Ruahine
Ruahine Intrigue
The Intrigue is New Zealand’s most popular 'entry level' multisport kayak. It’s particularly suitable for novices (or anyone requiring extra stability in white water) yet it retains its speed for those smaller athletes. With its wide, flat hull, this kayak has an extremely high level of primary stability and manoeuvrability. This makes it great for first time paddlers but also a good choice if you’re worried about stability when you’re nearing the end of a long race
Features include a low profile for reduce windage (important in the Waimak Gorge), a large cockpit for easy transitions, and Ruaversal seat for paddler comfort and rotation.
Ruahine Swallow
The Swallow is designed for the confident beginner paddler or those wishing to progress to a slightly faster kayak than the Intrigue. With its profiled bow and shorter waterline (compared to some of our other kayaks), it’s relatively quick while maintaining a high degree of primary stability and manoeuvrability.
Confident beginners often start with the Swallow, especially if they’ve done some form of kayak training before. Features include a low windage profile; mid-range length for best compromise of speed and manoeuvrability; and flat centre hull for high primary and secondary stability.
Ruahine Shadow
The Shadow is an entry level multisport kayak for people of all sizes. With a wide cockpit opening and huge amounts of room inside, this is the perfect first boat for almost everyone; a 60kg paddler will draw very little water in it and feel extremely safe, and a 100kg plus paddler will appreciate the extra room and stability that is lacking in so many other kayaks.
Features include our famous Ruaversal seat, easy entry cockpit, a high thigh deflector to deflect waves away, and ultra stable hull.
Tim's Note: this kayak is the ultimate in beginner multisport kayaks. It's extremely stable but also has a decent turn of speed, making it perfect for a race like the Coast to Coast. If you're looking for a yak, that you can sit in and master without too many balance issues, then the Ruahine Shadow will be an excellent choice.
