Rockpool Bach Eto test and review by: Dave Brown
About the test paddling conditions and paddler:
The Alaw Eto is a reincarnation of the much loved and paddled Alaw Bach. The boat itself is not an entirely new boat, however, it has had several significant and performance changing modifications.
The Alaw Eto was paddled on numerous occasions in a variety of directions in winds including force 5-6 and in tidal flow of around 5 knots. The paddler was 60kgs in weight and 176cm in height.
Design
The Alaw Eto is foremost, much like its predecessor, a reliable boat and proved great as a functional workspace, as well as playful craft in flat, windy, swell, rough water and big rolling seas.
Ergonomics, functionality and construction have always been at the forefront of the Rockpool design ethos, and this has not been compromised in the Eto. The seat, knee or thigh contacts and angled footplate are still very well positioned and shaped as we have come to expect from this pedigree.
It would be very easy to see a ‘new’ boat pop out of a mould that has had a mere facelift, decrease in construction standard and fitted out with lower quality fittings; however, this is not the case with the Rockpool boats. The Alaw Eto has not lost any of the high standards of Rockpool and if anything, the whole reason behind the Eto is to upgrade the Alaw concept and improve upon the design. This is based on feedback from the customers, the clients who have bought the Alaw Bach and the paddlers who have taken the Alaw Bach far and wide, in all sorts of conditions. This feedback has been important to the design team at Rockpool to ensure the boats are improving and moving with the times.
The Eto, in it’s Alaw skeleton, has had a few significant facelift ‘nips and tucks’. It has had more volume added at the bow to enable a smoother, drier, over the wave ride; accompanying this, the profile of the bow has changed slightly and looks less flat from the sides. The rocker has been adjusted, the seat and cockpit have been repositioned and the deck-line configuration has been improved. However, for me, probably the most significant alteration, ahead of the seat and cockpit reposition, is the hull, rocker and stern combination, that through some of the Rockpool magic seems to not lose speed, maintains a high level of manoeuvrability and yet seems relatively unaffected by the wind, even when on the beam or stern quarters. This meant that on many occasions the skeg, which I will mention in a little while, was not needed, nor even considered. This never fails to blow my mind when comparing performance with other boats where the skeg is constantly being twitched to manage the weather cocking effect of the wind.
The Eto, even as a next generation version of the Alaw Bach, has maintained the performance characteristics that have made it so popular. It is very responsive even when carrying a light load; yet tracks easily without compromise. It is able to maintain and carry speed and will easily allow the paddler to sit comfortably paced alongside friends and other paddlers whilst cruising. There is plenty of volume to make it an excellent mini-break boat and for the conservative packer, a week or more of kit could be squeezed in. The hatches seal well and easily, no 30 minute fight to stretch a cover over the rim. The hatches are set up in the modern and almost standard 4 hatch configuration of bow and stern hatch, day hatch behind the seat and an easy access snack, flare, immediate essentials hatch just in front of the cockpit rim. All the hatch covers are kayaksport in brand, again, no compromise on quality.
As mentioned earlier, I said I would come to the Skeg. Under the keel shaped stern, there is also Rockpool’s unique drop down skeg design, still utilising the traditional cable and blade, but threaded in Rockpool’s unique way so as to engage the skeg on a pull of the cable rather than trying to push a cable, as with other boats on the market. Of course, the skeg, where rarely required is simple and effective to use.
The skeg slider is moved forward to lower the blade, which takes a little getting used to, but is extremely effective, functional and virtually maintenance free. The skeg box itself takes up very little room inside the hull and has very narrow clearances when looking at the blade in the hull. This is excellent, because it reduces the chances of trapping pebbles and stones and rendering the skeg useless or even broken. The actual mechanics make the handling of this skeg system particularly smooth and easy to use. The overall design concept for the Rockpool skeg is to be relatively more kink proof than most boats’ standard cable based skeg systems, and of course, it works.
The Eto, even with its distinctive Rockpool keel shaped stern, that looks like it would make the boat track strictly, was very responsive. This squashed my preconception that it might be, on this occasion, too hard. However, combined with the correct amount of rocker, the distribution of midsection volume allows the ends to release when edged correctly and confidently and therefore, creates a very responsive boat when required.
Construction, finish, fittings and ergonomics:
As with all Rockpool boats, there are a number of constructions and manufacturing processes available to suit both pocket and requirements for lightness. Of course there are the usual bespoke colour scheme requests that can be matched by Rockpool, allowing the paddler a chance of owning their own uniquely coloured boat.
In addition, there are a few options for seat size and fit. This is a fantastic bespoke option, given that most sea paddlers are very lazy when it comes to fitting out the seat of the boat considering they spend a lot of time in it and the main transfer of power and balance of the boat is executed through the seat area.
