Engel Lafayette or Akula II?

[SWESUB]

Hi,

My name is Mats and I´m new here on Subcommittee, but I have followed the community since early 2000. I´m 45 years old, live in Gothenburg Sweden and own an old Engel Typhoon that I bought in 2003.

I´m going to buy a new sub, and wonder about which one you recomend - The Lafayette or the Akula II? I like the Lafayette design and size more.

Best regards from Sweden

[eckloss]

Just speaking from personal experience, the Akula was a nice, fairly straightforward build. Had it done in about three days. Jim Butt has one of the Lafayettes and it looks like it would be a nice build as well. If you're leaning towards that one, I would say follow your desires and grab it. Jim's maneuvers great and makes for an imposing presence in the water.

[dono]

I don’t think you can go wrong with either boat, but I have no experience with the Akula.

I bought the Engel Lafayette in 2004 and launched her in early 2005. In fact I have run her every year since then. It is a great kit to build and run.

Last year I did my first overhaul of replacing the two battery packs and some water lines. Other than that she has had no real problems and always runs great.

[JWLaRue]

There is one difference between the two kits that you may wish to take into consideration:

The Akula II kit comes with a hull that is already assembled and painted. The Lafayette will require the type of hull construction as the Engel Typhoon.

-Jeff

[subdude]

Hello Mats, and welcome!

I own both the Lafayette and a 212a, (the 212a is basically the same as the Akula II except with an X tail) so can comment on both.

Jeff is mostly correct in that the Lafayette will require much more hull work than the Akula II to build. The Akula II hull is pre-built and painted, and so assembles very quickly. Both boats use the locking bayonet ring method of sealing the hull. (the Typhoon uses a dry box and a hatch).

The other consideration is size. The Akula II is a fairly small boat, and can be easily stored and transported. The Lafayette is a significantly longer boat, and thus takes more room to store and a larger vehicle to transport to the lake.

Either boat is a fine choice, and you really can't go wrong with either one. I'm very pleased with both of them.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide!

Jim Butt