My background
Being an outdoorsy person I’ve always been attracted to the idea of kayaks and canoes and have rented a few over the years. Generally I got on better with canoes as I never liked the tippy, hemmed-in feeling of kayaks and was nervous of white water. Anyway, the hassle of storing and transporting any sort of hardshell was never an option where I live – until I discovered IKs.

Following a brilliant day down the Salmon River in Idaho in an NRS MaverIK in 2004 I realized they were not necessarily cheap, one-season beach toys. Later I discovered folding kayaks too, nice idea but it was too late – I was addicted to ‘bloats’. I'm 6'1", weigh 90kgs and don’t have any canoe/kayak training to speak of.

As with my bikes, cars and even my shoes - and to paraphrase Gandalf - I want one boat to do it all. This obviously involves compromises but has the advantage of owning less stuff.

The Sunny has been my main boat since 2005 though I initially owned a Gumotex Safari which I replaced with a much more stable Solar for the g-friend. I’ve also tried a mate’s very old Klepper and Feathercraft folders which packed the same size and weight but came across as a bit dank, and I briefly tried a Feathercraft Java. I give my impressions of these boats and others right here.

I also tried a Wilderness Systems Tsunami in Croatia for a day. The Tsunami was fun (read: stable); a lot less discouraging than a P&H Capella I was given on a sea kayaking course (winds were reaching gale force and I left early to save further embarrassment).

The Sunny is a double but converts easily to solo use (unlike the similar Solar). Mostly I paddle it solo on camping trips and I’ve now reached the point where paddling has become my main recreational activity.

Sunny 390
In 2004 I nearly bought that NRS MaverIK on the spot but managed to control myself long enough to learn it was actually a relatively expensive, bombproof ‘outfitters’ boat – and anyway was not sold in the UK. Here the range of IKs is limited, the best value all round probably being the Czech Gumotex (aka: Innova) range.

I bought a used Safari cheap to get a feel for Gumotex IKs, was impressed by the build but fell out and went round in circles a lot (until I fitted a skeg). Then in early 2005 I bought a new Sunny from the same Prague shop for around £220. These days they're more widely available in the UK for around £350 ($700).

The way mine is set up now it's actually just over 30"/77cm wide (32" claimed with OE seat). Length is 3.9m (12' 9") as they say. In the Gumobag, the boat with a clip-in Aire seat, Bravo footpump, repair kit and sponge weighs 16kg. Add a kilo for the Otter Box I use as a footrest and for storage. More on my set up here.

Construction and set-up
I’m no expert but the Sunny is made from tough ‘rafting’ fabric and is simply built - perhaps even a bit basic. But it works. There are 3 air chambers: a floor (with a pressure release valve on my model; keep pumping until it hisses) and one each side. The footrest/thwart and seat(s) also pump up by mouth or with an adaptor but I've since replaced both with an Aire Cheetah seat and a 5010 Otter box as a footrest, so once rolled out it now takes 5 minutes to pump up. The big OE skeg takes another couple of minutes to fit (make sure it’s lined up straight down the hull and it helps to have the wing nuts ‘balanced’ and horizontal on each side).

For what it's worth I've lately discovered a Sunny's hull profile is more or less classifiable as an SoT California-Soft Chine. Click the image left for more.

All in all, besides with ease of operation, the portability, simplicity of assembly and speedy drying are all attractions. My mate’s Klepper and Feathercraft take at least twice as long to set up and are fiddly with it (and he’s been at it for years), but of course both are quicker on the water and look a whole lot sleeker.

Why not Solar 405 or a Helios 2?
At the time I recall the Solar came with space-consuming inflatable thwarts - like a MaverIK or Padillac - instead of proper seats, and so was not so readily convertible for solo use, the way I planned to paddle most of the time. The current model and the double Helios has the same drawbacks: they have fixed seats and so are not 'reversable' so you can't sit in the middle when solo - the ideal position. What about the Gumotex K2? Good question; see Other IKs.

On rivers (up to WW2.9)
Flat rivers, calm seas and lakes (see video, left) are of course no drama and compared to my hardshell- and Safari experiences, the Sunny is as stable as a raft – maybe even a barge. Bare in mind I’ve not learned any of the bracing finesse required to paddle hardshells properly. In this boat it’s so nice to be able to lounge about, bounce off rocks, come out of rapids backwards, slide down for a snooze, dangle legs over the side, dive out, crawl in, load it easily and best of all, hop in and out with no more fuss than getting on a pushbike.

The Sunny will start to swamp from WW2 onwards - long before it capsizes - and baggage only makes it more stable. Should you flip (I’ve done it a couple of times when I couldn't get on line in time through longer, complex rapids) flipping it back over and getting back in is easy, even if you can’t touch the bottom. Once or twice I’ve even instinctively stuck my leg out for stability in the odd hairy rapid on when beached mid-river and swerving side-on – a dirt biking background may be something to do with it.

