Island Kayaks began life on the Isle of Skye in 1999 as part of the climbing and outdoor equipment specialists, Island Outdoors, based in Portree. In 2002 the company developed the first production model, the Island Kayaks Expedition, and has since developed a low volume version, along with several other models.

Island Kayaks are extremely well made with a number of considerations that experienced paddlers appreciate. These include top quality finishing details, offset skegs for more rear hatch packing ability, molded hand grips on the bow and stern and more.

We're pleased to offer two of the Island Kayak models, the Expedition and the Expedition Low Volume. You won't find too many Island boats in the states -- they are made in Sri Lanka and the tsunami a few years ago put a slow down on production -- but if you're looking for a well-made kayak that will last for years, you may want to give the Island boats a test paddle.

Click here for a trip down memory lane with Duncan Winning, a well-known kayak designer who paddles and Island Expedition Kayak.

Island Expedition

In keeping with the traditional roots of modern sea kayaking, the hull profile is closely based on that of a kayak from the Uummannaq Fjord area of West Greenland.

The keel line has been subtly modified to move the pivot point forward, enabling effective use of the adjustable fin, which replaces the built in skeg of the Inuit craft.

The moderately vee'd cross section makes for a sea-kindly hull and the slightly fuller lines ford and aft combine increased carrying loads with a more comfortable ride compared to excessive plunging associated with very fine entries and exits.

The Island Kayaks - Expedition, is designed by Donacha Drew, a paddler with over fifty years experience at sea.

Expedition LV

This boat features a revolutionary new skeg, which operates on a 1.5mm cable, pull/pull system. It has a built-in adjustable tensioning unit. This system was unveiled to universal approval at Birmingham in March 2005. We couldn’t help but notice all the other boat builders having a good look. Remember where you saw it first!

The Expedition LV has taken this new concept a stage further and is fitted in an open skeg box, which passes up through the deck of the boat making accidental jamming a thing of the past. Try one. There really is nothing else like it on the market yet. Carbon fibre skegs (300g) are fitted as standard.

The carrying-strap retaining bars are now load bearing and look much better than before. There is a stainless steel security bar riveted into the deck to allow the boat to be locked securely. The cockpit width has been reduced by almost 50mm from that of the Expedition, in anticipation of the smaller paddler we expect to favour the Expedition LV.
Keel strips now come as standard.

Overall dimensions, other than the height, remain unchanged from the Expedition.

The Island Kayaks - Expedition, is designed by Donacha Drew, a paddler with over fifty years experience at sea.

Review:

Here's a review written by one of our customers that purchased the Island Expedition. This review was originally posted on Paddling.net:

I purchased an Expedition (not LV) about two months ago and have paddled it a dozen or so times since then. I have had it in the ocean for a surf zone strategies class, on the tidal James in 1 to 2 foot chop, with the other paddles on my home lake here in Central Virginia. Also have done some rescue practice with it.

I am 6'0, 205 and the regular volume fits me very well. While not riding high out of the water empty, I am confident that even fully loaded it will ride high enough. With the agressive rocker, the boat likes to move around. The first time I paddled it, I remember feeling like even small inputs would cause the boat to overreact in that direction. With just a little seat time, that feeling went away. There is no doubt however that it is a responsive boat - it loves to turn and that is one of the characteristics that I love about it.

I rarely use the skeg, even on flat water with a little wind. I have not had it out on flatwater with significant wind yet. My forward stroke leaves a lot to be desired, but don't feel that I use that many more corrective strokes than in other seakayaks that I have paddled. I do find that I use my lower body extensively to control the movement of the boat through edging. This is good, but am now trying to work on keeping a quiter hull - in the Expedition I tend to switch from edge to edge more than I would like. Putting the skeg down really transforms the boat. In comparison to without the skeg it really locks in. I have found that if I use the skeg, I tend to deploy it just slightly and it gives a good compromise feel.

The boat has tons of storage, especially up front with the relatively high fore deck. The front, rear and day hatch openings are all larger than most other boats I have paddled. I can even fit my helmet through the day hatch opening. Because of the formed in seat pan that actually creates a secondary bulkhead, the day hatch is quite large. I really like the formed in seat as it makes emptying the cockpit after rolling practice quite easy. The backband is the one aspect of the boat that I don't like - not supportive, difficult to adjust and doesn't want to stay adjusted when I do. Luckily, that will be easy to swap out.

The boat rolls like a charm. Since getting my mechanics down, it takes very little effort to come up. Very forgiving and the lower rear deck helps with layback positions. Even after a lengthy roll practice, the front and rear bulkheads remain completely dry. My day hatch gets a little water in it - maybe a cup's worth. I need to get the release film off the hatch cover and see if that helps. Also need to check where the skeg linkage runs through to see if that is the entry point. If I'm just out paddling, even with a few rolls thrown in there is only a very small amount of water - a few tablespoons.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but this was my first chance to really record my thoughts about the Expedition. I'm not an expert, but build quality appears quite good and it is a very pretty design. I feel very lucky to have gotten a nice glass boat at such a reasonable price. Good luck in your shopping.

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Who paddles an Island Kayak?

Island kayaks are extremely manuverable, particularly for their 18' length. They have a very low keel line and can respond very quickly to turning strokes. The boats are at home in rougher water, but can be excellent flatwater boats.

We recommend using a bit of skeg on flatwater, even with light winds, to help the boats track. The same characteristics that make them very easy to turn can be a bit daunting for newer paddlers, but just a little skeg easily keeps the boats in line.