Tempest 165 RM...anyone have a review.....

[Brad Fournier]

or comments about this boat? It seems like a fast, fun, nimble and seaworthy craft to me. Thinking about purchasing one but thought Id get some local input if anyone has some.

Thank you

[RogerPollock]

T165 is a great surfing, rock-garden boat. Highly maneuverable, carves around a dime. It loves rough water of all kinds. Doesn’t track as well as a longer boat, but, when tired of correcting it, the skeg solves the problem completely. I’m 205 lbs, and took the seat out to fit comfortably. The boat’s a tad slower for me than my longer boat (17’7”), which I prefer for less play stuff and more open water stuff, though the Tempest if perfectly capable of open water paddling.

You’ve got an Avocet, though, and I don’t think you’ll find a much different experience between that and the T165 (my opinion only), than you would say, the Avocet and a longer boat.

[Brad Fournier]

thanks Roger, yes the Avocet is like the Tempest, but since I bought the Avocet my girlfriend loves it and always paddles it, so between the two we can switch it off. Tried a Tempest last night, nice nice boat, buying one today.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Brad,

The Tempest 165 is supposedly a knock off of the NDK Explorer. Bob Clarke has paddled a glass version for a while, so he might be some to ask about it, assuming of course that the RM and glass versions are similar.

[Brad Fournier]

oh thanks Kevin, didnt know that, believe the RM and glass are same. Whats this wavesport Diesel thingy???

[Pintail]

Brad, Don't be influenced by these show-off, presidential-types who feel a compulsion to brag about their fleet! It is of no consequence at all and, in fact, constitutes nothing more than salve for deep-seated insecurity! (Says Prof. Godfrey, Dept. of Psychology, University of Namaqualand)

I myself drive a marvellous, big-mileage VW van (awaiting repair); also a Jeep Cherokee (primitive piece of cr*p); also a Ducati...hush, now, this begins to look like bragging, doesn't it?

[tvcrider]

Brad,

I owned a Tempest 165 PRO (in glass) for over two years. It is still one of my favorite hull designs and is a great "do is all" kayak (except racing). I think Steve Scherrer really got it right.

I found that the boat did have one problem that eventually led me to sell it, Wildy's proprietary hatch system. My hatches leaked and came off at inopportune times when performing rescues. Particularly problematic was the aft oval hatch.

Wildy corrected this problem on their composite Tempest line starting in August of 2006. They replaced their hatches with Kajasport lids.

Note that Wildy did not do the same with the poly Tempest and I doubt they ever will due to cost.

I recently participated in a pool demo session for a retailer. I was loaned a Tempest 165 RM for my part. The boat handled/performed just as I expected, but regrettably that also included the hatches. Both the the bow and stern hatches leaked like a seives. The rear comparment had about 2 gallons in it after several rescue drills.

Some Tempest owners have not had problems as severe as mine, but every Tempest RM owner I have talked to gets considerable water in their hatches.

YMMV.

You can read my full review on paddling.net, under tvcrider.

http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1130

[RogerPollock]

The leaky hatch thing is huge complaint from Tempest owners. That and skeg cables.

I must have lucked out, though. Good skeg, and I only get a small amount of water in the hatches, such that a sponge is enough to clear it out, and that's nealry completely corrected by using the pain-in-the-neck bungie they supply to go around the hatch covers. That's even with extended rolling sessions, surfing, etc. Maybe it's a boat by boat thing, or model year . . .