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West Coast 555
I paddle our own West Coast 555. It was designed by me to meet the needs I wanted. It is only just coming onto the market now as we have been testing the boats over the last 18 months. What is it like? Well you really have to 
paddle it to see but I have described some of its features below.
It came about by doing very long days on expeditions. We would constantly discuss what the perfect expedition boat would be. Over time I created a list of what would be essential and what would be nice in the perfect boat. Then of course I had the job of designing it. 4 years later we have a boat that is as close as possible to that original list of essential criteria. We missed some of the 'would be nice' things but designing a boat is not as easy as it looks. Getting the hull so it edges without getting turbulence off the chine took about 6 months of trial and error - you soon discover everything is a compromise. But I must say it was the most challenging, frustrating and rewarding thing I have done. The end result is an expedition or day boat I am very proud of and every instructor that has paddled it has been impressed.
Most people when they buy a boat look at the deck when you should really start with the hull. The West Coast 555 has a deferent hull from most boats on the market in WA. It is a stable, deep veed hull with reasonably hard chines, a big volume bow, moderate rocker and 5.55mt long. Ok so what does that all mean.
Well a 5.55mt long boat gives you good speed. Speed is important as it makes getting in and out through surf a lot easier. It makes going up wind into waves easier as there is less drag from the waves so they don't slow you down so much. It also makes doing distant more fun. I like to cruse at 8km per hour and in this boat can average well over 9km per hour for 20 kilometers or more. 40 to 60 kilometer days are not a problem and at a push 100km in a day is possible. Yes it's a big day, but I have done it.
Rocker is the banana shape of the boat. A moderate rocker means the 555 is a reasonably straight running boat which is good for distance work in big seas. But combined with the hull and chine the 555 can still turn quite quickly for a big boat.
A big volume bow helps stop the bow digging into the water when you come down the face of a wave. As we all try to plan our days to use a following sea as much as possible, we don't want a boat with a fine bow that slows the boat down or in a worst case scenario you end up doing an endo in the front of a wave. Fine bows work well going into small waves on flat water but not in a big running sea.
Chines are the edge of your boat. Some boats have very round sides that resemble a half circle. You see this on surf skies as they are designed to go fast in a straight line. Generally speaking the harder the chine the easier it is to do and edge turn where you use the hull shape to turn the boat. This enables you to turn efficiently with the least loss of forward power. This part of the hull is the most complicated to get right as there is a lot of different forces at play. It is the type of thing that is the difference between a good boat and great boat and is best demonstrated on water.
We went with a stable, veed hull as our boat is designed for open ocean not flat water. Look at all the runabouts, dingys etc that are designed for the ocean and you will notice they all have veed hulls. This is no coincidence as a veed hull works best in ocean waves. A flat bottomed boat will want to sit flat on the side of a wave and have a tendency to slide down the face of a wave. A veed hull will dig into the side of a wave creating a high pressure area on the down side. If you are not exactly parallel with the wave that high pressure area will want to push you forward through a vector force. Also in rough bouncy white water a stable veed hull has lots of advantages over a flat bottom. Once again the best place to discover the benefits is in the water.
Ok now we will look at the deck.
The bow of the boat can be a lethal weapon if yo
u hit another paddler in the ribs. For this reason we put a blunt point on our boat to reduce that risk.
The next thing is a decent hand hold. After carrying kayaks for a long distance you will love a proper moulded hand grip. Also if you are swimming your boat in through surf it is easy to hold and won't wind up and cut your fingers off.
As we move down the boat you will see a large oval front hatch. When you are cold, tired and wet, you will love being able to get gear out of the front hatch easily. Also you will notice it is very well rece
ssed so when you plow into the back of a wave and the bow punches through the hatch cover is protected so it does not rip off. The covers also fit snug and go right down to the deck to give maximum protection .
In this picture you can also see the front elastic deck lines. These are designed so you can hold a variety of gear including split paddles on the front deck as well as the back. You can also see the GPS holder and the recessed knife. The deck layout is the most flexible design we have tried.
In this picture you can see the deck is quite high giving you a dryer boat that is easy to roll. THe rear deck is low and flat to make self rescue easy. The day hatch and back hatch are also well recessed so you they don't get caught up on gear when doing cowboy rescues.
