I was wandering what kinda kayaks yall paddle and why.I paddle a hard chine Greenland Style kayak because I like the v-bottom for tracking, the hard chines for carving a turn and ease of building stitch and glue.The low volume appeals to me and living in Florida the wet ride doesn't matter as much. I don't care for the British style Kayaks with there rounded hulls and low initial stability. A few of the like the North Shore have rounded off the hard chine but are closer to the Greenland style, but are to tight to be comfortable for me to paddle.I design and build my own kayaks to fit my self and style of paddling. If I was to ever buy a kayak I would buy a Arctic Hawk, preferably a mahogany one from Superior Kayaks. If not then a fiberglass one from Wilderness Systems. I tried a Betsy Bay Kayak but it was a tight fit.I took the skin off the top of my knees getting in , then could not move around inside . I was stuck in the position I entered. So I marked that one off my list. What is your favorite kayak and Why? Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
dldecker_at_mediaone.net wrote: > I was wandering what kinda kayaks yall paddle and why Me? A Klepper Aerius II Expedition and a Folbot Aleut. The reason why can be found in the web page cited in my sig file, below. The short answer is that the Aleut is the most boat I can backpack, and the Klepper is the only ocean-crossing craft I can fit in my Saturn wagon ;-) --mike ---------------------------------------- Michael J Edelman mje_at_mich.com http://www.mich.com/~mje http://www.mich.com/~mje/kayak.html http://www.mich.com/~mje/scope.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
dldecker_at_mediaone.net wrote: > > I was wandering what kinda kayaks yall paddle and why.I paddle a hard chine > Greenland Style kayak because I like the v-bottom for tracking, the hard > chines for carving a turn and ease of building stitch and glue. [snip] > I tried a Betsy Bay Kayak but it was a tight fit.I took the skin off the top > of my knees getting in , then could not move around inside . Like you, I go for performance and fit. Because I'm a big guy in the cockpit area (225 lbs), I need a lot of vertical distance at the forward edge of the cockpit so I can get enough knee lift to avoid leg problems and generally be comfy. Also, I need a larger boat to get one with a "design load" that fits my needs. So, my choices in striving for "performance" are compromised by my size, somewhat. I have two main boats in this "big guy" class: 1. The main machine, for long trips and when I want a stable platform for bird-watching and leisurely lunches in nasty chop: Eddyline Wind Dancer, an older glass design, enormous volume, especially forward of the cockpit, having an "oval" cross section in the center with shallow VEE fore and aft. Tracks well, will do a leaned turn if you work at it, and carries the gear. Slow, slow, slow. Hagen from Bellingham was surprised I was able to find a slower boat than the Dancer. [An Orca, maybe 20 year-old Eddyline design.] 2. The sporty day boat: Pygmy Osprey Std, a "multichine" stitch and glue with less beam than the Dancer. Does leaned turns with grace, tracks well, and is only 38 lbs (!) -- owing to the sng construction, no bulkheads, and short length (15.5 ft). Very fast boat -- stays up with much sleeker designs -- and handles well in small surf. More durable than the Dancer. Much less initial stability, but worth it. I've paddled this with overnight gear, but suspect that a week's food, etc., would overload it with my bod in it. For a 150 lb-er, though, it would be pretty sweet, I think. 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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
Sea kayak tripping: Boreal Sagauney (no name for mine yet) -- big greenland design -- solid fibreglass construction -- great tracking, very responsive for quick severe leans in big water, holds a ton of gear below deck, quick for its size Calm water day and weekend kayaking: Anything for 2 people by Struer (don't own one, just fix 'em and fly 'em out of the Sudbury and London clubs) -- sprint design -- ultra-light wood construction -- goes like stink, wonderful for chains of little lakes, terrific to be able to focus on full body stroke and to work with a partner, aesthetically lovely Canoe tripping: Swift/Winters Albany (call mine "The Ark") -- big asymetrical design -- ABS construction, full spray cover, thigh straps etc. -- amazing combination of speed, responsiveness in rough water, and cargo capacity, perfect for long trips which combine ww rivers and open ocean Wild Water Kayaking: Perception Corsica Matrix (call mine "Oxygen") -- moderately large, short flat hull design -- rotomolded plastic construction -- a terrific big water boat (not a play boat), stable platform, excellent hull shape for ferries Canoe Lounging: Chestnut (don't know model, about 15.5') (call mine "Anodyomene") -- small shallow arch design -- wood and canvas construction -- ideal for bobbing about in the sunshine while lying on PFD's and reading Fast Canoeing: Jensen J-210 (no name, no personality so I doubt if it will get one) -- extreme asymetrical, flat hull design -- ultra-light kevlar construction -- it moves extremely quickly, but just is not seaworthy the way a