New Swift Prospector 15 Solo - Specs?

ABT said:

Interesting, your gunwales look different than the standard carbon Kevlar gunwales they have listed on their website. The website ones have diagonal yellow (presumably Kevlar) lines, whereas yours appear to be all black carbon. They change options and layups pretty often so it’s hard for me to keep up with it all. Could yours be solid carbon or have you seen the foam when you take the screws out? Wouldn’t surprise me either way but I’m curious.

I do see some solid black on the website but not under the available trim systems section oddly. It’s not super clear why some are solid black and others aren’t, or whether they’re the same or if there is a difference other than aesthetic.

Click to expand...

They can do either black or black with the gold accents, you just need to ask when ordering, sort of like selecting the color...

ABT said:

Interesting, your gunwales look different than the standard carbon Kevlar gunwales they have listed on their website. The website ones have diagonal yellow (presumably Kevlar) lines, whereas yours appear to be all black carbon. They change options and layups pretty often so it’s hard for me to keep up with it all. Could yours be solid carbon or have you seen the foam when you take the screws out? Wouldn’t surprise me either way but I’m curious.

I do see some solid black on the website but not under the available trim systems section oddly. It’s not super clear why some are solid black and others aren’t, or whether they’re the same or if there is a difference other than aesthetic.

Click to expand...

My Osprey's look different too.

One comment for the big guys that may want wood gunwales to hang a seat...the wood gunwales may be more beefy on expedition kevlar boats in my experience so you may want to ask about it if you want max strength.

I had a very productive phone conversation with Bill Swift today. He let me know that there will be a multitude of seat options available for the P15S and that the base seat pod height target will likely be around 10", with other options being pack seats and gunnel-hung seats for lower and higher options.

Bill said that they will absolutely do gunnel-hung on the integral carbon/kevlar gunnels, but it needs to be specified at time of order because they do a slightly different layup process to add strength. This would obviously allow the height to be set wherever you please, starting at around 12" from the floor if I am reading the spec correctly.

Speaking of strength, if you are a heavier paddler like me, Swift will do a "robust" build for $200 that includes a beefier rib system and seat. I alluded to wanting to trade some of their renowned light weight for layup strength, and he indicated that doing so was certainly possible as a custom order.

If I can get a P15S in an Expedition "Plus" epoxy layup, with big boy seating hung at 11" on solid rib structure. . . . It might be the one. Definitely expensive, but might be darn near perfect for my intended usage. Ruby exterior with cherry trim, comingle interior and Red Leaf outfitting: mmmm. . . . Gonna have to pick up a side job or three. . .