The GoldenEye Std.
The GoldenEye is the predecessor of the Osprey. The two boats have the same underwater hull. The only difference between the two is the GoldenEye has an old-style, non cut away deck.
Any revue or comment made about the Osprey transfers to the GoldenEye.
The GoldenEye std is only offered in plans. if you would like a kit see the Osprey std.
The GoldenEye Hi:
The GoldenEye Hi is identical to the standard boat accept for 1.5 inches of added height to fit large feet. Paddlers with shoe sizes of 12-14 should fit comfortably, and have the same handling characteristics of the GodenEye std.
Here are some words about the boat.
Review Sea Kayaker Magazine, December 1996: Three anonymous paddlers (initialed comments) give our GoldenEye Standard an extremely positive review:
The GoldenEye has good stability. "In terms of paddling 'feel,' one of the most comfortable boats I have ever paddled...I felt secure in it immediately" (VS). Of the secondary stability, TB wrote, "the stability holds fairly far out, as you can lean the boat over quite a ways and it will still right itself."....
"The boat is quick and responsive. It accelerated and held speed with little effort" (DA). When unloaded, the GoldenEye gave all of our reviewers a sense of easy, effortless paddling, perhaps because of its light weight. "The day of my test I paddled over ten miles and I felt like I had hardly done any work" (VS).
"The boat doesn't throw a lot of spray. It rides high out of the water and [has a] drier-than-usual deck" (DA)....
"The boat held a variety of courses in the wind with little effort. I noticed no excessive weathercocking. In the wind conditions I encountered it just went where I pointed it" (DA)....
"The roomy cockpit, light weight, and the fairly strong stability would be appealing to most novice paddlers, and the low price might also make it a good choice for a second boat for folks who want to increase the size of their fleet so they can bring friends" (TB). "This is a fine cruising, fishing, and general use boat for a larger and intermediate level paddler. Its comfort and sea handling characteristics are excellent. It is light, simple and does everything well." (DA) "It is so light, so comfortable and handles just beautifully" (VS).--GoldenEye by Pygmy Sea Kayaks (Kit), Sea Kayaker, Winter 1996 issue.
GoldenEye Std. Specs:
Length…… 15' 8"
Beam…….. 24”
Height……. 12”
Weight…... 38lbs
Cockpit….. 17”x33”
Available as kit……no
Available as plans……yes
GoldenEye Hi. Specs:
Length……15' 8"
Beam……24”
Height……13.5”
Weight…40lbs
Cockpit……17”x33”
Available as kit……yes
Available as plans……yes
*The transverse Metacenter, in inches, is a measure of a kayak's initial stability. A higher number is more stable. All single kayaks computed with same weight person.
**Kayak cruising speed is proportional to the boat's wetted surface, which is the area of frictional drag of the water on the hull, here expressed in sq. ft.
***90% of theoretical hull speed (THS) in mph. A boat's theoretical hull speed is a function of square root of its loaded waterline length (LWL). at approximately 80% to 90% of its hull speed a kayak will start to produce a bow wake longer than its LWL and the effort required to continue acceleration rapidly increases
GoldenEye Std/Hi Features:
Hull type… Multi-chine
Deck type…Pygmy GoldenEye Deck
Best used for… Kayak touring, Expedition kayaking, Day paddling
Paddler experience level… Beginner to advanced
Shoe size….Up to men’s size 10.5 for standard version, size 14 for Hi version (depending on shoe and personal comfort)
Cockpit size…17”x33"
