The Reflection is a playful multipurpose craft that will excel where control is the primary goal, be it in wind, currents, waves, chop, obstacles, explorations, instructional or teaching situations.

The Reflection project started out as a custom personal design for the different kinds of kayaking that I do (Reg Lake). That would be a lot of poking around and photography, moving water like Deception Pass, surfing like Hobuck, Crescent beach, boat wakes, wind waves, also standing waves on the rivers or tide races like Skookumchuck. Big enough to haul the camping essentials. Yet compact enough for playing in the arches, tunnels and caves, etc., Light and strong are important to me: light for independence getting to the water and on portages, strong for dependability. And lastly I want a kayak that is easily controlled and has no surprises when running selected whitewater rivers.

Reg Lake / Sterling Donalson

Reflection Designers

Titled:

EMAIL---AN ENCOURAGING WORD-----OR-----WHY STERLING LOVES HIS JOB!!!
>
Subject: Your Kayaks
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:48:05 -0700
To: sterlingskayaks@msn.com

> > Hi Sterling

I had the opportunity to paddle Christian's two kayaks both his Grand Illusion and his Ice Cap I was impressed with the Ice Caps speed stability and turning ability I was a little leery to paddle it because of it's19'' width but the stability was remarkable a joy to paddle and the Grand Illusion is nothing short of superb it does stuff no other boats do and I have had the opportunity to paddle lots of other kayaks thanks for doing such a remarkable job Roy

Brandon Nelson Wins Sea Kayak Surfing Division @ Hobuck 2010

paddling a Sterling's Kayaks Grand Illusion

October 9th, 2010 from:chargelife.com by Brandon Nelson Hobuck Hoedown Paddle Surf Festival: Part 2 Sea Kayak Surf Comp 1st Place When I found out there was a sea kayak division in the surf contest at the Hobuck Hoedown, I knew exactly who to call: Sterling Donalson, the legendary kayak designer and builder who’s helped Heather and I build, fix, modify, tweak, re-design and win races in pretty much every boat we’ve owned since we moved to B’ham in ’03. Sterling’s business these past couple years has shifted heavily toward a growing fleet of extremely popular and well-received British-style, expedition/coastal exploration boats. I raced one of these boats, the Grand Illusion (GI), in last year’s Deception Pass Dash to see how it stacked up against other designs in the sea kayak class. The boat moves so easily through the water, despite having enough rocker to surf and stay on top of the biggest seas I’d care to encounter, that I easily won the division. So it was a natural choice for me to take the same boat to Hobuck and spend a few days playing with it in its “stomping grounds” – the surf zone. The waves at the Hoedown were waist-to-head high for 3 days in a row, just perfect for folks like us who only get out in that kind of water MAYBE once a year. With my helmet strapped on and sprayskirt fit tight, I cruised out into and through the impact zone as if it were all green water. Even with a wave breaking right before I reached it didn’t prevent the GI from lifting right over it and dropping me cleanly on the safe side to keep heading out. I had a few good ones stop my momentum, but I never got tumbled or pushed back toward shore – unless I intentionally back-surfed, (more on that in a minute!) When I’d cleared the impact zone, I found the fastest way to turn the GI around was to lift one knee, stroke on the opposite side, and the boat just tracked around like it was on a rail. It spins with alternating sweep strokes, too, but that forward track-around is too cool. And when I was facing back in, as a swell reached me it was a quick two strokes and I was surfing. There is nothing in all of paddle sports, in my humble opinion, that equals the feeling of that moment you know you’ve caught a wave, and the ride is on! It’s a mixture of commitment, thrill, joy, a little uneasiness for good measure (at least for the first few waves), and pure stoke! The GI just carried me so sweetly over the green wave face every time. I’d reach a blade and lean my torso way out toward the wave face to carve a turn, looking straight down the line as it reached top speed, and as that first pitch of whitewater spilled over the top. Then an avalanche of froth dumps down and the sidesurf is on! The GI is as comfortable heading at speed toward shore in a full sidesurf as it is ripping across the green faces. A little more practice and I’ll be throwing window-shades in the bigger piles (maybe next year) but for this sesh I was happy just bouncing along feeling solid and thinking about my next take-off. If there’s an area the GI really blew my mind, it was on the back-surfs. On maybe a dozen occasions I’d be paddling slowly back out through the lineup when a nice wave was right in front of me, so I’d just throw a few backstrokes and the ride was instantly on. Each time I wondered if I’d pearl, but that stern stayed so sweetly on top and even let me carve some turns before peeling sideways and starting the sidesurf. It was AWESOME fun. And it helped me one-up the other boys in the sea kayak division of the surf contest on Sunday. That was my first time at competing in the surf, but I’m hooked. It’s like the anti-competition: you just go out there and ride, and let some folks on shore critique and score what you are or aren’t doing without worrying about how you’re ranking or who else is doing what. Win, lose or draw, I loved it, and I’ll be back next year for more! Thanks, Sterling, for a great boat, and once again for helping us get out on the water in style! Brandon, Heather and Hayden

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

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