Sterling “Reflection” Kayak Review - Made for the Waves

Had the unique opportunity to paddle the "Reflection" by Sterling Kayaks last weekend. The attraction for me is its light weight – probably 10 lbs lighter than your typical British boat judging by its heft – and its maneuverability.  A boat for short local paddles that's easier to carry are key features for me these days. And something that puts a smile on my face if the waves/wind get big is good too.  After seeing a photo of the Reflection, the thing just looked like a radical departure in terms of shape as compared to other kayaks – so I wanted to try it out.

  

Sterling "Reflection" kayak - Groton, CT

Sterling Kayaks is a U.S. company out of Bellingham, Washington. Recent online videos of sea kayakers paddling the Skookumchuck tide race are well populated by this boat nowadays. Sterling is something of a custom shop, focused on specific designs and light construction. Lacking dealers on the east coast, I happened upon a local kayaker in Connecticut who may own the only Reflection east of the Mississippi!  I joined him and a few paddling friends of his – and he kindly let me paddle his boat while he paddled mine. 

Couple things about the Reflection – the boat is 16 feet long, has HUGE rocker and narrow/tapered ends. (Somewhat reminiscent of Derek Hutchinson's Gultstream/Slipstream kayaks if anyone remembers those, but with more rocker).  The bow and stern exhibit little volume below the waterline - their shape resembles narrow fins for gently engaging the water when the hull hits a wave or is surfing in the trough. To complement the fineness of the bow/stern, the volume of the hull is instead concentrated in the middle by the cockpit – at 23 inches with a rounded chine it pushes back forcefully when edged. A fun responsive feel.  The end result in calm water is a boat that is VERY maneuverable and fun to paddle along the shore, turning this way and that, edging around obstacles, etc.  In addition, the narrowness of the hull's bow/stern (low prismatic coefficient) allows this boat to get up to speed from a stand-still very quickly, which adds to the fun-factor when rock-gardening along the coast.  Of course there’s always a downside to every upside – the top end cruising speed in calm water seemed lower to me in the Reflection compared to more standard-shaped kayaks of similar length, boats which retain more hull volume below the waterline out toward the ends. This is an expected and reasonable trade-off in my opinion.

We had some following seas during my demo paddle – but nothing big to really show how the Reflection’s rocker and wide mid-section might dance and carve on a wave.  WAVES and SURF are certainly what the boat is made for.  I expect it would be exceptional as a park-and-play boat on a big standing wave or messing about in some long-wavelength shore break. Despite the narrowness of the ends below the waterline, the boat has a large amount of reserve buoyancy above the waterline. From the photos you can see the bulbous fore and aft decks that rise higher than the cockpit rim, somewhat like a whitewater creeking boat.  Am sure this buoyancy keeps it lively and maneuverable, resisting burying in a wave.  Unfortunately, most of these thoughts have to be conjecture since it was a mild November day in Connecticut when I tested the boat – but looking at west-coast videos of the boat in conditions gives you a sense how the fat mid-section, big rocker, and tapered hull make for a fun surfing machine. It seems to have a definite edge in the surfing department judging by this remarkable video of a coastal surfing competition showing the Reflection carving on wave faces (changing direction left and right like a surf kayak), spinning to paddle in reverse on the crests, even rising back up the wave to the sweet spot after it’s been down in the trough! All things that are tough to do in most sea kayaks in shore-breaking surf (paddler power and skill undoubtedly have a lot to do with the moves in this video, but you get the idea). See Video - note especially the guy in the lime green boat at 4:37 - wow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkO3Rsdi3dE

Fit/Finish:  The Reflection has a comfy keyhole cockpit, foam seat, and flat/lowish thigh braces – perfect for the snug responsiveness you’d want for a surf session.  This setup was OK for a regular day-trip (going from A to B), but I might prefer higher thigh braces for a somewhat looser cockpit feel if I was using the Reflection as my do-everything kayak. Distance paddling is not what this boat is made for so that trade-off is understood.  The skeg is located ODDLY directly behind the cockpit, taking up one side of the day-hatch compartment.  Deploying the skeg was smooth and flawless. The effect on the boat when fully deployed was quite mild – owing to its location. It did help some to fight weather cocking, but not nearly as much as a standard skeg.  Regardless, the boat’s maneuverability and stiff secondary stability makes edging the boat to fight weather cocking easy and effective. Am not entirely sure what affect the skeg would have on the face of a wave – certainly it would retain most of its turning ability.  The design, paint job, and finish on the boat are very cool – really looks like a custom kayak and not one off an assembly line as some boats do. 




Sterling Reflection cockpit

That’s it – something to consider if you’re in the market for a rough water kayak. Although more of a specialized craft than some, it was fun to paddle in mild conditions too.

Sterling Reflection kayak Groton CT