The cockpit is big enough so you can sit on the seat and then put your legs in. Come to training and you will see why this is such an important feature. There are good leg braces and a white water back rest that is floating. It is most important to have a back rest that supports your back while you lay on the back deck. One day you will be in the wrong place and a big wave will land on you and you will hit the back deck. High fixed back rests can do considerable damage to your back in this scenario. You will also notice it is supported forward of the seat to give you comfort but still enable good torso rotation for correct paddling technique.
On the picture above you will notice a different looking rudder. Instead of hanging a piece of metal off the back of the boat as an after thought we decided to make a performance rudder. Of course there will always be debate about the need for a rudder. I have paddled this boat for 18 months in all conditions without a rudder so I am very confident I can use my boat if the rudder fails. There are a lot of boats on the market that are rudder dependent and this can be a big problem when the rudder fails and all rudders at some point will fail.
So why did we put a rudder on. Well you can have a skeg as an option but I have found rudders are superior to skegs when you are surfing a running sea. You can continue to forward paddle and be turning left and right with the rudder looking for the next ride. Also a rudder is good when you are sailing especially when you are close to the wind.
So how is our rudder different. Well first off the leading edge of the rudder stays in line with center line of the boat. Some rudders a up to 10 cm off the center line of the boat when on full turn increasing their drag. The second thing is we have a shaped rudder. It works like a wing on a plane, so you can turn the rudder 5 degrease and the water passing the rudder will put a sideways push on the back of the boat. This way you can stop weather cocking with the least drag possible.
The other problem I have found with aluminum rudders is that they are prone to bending. Our rudder is 12 ml thick where most rudders bend, this makes our rudder a lot stronger without the weight.
Deck lines with strong deck fittings (I hate deck fittings that break) go the full length of the boat and this is a very important safety feature. There are also a myriad of other features we have built in from flow coating the whole inside of the boat to a recess for an electric pump. If you have the time I am happy to spend an hour or two pointing them out or just wait till you are on a trip and you will discover them yourself.
If you are looking for an expedition boat that you can load up and take on the open ocean then this is a boat you should look at. If you want a day boat that you can do distance in, surf waves and play then this is a boat you should look at.
If you are an experienced paddler come for a day paddle so you have time to test the features out for yourself. If you are a new paddler come to training and we will demonstrate all the features for you.
We are sea kayakers that build sea kayaks. The boat was designed to meet our requirements. The boat was not made to meet a market price but made to stand up to the ocean environment. If you are serious about sea kayaking then this may be the boat for you.
Well a 5.55mt long boat gives you good speed. Speed is important as it makes getting in and out through surf a lot easier. It makes going up wind into waves easier as there is less drag from the waves so they don't slow you down so much. It also makes doing distant more fun. I like to cruse at 8km per hour and in this boat can average well over 9km per hour for 20 kilometers or more. 40 to 60 kilometer days are not a problem and at a push 100km in a day is possible. Yes it's a big day, but I have done it.
Rocker is the banana shape of the boat. A moderate rocker means the 555 is a reasonably straight running boat which is good for distance work in big seas. But combined with the hull and chine the 555 can still turn quite quickly for a big boat.
A big volume bow helps stop the bow digging into the water when you come down the face of a wave. As we all try to plan our days to use a following sea as much as possible, we don't want a boat with a fine bow that slows the boat down or in a worst case scenario you end up doing an endo in the front of a wave. Fine bows work well going into small waves on flat water but not in a big running sea.
Chines are the edge of your boat. Some boats have very round sides that resemble a half circle. You see this on surf skies as they are designed to go fast in a straight line. Generally speaking the harder the chine the easier it is to do and edge turn where you use the hull shape to turn the boat. This enables you to turn efficiently with the least loss of forward power. This part of the hull is the most complicated to get right as there is a lot of different forces at play. It is the type of thing that is the difference between a good boat and great boat and is best demonstrated on water.
We went with a stable, veed hull as our boat is designed for open ocean not flat water. Look at all the runabouts, dingys etc that are designed for the ocean and you will notice they all have veed hulls. This is no coincidence as a veed hull works best in ocean waves. A flat bottomed boat will want to sit flat on the side of a wave and have a tendency to slide down the face of a wave. A veed hull will dig into the side of a wave creating a high pressure area on the down side. If you are not exactly parallel with the wave that high pressure area will want to push you forward through a vector force. Also in rough bouncy white water a stable veed hull has lots of advantages over a flat bottom. Once again the best place to discover the benefits is in the water.
