Clyde wrote: snip They looked so fragile but were probably very strong although I would guess they flex a lot over swells. I would be afraid to step into (through) one and would constantly worry about ripping the shell. How do you beach them? I'd probably do a wet exit to keep from damaging them when landing. I paddle Maine with lots of rocks so I prefer a tank :-). Common misconception. I paddle a skin boat (Baidarka) with a balistic woven nylon skin which is coated with a polyurethane resin. I took a sample of skin and tried to cut it open with the corner of a wood chisle and was only able to make a little scratch in the resin. The frame is made of yellow cedar, red cedar and white oak. It looks fragile but it isn't. I can stand on the deck and bounce up and down. The boat will flex and twist on impact and avoid damage where a fiberglass boat would break. (I know because I've busted fiberglass boats and watched several friends do the same.) My skin boat weighs only 33 lbs. and is more responsive than any fiberglass or plastic sea kayak I've paddled. I built the boat in Corey Freedman's shop (Spirit Line Kayaks http://www.skinboats.com) near Anacortes Washington. He hears this "fragile" stuff all the time. If you see one of his demonstrations you will be a believer. One of my friends watched Corey unload a trailer full of skin boats at Bowman Bay by throwing each boat to the ground. They bounce. I paddle the Washington Coast and inland waters with lots of rocks also, so I prefer my skin boat. :~) Rex *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Mar 23 1998 - 22:58:50 PST
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