Part of the Alaw Eto upgrade is the position of the cockpit in relation to the deck outfitting. One thing that was of note with the Alaw Bach was that the rear of the cockpit was quite far back, meaning that in practical terms getting the deck on was more work than it needed to be. The result in rougher water or surf entries was that there was increased chance of water getting in the cockpit whilst putting the deck on. Not anymore, that rim has been moved closer and the seat base position adjusted accordingly. Little things can make a massive difference in certain conditions.
As with most of the other Rockpool models in the fleet, the seat and the footrest plate are both adjustable for longitudinal position in the cockpit and as is standard in the Rockpool crafts; this is done via a number of wing-nuts. As mentioned the footplate is angled with the heel contact area being closer than the toe contact area, making for a very ergonomic foot position. This for me has certainly resulted in less back strain following a day of paddling and has massively reduced that sea paddlers necessity of getting out of the boat at the beach needing to ‘discover’ my own legs again and arch my back to regain some posture correction.
The seat and footrest adjustability is gained from internally fitted and housed rails, omitting any holes through the boat for bolt positions, thus making the hull completely watertight. Overall, it provides an easy to adjust and position, functional system yet with consideration for the challenging environment we place our boats and ourselves in and the need for maintaining a watertight hull.
Rockpool’s attention to detail and overall finish, is of course, outstanding, with thought given to every piece of equipment; fixtures and fitting thoroughly considered for position, use, function and form. The deckline configuration has been altered to make the front deck more workable whilst navigating, whilst also providing storage for those who carry split paddles on the front. The rear deck lines also appear to have been altered slightly.
Dimensions:
The Eto is of the slightly shorter in length than the original Alaw Bach, on which it is based, at a little under 17 feet or 5.2m. It has a little more volume at the bow and more room in the cockpit area, coming in at slightly around 335 litres of volume which, as mentioned above will allow easily for mini-breaks and conservatively packed expeditions.
The final accurate dimensions and volume figures are yet to be published by Rockpool.
Conclusion:
This Rockpool boat, as one of the next generation boats, is an outstanding paddle. Having paddled an Alaw Bach on numerous occasions through the past 15-20 years, I was interested to see what could be done with the iconic design and I was extremely surprised by the performance increase from the minor, yet significant, improvements. In the past 5 months of paddling this, it has ended up becoming my go to boat, which in itself, speaks volumes for me.
I have said it before about the Rockpool boats in that they are no agricultural vehicle; they are definitely in the performance end of the bracket with comfortable fittings and ergonomics and high performance materials and functional designs.
Overall, the Alaw Eto is paving the way for the redevelopment of the Rockpool fleet as they move into their next generation. I thought they had it right before, but they have just made it even better.
About the test paddling conditions and paddler:
The Alaw Eto is a reincarnation of the much loved and paddled Alaw Bach. The boat itself is not an entirely new boat, however, it has had several significant and performance changing modifications.
The Alaw Eto was paddled on numerous occasions in a variety of directions in winds including force 5-6 and in tidal flow of around 5 knots. The paddler was 60kgs in weight and 176cm in height.
Design
The Alaw Eto is foremost, much like its predecessor, a reliable boat and proved great as a functional workspace, as well as playful craft in flat, windy, swell, rough water and big rolling seas.
Ergonomics, functionality and construction have always been at the forefront of the Rockpool design ethos, and this has not been compromised in the Eto. The seat, knee or thigh contacts and angled footplate are still very well positioned and shaped as we have come to expect from this pedigree.
It would be very easy to see a ‘new’ boat pop out of a mould that has had a mere facelift, decrease in construction standard and fitted out with lower quality fittings; however, this is not the case with the Rockpool boats. The Alaw Eto has not lost any of the high standards of Rockpool and if anything, the whole reason behind the Eto is to upgrade the Alaw concept and improve upon the design. This is based on feedback from the customers, the clients who have bought the Alaw Bach and the paddlers who have taken the Alaw Bach far and wide, in all sorts of conditions. This feedback has been important to the design team at Rockpool to ensure the boats are improving and moving with the times.
The Eto, in it’s Alaw skeleton, has had a few significant facelift ‘nips and tucks’. It has had more volume added at the bow to enable a smoother, drier, over the wave ride; accompanying this, the profile of the bow has changed slightly and looks less flat from the sides. The rocker has been adjusted, the seat and cockpit have been repositioned and the deck-line configuration has been improved. However, for me, probably the most significant alteration, ahead of the seat and cockpit reposition, is the hull, rocker and stern combination, that through some of the Rockpool magic seems to not lose speed, maintains a high level of manoeuvrability and yet seems relatively unaffected by the wind, even when on the beam or stern quarters. This meant that on many occasions the skeg, which I will mention in a little while, was not needed, nor even considered. This never fails to blow my mind when comparing performance with other boats where the skeg is constantly being twitched to manage the weather cocking effect of the wind.
