Re: [Paddlewise] What do you paddle?

At 08:50 PM 2/15/98 -0800, Dave Kruger wrote:

>Others of my size here in the Pacific Northwest like the Current Designs
>Solstice line, in the GT "High volume" configuration, notably my buddy
>Noel from Bellingham.
>
>-- 
>Dave Kruger
>Astoria, OR

        I opted for the Solstice GTS because I got a good price on it. But
more than price, it's a fast boat which is useful for when I paddle with the
"Young Turks" around Astoria who are half my age and twice as mean. 

        My plastic Aquaterra Sea Lion was a good boat for expeditions and
beating around, but I was unable to keep up with most other paddlers in it.
Nonetheless, it's the number one boat of choice for a lot of the paddlers in
OOPS (Oregon Ocean Paddlers Society).

        The GTS is medium volume at 96 US gallons (22" X 17'7" --43 lbs.
fiberglass) and has a fish form, shallow V hull with soft chines. There's
been comments on this server that it's not "nimble" and it *is* a tracker
that stays on course. I find, however, that the slightest tip to the side
neatly turns the boat around obstacles in the water or corrects course. I've
been told it's "tender," but it doesn't feel tippy or unstable to me. 

        What I really like about the Solstice GTS is that it rides waves
very easily. It's secure feeling in heavy seas no matter how they're coming
at me. The bow cuts into heavy waves and then rises over them. It's a wet
deck kind of ride. The GTS catches the smallest of following waves and
glides with them easily, with little tendency to broach. I've never had the
rudder down, and I don't think the other paddler's using it out of Pacific
Wave have used the rudder either. It's a tracker. 

        At 96 gallons, it may lack the cargo capacity of my Sea Lion, but I
tend to pack light on the long expeditions. . . something Thoreau and the
Transcendentalists taught me early in my undergraduate studies. 

        My other boat is an Old Town Otter, a "Pokey" that I use for fly
fishing and horsing around (28" X 9'6" --40 lbs. plastic). It's got a big
open cockpit with plenty of room for fishing gear and a six-pack. And you
can curl up and snooze in it without drowning! 

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