boat.

The Feathercraft Khatsalano takes an hour or at least 45 minutes. The bow and stern sections can be made up in a couple minutes, so no real time savings having them assembled. My 3 piece is just bolts, so alot easier once you've done it. The newer breeds have buckles, but I've no experience with them.If your vision is only a few hours over a few days it may be overkill to bring one along at all. We left the boats home on our Anglesey and Ireland trip as half the trip was walking around Dublin and the countryside. We just rented boats from Simon Osbourne for a day and Nigel Dennis for a week. The Khats is a hell of a boat on the water. It is different in feel than a hardshell, but it has some very good performance characteristics. It weathercocks like a metal rooster, too. In order to get it down to a sub 50 pound bag I pack everything into a lighter duffel and wrap the tubing into bubblewrap. The seat goes into the kit duffel to keep it under 50 pounds.Sectional's can be stored half in the trunk and the other half in the vehicle. You can request a bottom floor room in 'door's facing out' hotel's and bring it in the room, at the most taking one section off. Vehicles with nominal racks are available commonly. Use the grey mini-cell foam blocks or pipe insulation and ordinary car straps like you would at home.Nothing like having a good boat wherever your travels take you. I was in Maui once and rented a 12' SOT for the day and had a blast. It was not my kind of boat and its seaworthiness was dubious at best, but we still managed a really good day on the water. If I had a place there for a week, definately bringing my own. But that's just me.Cheers,Rob G

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