The Eto, even as a next generation version of the Alaw Bach, has maintained the performance characteristics that have made it so popular. It is very responsive even when carrying a light load; yet tracks easily without compromise. It is able to maintain and carry speed and will easily allow the paddler to sit comfortably paced alongside friends and other paddlers whilst cruising. There is plenty of volume to make it an excellent mini-break boat and for the conservative packer, a week or more of kit could be squeezed in. The hatches seal well and easily, no 30 minute fight to stretch a cover over the rim. The hatches are set up in the modern and almost standard 4 hatch configuration of bow and stern hatch, day hatch behind the seat and an easy access snack, flare, immediate essentials hatch just in front of the cockpit rim. All the hatch covers are kayaksport in brand, again, no compromise on quality.
As mentioned earlier, I said I would come to the Skeg. Under the keel shaped stern, there is also Rockpool’s unique drop down skeg design, still utilising the traditional cable and blade, but threaded in Rockpool’s unique way so as to engage the skeg on a pull of the cable rather than trying to push a cable, as with other boats on the market. Of course, the skeg, where rarely required is simple and effective to use.
The skeg slider is moved forward to lower the blade, which takes a little getting used to, but is extremely effective, functional and virtually maintenance free. The skeg box itself takes up very little room inside the hull and has very narrow clearances when looking at the blade in the hull. This is excellent, because it reduces the chances of trapping pebbles and stones and rendering the skeg useless or even broken. The actual mechanics make the handling of this skeg system particularly smooth and easy to use. The overall design concept for the Rockpool skeg is to be relatively more kink proof than most boats’ standard cable based skeg systems, and of course, it works.
The Eto, even with its distinctive Rockpool keel shaped stern, that looks like it would make the boat track strictly, was very responsive. This squashed my preconception that it might be, on this occasion, too hard. However, combined with the correct amount of rocker, the distribution of midsection volume allows the ends to release when edged correctly and confidently and therefore, creates a very responsive boat when required.
Construction, finish, fittings and ergonomics:
As with all Rockpool boats, there are a number of constructions and manufacturing processes available to suit both pocket and requirements for lightness. Of course there are the usual bespoke colour scheme requests that can be matched by Rockpool, allowing the paddler a chance of owning their own uniquely coloured boat.
In addition, there are a few options for seat size and fit. This is a fantastic bespoke option, given that most sea paddlers are very lazy when it comes to fitting out the seat of the boat considering they spend a lot of time in it and the main transfer of power and balance of the boat is executed through the seat area.
Part of the Alaw Eto upgrade is the position of the cockpit in relation to the deck outfitting. One thing that was of note with the Alaw Bach was that the rear of the cockpit was quite far back, meaning that in practical terms getting the deck on was more work than it needed to be. The result in rougher water or surf entries was that there was increased chance of water getting in the cockpit whilst putting the deck on. Not anymore, that rim has been moved closer and the seat base position adjusted accordingly. Little things can make a massive difference in certain conditions.
As with most of the other Rockpool models in the fleet, the seat and the footrest plate are both adjustable for longitudinal position in the cockpit and as is standard in the Rockpool crafts; this is done via a number of wing-nuts. As mentioned the footplate is angled with the heel contact area being closer than the toe contact area, making for a very ergonomic foot position. This for me has certainly resulted in less back strain following a day of paddling and has massively reduced that sea paddlers necessity of getting out of the boat at the beach needing to ‘discover’ my own legs again and arch my back to regain some posture correction.
The seat and footrest adjustability is gained from internally fitted and housed rails, omitting any holes through the boat for bolt positions, thus making the hull completely watertight. Overall, it provides an easy to adjust and position, functional system yet with consideration for the challenging environment we place our boats and ourselves in and the need for maintaining a watertight hull.
Rockpool’s attention to detail and overall finish, is of course, outstanding, with thought given to every piece of equipment; fixtures and fitting thoroughly considered for position, use, function and form. The deckline configuration has been altered to make the front deck more workable whilst navigating, whilst also providing storage for those who carry split paddles on the front. The rear deck lines also appear to have been altered slightly.
Dimensions:
The Eto is of the slightly shorter in length than the original Alaw Bach, on which it is based, at a little under 17 feet or 5.2m. It has a little more volume at the bow and more room in the cockpit area, coming in at slightly around 335 litres of volume which, as mentioned above will allow easily for mini-breaks and conservatively packed expeditions.
The final accurate dimensions and volume figures are yet to be published by Rockpool.
Conclusion:
This Rockpool boat, as one of the next generation boats, is an outstanding paddle. Having paddled an Alaw Bach on numerous occasions through the past 15-20 years, I was interested to see what could be done with the iconic design and I was extremely surprised by the performance increase from the minor, yet significant, improvements. In the past 5 months of paddling this, it has ended up becoming my go to boat, which in itself, speaks volumes for me.
I have said it before about the Rockpool boats in that they are no agricultural vehicle; they are definitely in the performance end of the bracket with comfortable fittings and ergonomics and high performance materials and functional designs.
Overall, the Alaw Eto is paving the way for the redevelopment of the Rockpool fleet as they move into their next generation. I thought they had it right before, but they have just made it even better.
