STELLAR S18 Expedition G2

"The Stellar S18Exp G2 is a great kayak! I race with it and feel totally stable even in rapids. On calm rivers, you can experience adventure tours with it, as the kayak glides very comfortably. I haven't tried it out on the sea yet.

Th...

"The Stellar S18Exp G2 is a great kayak! I race with it and feel totally stable even in rapids. On calm rivers, you can experience adventure tours with it, as the kayak glides very comfortably. I haven't tried it out on the sea yet.

This spring, I took part in 3 competitions. I'm not an athlete, but I was satisfied with the results:

1. https://www.tyritori.ee/.
Took 12th place in the K1 group. I learnt to paddle with the wing paddle during the 47 km race. Before that, I paddled with Euro paddles.

2. https://www.vohandumaraton.ee/
This is a crazy 100km race :) 2787 participants, 1274 watercraft, 277 K1 kayaks. I finished 81st in K1 and 223rd overall. With today's experience I was able to finish the race 1 hour faster.
The race started at a temperature of -2C. The first few kilometres we had to paddle around the lake where you are squeezed between other watercraft. The fun parts were at the old dums, you have to really ride the rapids there. The Stellar kayak mastered this without any problems. In general, the river is calm.

3rd Gauja XXL. A 90km race, not many participants. Got 3rd place in K1 8 hours 17 minutes.

I have one regret: I feel so confident in it that I could have easily taken the S18R. I hope that one day I can try it out and get the Stellar name into higher marathon positions :-)"

I bought my S18 Expedition in Krakow 6 months ago and since then I've travelled around 800 km with it, both in salt and fresh water. From Germany to Croatia to Istria on the Mediterranean, we've experienced a lot together. Despite some high...

I bought my S18 Expedition in Krakow 6 months ago and since then I've travelled around 800 km with it, both in salt and fresh water. From Germany to Croatia to Istria on the Mediterranean, we've experienced a lot together. Despite some high and long waves, I have always felt bombproof in the kayak and in no way tingly. The stability is absolutely brilliant. Even across the wave and from the very first moment, the 18 Expedition always behaves very safely and is by no means slow.

My normal paddling speed is around 7 km/h. I paddled the 1,000 Lakes Marathon at 8.5 km/h throughout, and even over 9 km/h at the top. Although I was also considering the S18R because of the speed, my decision in favour of this boat was absolutely right. I look forward to more adventures together in
the coming years!

Stellar has a heart for big and
heavy paddlers. My search for a suitable boat was long and varied. After 2 years of riding a Stellar S14 G2 with great enthusiasm, it has now become an S18
Exp G1 - which suits my height of over 195 cm

Stellar has a heart for big and
heavy paddlers. My search for a suitable boat was long and varied. After 2 years of riding a Stellar S14 G2 with great enthusiasm, it has now become an S18
Exp G1 - which suits my height of over 195 cm
and my weight of around 110 kg even better. The S18 is one of the
few boats where the footwell seems huge and the
footrest setting doesn't have to be set to maximum from the outset. Large shoe sizes are no problem at all.

Once you have taken a seat in the S18 Expedition
the first thing you notice is the incredible stability
(primary stability). I didn't expect that from a kayak that is only 54.7 cm wide. Compared to the much wider S14, there
was hardly any difference. The draught is shallow and even with a high rider weight, you get the impression that this boat is gliding on the water and not in it. The boat is easy to
accelerate and you glide easily over the surface of the water.

This handling behaviour has surprising consequences when going upstream in large currents, for example: While in other boats you have to pay close attention to the angle to the current when rounding a groyne to avoid being swept unstoppably into the
main current, the S18 is almost indifferent to this. It sails calmly in the eddy area - a slight anchoring - and you have passed the groyne upstream. But even
riding more upstream towards the centre of the river is no problem - as you will be amazed to discover. The narrow, long waterline makes it possible.

It is also amazing that you
can sail this 18-footer very well and up to approx. 5 bft wind without a helm. It is easy to manoeuvre through small rivers - while it is better to leave the folding helm up for safety reasons.

The boat feels very safe in waves on large inland waterways, although it reacts much more nervously to waves than an English sea kayak, for example. This may be different when fully loaded. Furthermore, the boat is not recommended for experiments in the
surf - especially in wind forces above 5 bft. The
steering is then unusable and the boat's excessive upwind yaw
can no longer be compensated for. That's not what it's built for.

The cargo space of the S18 Exp. is huge
and you don't have to sacrifice anything when travelling on the water. However,
you should definitely get carrying straps for the boat and never lift a fully loaded S18 Exp. out of the water by the handles. That would be my wish for Stellar: "proper" handles for every load status and a tightly closing day hatch ...

The low boat weight is of course a dream - especially when loading on the car. My boat is made in the multisport layup version and is extremely robust. Whether it's unexpectedly running aground on a gravel bank or falling from a height of 40 cm onto fist-sized stones. The hull survived, no damage to the mats, just a few pea-sized cracks in the gelcoat, which were easily repaired with a little epoxy.

To summarise, this boat
has handling characteristics that I have not yet found with any manufacturer
that is common and widespread here: a very fast hiking boat, fitness boat for rivers, streams, inland lakes and not so wild coastal waters that can carry a lot of luggage.