In the name of Seaward’s newest tandem, the Passat G3, you can hear echoes of two other brands, Volkswagen and Apple – two hip, sophisticated companies that like each other so much they have recently paired up on the `Pods Unite’ promo campaign. One puts flower holders in their Beetles; the other designed an operating system that, in the words of Steve Jobs, “looks so yummy you just want to lick it.” The Passat G3 is a slick kayak from Seaward made with a similar attention to doodads and detail.
The original, two hatched Seaward Passat is a narrow, fast tandem kayak popular with the Adventure racing crowd. The new G3 has the same sleek design, just puffed up and tricked out with a bit more volume and a centre/hatch cockpit providing room for dogs, children, or easily accessible waterproof storage for long trips. All this and it’s only five pounds heavier than a regular Passat and still slim enough to race.
The G3 comes with standard Seaward features like nylon cockpit covers, hand layup, fiber glass seams and bulkheads, Kevlar reinforced bow and stern and a plastic stern skid plate. It’s also available with a cornucopia of upgrades from dual steering to yummy colour fades and Kevlar layup for about a thousand bucks extra.
At only 26 inches wide, the G3 is as narrow as many singles with performance to match. Playing in waves and currents, we had a great time carving sharp eddy turns with an extreme tilt, using the double’s speed to blast through power moves that we could never make in our singles, and feeling generally invincible with the size, stability and inertia of a double. The G3 is truly a lot of fun.
The Passat G3 is the Euro-station wagon version of the kayak world – the performance car that you buy when you have a family. It lets you have the sporty speed and trip with it too. Beetles and I pods sold separately for now.
1.Pedal to the metal
Seaward’s own smartRUDDER system of pivoting pedals is a secure alternative to sliding foot pedals. The pedals are built of hard anodized hardened marine aluminum covered with non-skid tape. Pivoting the ball of the foot forward cranks the rudder while keeping the foot arch, heels and knees solidly braced. Sensitive West coast company Seaward anticipated the `divorce boat’ potential of tandems and offers an optional dual steering system that allows control from either cockpit. ($224 Cdn).

2. The Next Generation
We can think of no better way to introduce the next generation to the wonders of kayaking than to sit them in the G3’s optional fiber glass ventre seat ($144 cdn). At first they ‘ll love it, and by the time they outgrow it they’ll be big enough to get a kayak of their own. Ma and Pa can jettison the seat and have 180 litres of dry storage in that empty nest for a long expedition. The extra large opening is perfect for packing awkward items, and seals like any ordinary storage hatch complete with a neoprene inner and fiber glass cover. With the centre hatch the Passat G3 has 348 litres of dry storage in total – 115 litres more than the standard Passat – and less cockpit area to flood if you flip.

3. Practical Posterior.
Both front and stern cockpits are large enough to fit folks up to six foot two, possibly bigger. Seawards seat are unique – removable fabric covered foam cushions that sit right on the bottom of the boat. The cushions are designed to be unclipped from the boat for use as an instant paddle float (or camp chair). Clever! This system trades the rigid support of a plastic bucket seat for a soft and roomy feel, fitting all sizes of derrieres and making it extra easy to add more foam for a complete custom fit.

Best Double Kayak
Passat by Seaward Kayaks

We reviewed the Passat in 1999, and it was a hit with the reviewers: “The Passat is a rewarding boat to paddle. It had none of the bulky feel of many other doubles. It is a very comfortable boat to paddle in rough water and is a well thought-out and sensibly equipped double.” “This kayak will kick the pants off of other doubles.”

The 22’ Passat is long and lean. Its 26” beam is narrow in comparison to other doubles, where a beam of 28” to 30” is typical. The narrower beam gives the Passat a bit less stability than wider doubles, but it still has a feeling of stability greater than that of most singles. The narrow beam creates good clearance for paddling—especially for the stern paddler who sits just at the widest part of the kayak—and feels very much like paddling a single. The distance between the cockpits keeps paddles from clashing. On the Passat G3 the cockpits are even farther apart, making room for a bulkheaded cargo or kid compartment in the middle of the kayak. The Passat will make good headway in sloppy water and a pair of strong paddlers can get the Passat moving at 6.5 knots. Loping along at a more relaxed pace, it is easy to sustain 5 knots. The Passat is a capable kayak that will, as one of our reviewers put it, “tempt a pair of motivated paddlers to perfect tandem rolls, braces and other advanced kayaking skills.”