Surfing the Grand Illusion --6 knot Ebb at Canoe Pass

Baker Lake to Skookumchuck

 

Reg Lake & Sterling @ Baker Lake Pictures by Gene Davis

photos by Mike Dedman

Damon Maguire comments on his new Grand Illusion

Hi Sterling: I wanted to catch up with you now that I've had time to put the GI through its paces. It had its maiden voyage at the Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium, where it garnered a lot of interest. The first day featured of 40 to 50 mph squalls and lots of tide race action at Yellow Bluff. I was a bit nervous since it was the first time with my butt in the boat, but it handled it all with ease. Since then I've been out at Trinidad several times in fairly intense conditions, with swell anywhere from 12 to 18 feet with long periods. My conclusion? It's a magic boat. Somehow you've managed to build a craft that is crazy maneuverable, unfazed by wind and so stable in rough conditions that I have to remind myself not to be stupid. I'm afraid I'll forget how to brace since I so seldom have to do so. Thanks for a beautiful boat, Sterling...... The boat amazes me. Talk to you soon. Damon Damon's Grand Illusion Demo Video is on the Grand Illusion Page

Test of Strong-Lite Layup You will be amazed!!!!!

 

 

At the2009 Puget Sound Sea Kayak Symposium we offered a number of our kayaks for demos, both the IceKap and Illusion design. Our interesting device which looked like an adjustable kayak cockpit is a custom jig for fitting people to a custom deck height exactly tuned to their build and body.

Although the Ice Kap has gotten a lot of attention because of Dubside, the Illusion is gaining a reputation for being a fantastic rough water boat. One thing that our customers discovered recently was that the Illusion handles well with a cockpit full of water. Because the upswept ends and rocker give it a low center of gravity, it remains remarkably stable and easy to maneuver. It is an additional safety bonus we never knew we had. Paddling with a flooded cockpit simulates a real rescue situation such as following a wet exit or re-enter and roll.

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Hi Sterling, When talking to you today, I forgot to mention one trait of your kayaks is the fact that there isn't much hull slap and noise when paddling them - in all conditions. After paddling several kayaks and experiencing the incredible hull slap you have to put up with, it got me thinking more about hull noise in relationship to the IceKap and Illusion. Most boats create some hull noise as they move up and down, especially in going out against incoming swells, wind waves and surf. Your design seems to be the quietest I've paddled and I've paddled quite a few of them. In fact, it would be a great selling point to those who are into viewing and photographing wild life and marine life as you can really quietly, sneak up on birds and other forms of wildlife in your kayaks - not to mention the solitude they provide the paddler. Something that shouldn't go without mentioning. Later, John

 

John Day pictured in his new Illusion International Orange with White Side Wave.

My name is John Day, I'm an A.C.A. Sea Kayak instructor living on the Southern Oregon Coast. For the past four years I have paddled the Southern Oregon and Northern California Coast in all conditions both alone and with a small group of paddlers with similar skills.
I've tried many kayaks and, until recently, my all around boat of choice was the Mariner Coaster. For over a year now I have been using Sterling Donalson's Icekap and have found it to be an excellent all around kayak in the open ocean environment.
Recently, I have been paddling Sterling's Illusion and have found it to be the ultimate kayak
for all types of open ocean use. Sterling's kayaks have a lot of rocker making them extremely maneuverable. The surprise being that they also track extremely well! Sterling makes kayaks that are light, strong, quick to turn, track well even without a skeg and are at home in open ocean, rock gardens, surf, wind, current - all types of conditions.

You can even fill the Illusion full of water and it's
still stable and maneuverable!! (a fact discovered by customers)

In the surf the Illusion gets to speed quickly allowing you to catch waves. ...Once on a wave, it surfs straight and true. Being broached by big waves is a joy in this boat as it is the most forgiving kayak I've used in the surf zone. Because of it's design (rocker and volume) Sterling's kayaks punch outthrough the surf with less effort than other kayaks. The Illusion does not weather cock and is easy to turn into or away from the wind. Going with the wind and following seas does not interfere with this kayak's performance. My Illusion has no skeg and I recently paddled
in 12 foot swells, 20 mph winds creating 4 foot wind waves and the kayak took it all in stride!

Owning a kayak made by Sterling makes one look forward to paddling like no other kayak I've used.
Light, strong, fast, playful, maneuverable and stable, what ever else in this world could you ask of your kayak??

John Day
Brookings, Oregon