back to: Resources
Pyranha Karnali L Review
Having taken delivery of my New Karnali I was desperate to get it on the water, but as luck would have it, there was no rain, the rivers were low and that was that. So the first few times out in it was teaching intro white water on the Dee at Llangollen.
The boat was comfortable and everything easy to adjust and set up as you would expect, fitted extra hip pads and felt connected and in control.
As soon as I got afloat, I could feel the hull was so perfectly balanced, the initial stability, linked to the progressive edging meant that even on simple water, the control was there, drop a need, look and she pointed where I wanted her too. Forwards speed was good and acceleration was awesome.
A whole day spent on easy water and not an un comfy moment, plenty of room for all my kit, and for big boots, and the position was like being in a sofa, lovely.
Eventually we got rain!! Yeah and plenty of it too, so the first proper try out was on the upper Conwy. The boat was just perfect, every eddy was a dream to make, dropping an edge and looking was all that was needed to initiate the turns, the hull did the rest. The punch through stoppers was lovely with the bow just burying enough to allow forward speed to be maintained, but the stern stayed up to keep the power on. Edge to edge was so effortless that surfing and spinning were a piece of cake compared to my last kayak.
Next day saw the Ogwen as a test bed, and here the Karnarli showed just how well designed she is. What I have read about her says she is aimed at the intermediate river boater looking at upper their grade or for more advanced paddlers looking to make harder rivers a bit more controlled. To this and more it is a dream. I was leading people down here and never once did I have to work to get any feature, all was easy, and it felt very forgiving, two clients were in them too and their comments were that the boat gave them such confidence to try harder moves.
The softer edges coupled with a more rounded hull than many of its class of boat, allowed for more edge to be applied when needed, technical moves down the gorge, boofs and landings all eaten up with ease. She was predictable to just the right degree, allowing for more to be gotten out of her. An excellent boat. No, an awesome boat
Richard Witheridge
Boater North Wales
Team Getafix
Follow the link for the Karnali at Pyranha.com.