Ok now we will look at the deck.
The bow of the boat can be a lethal weapon if yo
u hit another paddler in the ribs. For this reason we put a blunt point on our boat to reduce that risk. The next thing is a decent hand hold. After carrying kayaks for a long distance you will love a proper moulded hand grip. Also if you are swimming your boat in through surf it is easy to hold and won't wind up and cut your fingers off.
As we move down the boat you will see a large oval front hatch. When you are cold, tired and wet, you will love being able to get gear out of the front hatch easily. Also you will notice it is very well rece
ssed so when you plow into the back of a wave and the bow punches through the hatch cover is protected so it does not rip off. The covers also fit snug and go right down to the deck to give maximum protection .In this picture you can also see the front elastic deck lines. These are designed so you can hold a variety of gear including split paddles on the front deck as well as the back. You can also see the GPS holder and the recessed knife. The deck layout is the most flexible design we have tried.
In this picture you can see the deck is quite high giving you a dryer boat that is easy to roll. THe rear deck is low and flat to make self rescue easy. The day hatch and back hatch are also well recessed so you they don't get caught up on gear when doing cowboy rescues.
The cockpit is big enough so you can sit on the seat and then put your legs in. Come to training and you will see why this is such an important feature. There are good leg braces and a white water back rest that is floating. It is most important to have a back rest that supports your back while you lay on the back deck. One day you will be in the wrong place and a big wave will land on you and you will hit the back deck. High fixed back rests can do considerable damage to your back in this scenario. You will also notice it is supported forward of the seat to give you comfort but still enable good torso rotation for correct paddling technique.
On the picture above you will notice a different looking rudder. Instead of hanging a piece of metal off the back of the boat as an after thought we decided to make a performance rudder. Of course there will always be debate about the need for a rudder. I have paddled this boat for 18 months in all conditions without a rudder so I am very confident I can use my boat if the rudder fails. There are a lot of boats on the market that are rudder dependent and this can be a big problem when the rudder fails and all rudders at some point will fail.
So why did we put a rudder on. Well you can have a skeg as an option but I have found rudders are superior to skegs when you are surfing a running sea. You can continue to forward paddle and be turning left and right with the rudder looking for the next ride. Also a rudder is good when you are sailing especially when you are close to the wind.
So how is our rudder different. Well first off the leading edge of the rudder stays in line with center line of the boat. Some rudders a up to 10 cm off the center line of the boat when on full turn increasing their drag. The second thing is we have a shaped rudder. It works like a wing on a plane, so you can turn the rudder 5 degrease and the water passing the rudder will put a sideways push on the back of the boat. This way you can stop weather cocking with the least drag possible.
The other problem I have found with aluminum rudders is that they are prone to bending. Our rudder is 12 ml thick where most rudders bend, this makes our rudder a lot stronger without the weight.
Deck lines with strong deck fittings (I hate deck fittings that break) go the full length of the boat and this is a very important safety feature. There are also a myriad of other features we have built in from flow coating the whole inside of the boat to a recess for an electric pump. If you have the time I am happy to spend an hour or two pointing them out or just wait till you are on a trip and you will discover them yourself.
If you are looking for an expedition boat that you can load up and take on the open ocean then this is a boat you should look at. If you want a day boat that you can do distance in, surf waves and play then this is a boat you should look at.
If you are an experienced paddler come for a day paddle so you have time to test the features out for yourself. If you are a new paddler come to training and we will demonstrate all the features for you.
We are sea kayakers that build sea kayaks. The boat was designed to meet our requirements. The boat was not made to meet a market price but made to stand up to the ocean environment. If you are serious about sea kayaking then this may be the boat for you.
Tony is our boat builder. He started building and paddling Nordcaps in the 70's in Sydney. Yes he is old and crusty with an attitude. It's Tony's way or the highway but thats ok (only because so far he has always been right). Don't expect your boat quickly as to quote Tony " it takes as long as it takes" but expect a boat that has been built for you, that is strong and built with care. Tony still paddles with us every weekend so if there is ever a problem you know where to find him.
