Not a review, just impressions from plan/profile photos of the new (soon to be released) Stellar Nomad kayak. In short - the seat is located markedly closer to the bow compared to similar 16-foot British Style kayaks.
Stellar is a company that makes light-weight kayaks in carbon for less money than other manufacturers. 16-foot sea kayaks occupy something of a sweet-spot, they can be fun in rough water and are ideal if you mostly day-paddle and don't care much about maximum hull speed. It's great to see another offering in this category.
Looking at the boats in the comparison photos below, the hull of the new Nomad (the green boat at bottom of Photos 1 and 2) looks just as rockered as the others, so should be nice for playing in rough water. And it appears a bit more Swede-form which could make it more efficient in the forward paddling department. But the main difference I see is its seat position – the cockpit is located noticeably more towards the bow compared to other boats in this category. That’s intriguing. It’ll be interesting to see how that affects the way it paddles - center of mass towards the bow usually increases weather-cocking making a functional skeg important. Lastly, the Nomad has less overhang at the bow and stern, which reduces windage and appears to add some waterline length (both helpful for speed and efficiency) but might make for a wetter ride in rough seas...time will tell.
Here's an early video review of the Stellar Nomad by Alder Creek a retailer based in Oregon, and you can pre-order the Nomad from Offshore Marine, a retailer located in Illinois. (I'd personally test paddle of course before ordering a new boat.)
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| Photo 1 |
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| Photo 2 |
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