In 1977 Sisson Kayaks negotiated to build the Nordkapp sea kayak under licence. Immediately adventurers sought out and purchased Sisson built Nordkapps. Initially the boat was offered as an empty shell with many options listed. This proved to be the wrong way to send customers to sea. Whilst he paddled around the South Island of NZ, Paul Caffyn's feedback allowed us to define the ideal fit-out for sea kayaks. Apart from the addition of rudders, this fit-out style still remains largely unchanged. Sure, because our boats have no (troublesome) gadgets splattered all over the deck, our Sea Kayaks look plain and boring in a kayak store. However, our Sea Kayaks look great on a beach in Fiordland! By 1985, years before any other business competitors entered the market, Sisson Kayak Nordkapps had been paddled around New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Click here to view a map of the world showing these trips. The Southern Light double kayak was released in 1989. This was the first New Zealand kayak with a central hold, bulkhead seats, rudder and cockpits spaced for non-sync paddling. The best selling Arctic Raider was introduced in 1991. This larger, faster, more stable kayak has sold by the thousand because of its user friendly efficient features. The Voyager was introduced to our range in 2001. Apart from the design, the real secret of our Sea Kayaks is the robust construction. In closing, it must be mentioned that a very high ratio of Sea Kayak hire operators have a Sisson Sea Kayak in their shed for their own exclusive use. They know that there is a difference!