More Complete P&H Scorpio Review
There has been much talk about the P&H Scorpio, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The guys over at Sea Kayak Carolina even mention my previous remarks of the Scorpio on their website.
Now that I have spent some more time in the Scorpio I will give a tentative rundown of the boat. As a guide your feelings about a particular boat change as you encounter different situations and allow the boat more time to shine and fail. And yes, even the best boats may fail occasionally. Even if only a broken buckle, it happens. Though the Scorpio hasn’t yet.
Outfitting
I will start with the cockpit since that’s where you will spend most of your time. P&H began with their classic seat base and backband duo, but this time they substituted that cam buckle used to tighten the seat back for D-rings. A piece of webbing runs underneath the 2 rings and is then folded back and routed under the other. Much like a simple webbing belt for your pants. This stands up so much better to saltwater and abuse.
The thigh-braces are the same as P&H’s other rotomolded boats. They are a dimensional thigh-brace that allows both vertical adjustment as well as horizontal.
They use a nice big foot peg that gives you plenty of room to press down as you edge and paddle. The pegs are adjustable by a rod that turns to unlock the peg and the rod is pushed or pulled to move the peg. A great system that allows adjustment of the pegs with out crawling into the cockpit to adjust the pegs “one click”.
Although Keith has experienced somefoot peg failure in the Scorpio, I have not. His issue was with the locking of the peg. As he was edging the boat the peg slipped and left no way to put power down to the water. It has happened to him twice to my knowledge, but one time was while paddling through a strong eddy with 20+mph winds pressing at our faces, and that isn’t the best time to experience that. I say that he just didn’t secure the peg properly, but Keith (aka Captain Cautious) is maintaining that he properly secured the adjustment mechanism.
Construction
When building the Scorpio, P&H uses their 3-ply plastic that incorporates their Corelite foam core. This foam core adds plenty of stiffness to the boat and reduces the weight several pounds.
Handling
I felt that the boat was quick and playful. The Swede form (widest point behind the cockpit) allows for a nice clean forward stroke and plenty of stability. It has a slight V hull that has a soft chine. The hull is truly build for speed and efficiency, but doesn’t pursue that goal to the detriment of maneuverability.
The boat does exhibit work weathercock than I expected, but the new skeg by P&H really does its job. Only deploying the skeg 1/4 way has immediate influence on the boat. Even with a 20mph quartering wind it isn’t necessary to deploy the skeg all the way.
I could go on for hours about the skeg that P&H is using these days, but I will give it a post all to its own in the next few days. So you will have to believe me for the time being.
I did notice that upon edging very hard there is a “looseness” to the back end of the boat. Keith and I discussed it somewhat, and Tom even added some words to the discussion. I can’t exactly pinpoint whats going on, and I can describe it in no more detail. That really doesn’t take away from my positive feelings about the boat’s design.
I haven’t paddled the boat in heavy surf, and I haven’t paddled it with 100lbs of gear. However, I can promise you that Keith and I will be doing that in the next few weeks, and I will be able to report more thoroughly
Specifications
Material – Rotomolded with Corelite foam core
Length – 16′ 11″ / 516cm
Width – 22″ / 56cm
Max Deck Height – 13.7″ / 35cm
Total Volume – 80.5 gal / 305 liters NOTE: cockpit volume is included in this figure
Cockpit Dimensions – 31″ x 16.5″ / 80cm x 42cm
Weight – 55lbs / 25Kg
Optimum Load Range – 143-275lbs / 65-125Kg
I noticed that this is not the first time at all that you mention this topic. Why have you chosen it again?