As for speed, I managed 5kph average and up to 40km days on the Dordogne in France one time and have maxed out at 8kph/5mph (I think it was) at sea with a GPS. As with all boats I believe there is a maximum hull speed which cannot be exceeded without a 350hp outboard. In the company of the above folders or hardshells the Sunny can’t keep up, especially in a stiff headwind; the nose I think is too wide; you can hear the bow splashing as you try to speed up. I'm not sure it's a scientific analysis but look at my wide and relatively turbulent wake in the picture above left compared to the yellow Perception sea kayak in the same pic. If you want or need to dig, the skeg enables you to hack away without thought for correctional strokes - but you still won’t catch a hardshell or even a lame cormorant.

If hardshells can generally manage without skegs then so ought IKs and lately I’ve got the knack of paddling skeg-free on rivers in the Sunny. It’s handy for shallow rapid rivers, WW manoeuvrability and portaging around locks and weirs where the skeg's brackets/glued-on mounting patch could get damaged. Sure it spins out more now coming out of rapids or if you drift along but it doesn’t bother me anymore; as long as there’s a current or a tailwind you get there in the end.

Most recently I paddled with two folders and a hardshell down the Spey River in Scotland from Aviemore to the North Sea; a great 3-day trip. With snow on the hills around Aviemore for this trip I got a drysuit (see Mods and gear) which meant everytime the Sunny swamped itself through a bit of whitewater I could sit in the water-filled boat in reasonable comfort until I could get ashore to drain it, as below (this swampage caused by the pathetic riffle on the right of the pic).

At sea (up to 1m swell, 30 knot wind)
I did a 5-day trip around Shark Bay in Western Australia (see front page for story links) in 2006 alongside a heavy plastic Perception tandem hardshell that could carry a ton. The Sunny and gear was easy to check-in for the flight over and was a pleasure to paddle, even when nasty conditions set in. Stability was never an issue. Instead, when it got rough I needed to pump every 20 minutes or so (while being towed by the Perception to stop me drifting away).

Occasional waves simply spilled in over the rounded sides as the boat sagged in the troughs (left) - or came over the bow as it drove off the white caps, but it wasn’t cold and I wasn't alone so it was more inconvenient than a drama. The quartering wind (is that the right term?) with a lack of rudder did make it tough on the downwind arm but I enjoyed the exercise and by using the big OE skeg, maintaining direction was not a problem. I've just bought myself a ‘high-angle’ paddle with a bigger surface area which may work better in these conditions.

We’ve also paddled in the sea among the sheltered Summer Isles and various sea lochs off northwestern Scotland, very enjoyable and along with the Spey descent in October 2007 we dida day on Loch Linne (below) and Rannoch Moor. The idea of anything more exposed in the UK freaks me out. The way I see it Ik's are comparatively wind-prone compared to a proper sea kayak with sits just a few inches above the water. Havent tried beach surfing yet; it looks like fun but of course the boat would probably swamp, crash and burn every time.

Transportation, loading and capacity
I can carry the boat on my back for a few kms but it’s tough on the shoulders as the OE ‘gumbag’ lacks a hip belt; a regular 70L+ backpack with a hip belt would be better. Mine is beginning to tear at the shoulder straps although it still works OK as a dry bag as long as the seal is off the deck. Recently I bought myself an old pack frame and have attached a pack harness with a fat hip belt for long hauls on foot. If not on a day trip I use folding trolleys and public transport where possible; it’s part of the environmental ethos of IKs after all!

Lashing points are limited but with a bit of thought using what rope hole things ('deck lines'?) at each end you can fix most things down to stay put (or at least attached) should you tip over. Lately I've adopted a pair of cargo nets off an FC Java which will simplify lashing down. See Sunny Mods.

Two-up paddling on easy rivers
We did a few days on the easy Vezere river in France two-up with basic camping gear. G-friend is half my weight but we managed and it was fun. I’ve never done tandem paddling before and found it initially irritating to be synchronised after a great week solo down the Dordogne but it was nice to share the paddling, have a chat and goof about. Since then I’ve also goofed off two up on a canal in Devon when setting up matey's folder was too much hassle. Easy or warm whitewater would be fun two-up and unloaded, but to do that in the UK you have to leave the country – or dress up.

Sunny summary
For what I paid and what I’ve done with it, the Sunny has been a great introduction to paddling. My sea- and WW experiences above flag up the Sunny’s limitations; a lack of self-bailing but let’s face it, with a name like 'Sunny' it’s clearly a rec boat (motorhomers and barge people often express an interest) and as such I get the impression it’s one of the best in its class.

Sometimes I feel I’ve squeezed my Sunny to the limit but still have a bit further to go myself so I bought a Feathercraft Java. Costing five times the price of a Sunny, if it had been five times the fun I should have been skimming across the water like a flying fish on pay day! But it didn't work out like that.

More on IK modifications, experiments and gear