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Curious about the "Cosma"? Here's a blog review that we found online that may be of interest to everyone that is thinking of purchasing this kayak!!!!!!
From the "Lazy Rando Blog"...
... I have spent many months sea kayaking and touring, but almost all of my experience has been down in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez off the coast of Baja Mexico in low performance plastic sit-on-top boats.
"To See The Cosma Blog Click Here!"
I am an competent paddler whose never been in a state of the art boat. So getting a chance to try out a sweet kevlar sea kayak put a big smile on my face.
Long and lean...
Although looks are not the primary reason you buy a sea kayak it’s always nice to be stoked about your boat. I was in a rush the day I picked up te Cosma so I didn’t spend much time looking at it. I just strapped it to my car and drove it home. I stashed it in my backyard in the dark and went about making dinner. The next AM I walked out on to my deck and was totally mesmerized by the clean lines and sleek profile of the Cosma. My plastic kayaks have served me well, but to be honest they are F-ugly! I didn’t appreciate how gnarly they looked until I had this Seaward boat sitting in my yard 3′ from the old boats.
Once I got over the sleek lines and general sexiness of the Cosma I spent a hour checking out all the cool details and expert craftsmanship that went into making her. I get fascinated with beautiful sea kayaks, mountain bikes and surfboards because they look so amazing and at the same time their purpose is to go out into some of the harshest environments and perform reliably for us. So their beauty is very deep – it’s the beauty of their appearance, the beauty of how they perform and the beauty of how tough they are.
Kevlar...
Getting over the visual appeal of the Cosma I had to move it to the side of my yard and enjoyed how light it was. My other kayaks are not as long as the Cosma and they can’t haul as much, but they are a lot heavier. I could move the Seaward with one hand and without feeling like I was in a weight lifting competition. That would prove very handy for loading onto the roof of our car solo.
Deck bungees...
All the deck attachments are very robust.
Rear hatch...
On my longest kayak tour 4 months in Baja I developed a love-hate relationship with my boat’s hatches. They were small so loading unloading was a chore, but they kept water out which made me happy. The Cosma offers the best of both worlds with large waterproof hatches so you can get what you need easily. This is a must have feature for any boat I buy.
Self-rescue system...
Coming from SOT kayaks one skill I need to work on is my ability to re-enter my boat in the water. Having a proven paddle rescue system on the Cosma made me feel more confident about going through that process. Even though I was too lazy to spend a bunch of time in the cold water during my short test.
Welcome to my office...
A comfortable cockpit is critical to happiness in a touring kayak as much as saddle comfort is important on a touring bike. You spend all day sitting in your boat with limited opportunities to get out and move around. I found the Cosma’s seat and backrest were comfortable for the half day length of paddles I was able to fit in. If I was keeping the Cosma I’d spend some more time tweaking the fit, but as it stands I was pretty happy right out of the gate. The rudder pedals were also easy to adjust and comfortable. I didn’t deploy the rudder as I was having too much fun leaning the Cosma to steer it. I tend not to use my kayak’s rudder unless absolutely necessary so it’s a feature I want to have, but as long as it’s there and works I happy to let it sit on my stern most of the time.
One issue I had with the Cosma’s cockpit was that my legs felt cramped. It’s a very low profile boat and I have long legs with big feet attached. When I get a chance I’d like to try one of Seaward’s high volume boats as I think I would prefer having the extra room. If you are taller that’s something you may want to consider when ordering a kayak.
A nice feature on the Cosma is having the rudder deployment controls in front of the cockpit for easy access and having them recessed so that you don’t snag anything on it.
Bow details...
Lots of deck rigging options on the bow.
So I want to be clear that I did not test the Cosma to its full potential. Mainly because my kayak skills are rusty and being new to high performance sea kayaks I didn’t want to end up as a statistic in some ocean safety report. I can only report about how she handled for easy day paddles on calm water unloaded.
Here are my thoughts:
• easy to get into and out of on shore [strikes a good balance between small cockpit opening and ease of entry]
• hard chines provide excellent stability
• you can set the Cosma on edge nicely to turn the boat
• comfortable seat and backrest
• very efficient boat
• glides well and tracks straight