semi-circular or shallow arch sprint kayak is -- great for speeding about on calm water and jogging portages, but otherwise useless Buddy Boat: LPA River Runner R5 (no name, would be a bit like naming a soup spoon) -- inexpensive big stable plastic kayak thing -- works equally poorly on open water and wild water, which makes it amazing versatile to bring along for new paddlers who otherwise would have to be left at home Wish List: --Build a Caribou Eskimo kayak -- very similar to a sprint boat, traditionally used by people on the rivers on the west side of Hudson's Bay to attack caribou at water crossings --Save up for a Pintail -- terrific small sea kayak play boat, great for messing about down at the beach --Get my hands on an old Javelin sprint K1 for days my partner can't make the K2 -- I just don't seem to be able to fully relax in my Jensen C1, so I'd like to go back to a solo sprint K1 where I don't have to worry about moderate wind and waves Richard Culpeper www.geocities.com/~culpeper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
On Sun, 15 Feb 1998 dldecker_at_mediaone.net wrote: > I was wandering what kinda kayaks yall paddle and why. I'm lucky in that I can chose. I also haven't done any tripping in the kayaks, so my bias is toward playing, racing or day tripping. If the temperatures are comfortable and I want to go for a workout I use our Futura surf ski. A ludicrous craft, it turns horribly and is very tippy, but fun to go fast in. I got it used, it's original owner used it in the Finlandia Challenge. If the water is rough or it's dry suit weather I use our VCP Pintail. I also love to play around and practice new skills in the PinTail. It's a wonderfully stable maneuverable boat, but not as fast as our other boats. My wife's Nordkapp, if I'm taking someone out and they need to borrow a boat I use this, they get the pintail, or I use the Nordkapp for sea kayak races. My skin/frame baidarka is being reskinned. I'm not sure where it fits in my usage list. I do love paddling it in chop and small waves. kirk *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
(SNIP) >If I was to ever buy a kayak I would buy a >Arctic Hawk, preferably a mahogany one from Superior Kayaks. If not then a >fiberglass one from Wilderness Systems. (SNIP) I usually paddle the light version of the Arctic Hawk from Wilderness Systems. I bought it slightly used at a reasonable price. It is a great boat but in retrospect I committed the common mistake of getting a boat that is too big for me. The Sparrow Hawk is probably more appropriate for me (5' 5" and 150 pounds). The boat is extremely light, no bulkheads or hatches, and very fast. I have been told by other people that they think it is too tippy but I have never had a problem with it and it does have good secondary stability. It tracks well and carves a turn beautifully but it is rather sensitive to waves. Following the other thread (Ballast) I am thinking of experimenting with some ballast to see if it improves the ride. My other boat is an Easy Rider Eskimo 17 (Take Apart) which is wonderful for trips; roomy, comfortable, and stable as a rock. I should use it more often... - Saeid ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Saeid Zoonematkermani | EMail: Saeid.Zoonematkermani_at_sunysb.edu| | Dept. of Physics & Astronomy | URL: http://ozone.ess.sunysb.edu/ | | State University of New York | Voice: (+1) (516) 632-8237 | | Stony Brook, NY 11794-3800 | Fax: (+1) (516) 632-8742 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
I built a San Javier hard chine stitch and glue from a kit. Next I built a Pygmy Golden Eye from plans and altered that boat a little bit. Now Megan and I paddle boats that I've designed, all in stitch and glue. We have a multichine and a Greenland style hard chine boat. I'm fascinated with the Greenland style and believe some variant of this design is probably what you should be paddling if you're talking about weighting down your Wind Dancer (or whatever) with lead shot. I have a few more designs on the drawing board. I'm also working on a surf playboat, and will eventually design a double. Oh yes, we also both have Feathercraft K-lights. Haven't put these boats into challenging conditions yet, but they sure are fun to paddle, especially knowing anywhere in the world that we can drag a backpack to is a potential launch site.
dldecker_at_mediaone.net wrote:
I was wandering what kinda kayaks yall paddle and why.*************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
Ron Johnson wrote: --snip-- > I knew on an intellectual level that this activity could get > expensive, but > I got used boats and lulled myself into a false sense of frugality > till I > bought cartop racks, a paddle, a PFD, and a spraydeck -- for almost as > much > as I paid for the two boats together! At least this activity gives a > focus > for gifts -- my wife gave me a bilge pump and a sponge for Valentine's > Day > -- isn't that romantic? --snip-- 1) Never trust anyone who spends more on their car than their boats. 2) What do you mean a bilge pump is not romantic? 3) Welcome to a wonderful way of life! Cheers, Richard Culpeper www.geocities.com/~culpeper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
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