Re: [Paddlewise] What Kayak to Buy?

The comments on glass vs plastic were super.  No doubt glass is great (I own
an old car made of the stuff!)  but I paddle a plastic seakayak.  In fact, I
just purchased a Current Designs Squall.  First, as an intermediate level guy
I couldn't commit to the cost of a glass boat.  Thats a big factor to a lot of
people. Despite the nasty comments by "experts" like Derek Hutchinson, I have
found that plastic fits my needs, abilities and environment quite nicely.  I
tend to not take care of my boats very gingerly.  I slide them onto the roof
of my car.  On occasion, I have lost control and dropped them off the car
(broke the windshield, dented the fender and bent a mirror in 3 separate
incidents).  Basically, the boat just bounces.  I kayak as a part of a rebuild
of a back injury.  Unfortunately, I tend to drag my boat over rough terrain
rather than risk a re-injury (soon that will change).  Yes, the bottom of the
boat scratches, yes, it is wrong to do, yes it hastens the vessels demise but
I'm out there... you gotta have priorities. I would rather be abusing my
plastic boat than worrying about a much more expensive glass beauty.  Also, I
tend to think that I will outgrow a boat in 2 or so years as I move up the
ability ladder or choose between racing and camping etc.  So, the long-term
survivability/repair things are a non-issue.
Choose your material based on what will work for you, your
lifestyle/paddlestyle, your long term outlook and your budget.  Don't just
rule out plastic because its not "the best".  There is a nice niche for the
material in seakayak construction.
How did I choose the boat?  I went to a demo day.  Spent an afternoon flailing
around in all the boats.  I tried glass so that I had a feel for what was
"good".  I tried "expert" boats, British boats, Greenland boats, round boats,
yellow boats, fat boats etc etc.  After a while it became very clear what was
"good" for me.  It was a combo of speed, fit, secondary stability and out of
the box "ready to go" product (I don't have time rite now to start foaming,
ruddering, building, rigging and customising).  This Squall was the nicest
handling, tracking, fitting etc boat in the plastic fleet (for me). It didn't
weathercock (most annoying to me), It fit (me) nearly perfectly, It had a nice
rudder system (had never used a rudder before that day)  etc.  I found it to
be similar in handling to the CD glass GTS/HV model (#1 choice).  It also had
all the room I need for camping. As I narrowed the choices, I took a ride in
one then went back and toured the Squall.  I would do specific moves and
compare how each did.  Doing that rapidly gave you a good feel of what was
really happening in each boat.  So after a while it became clear which boats
were where I wanted to be. 
Lastly, the reason there are so many boat designs is that there are so many
different people with different tastes/needs/abilities.  Dont fall into the
trap of listening to someone tell you "well if your serious about riding a
force 10 wave get........" .  I listened to a bunch of decked out yakers wax
poetic how the British designs are so much better than anything on earth, no,
in the galaxy.  So I figured I would try a British boat (Valley). Oy, It
wasn't my cup of tea, as they say. The cockpit was crude and stark with juts
and ridges for things I know not what , the handling was, well, different
(really can't put my finger on it), the skeg worked sometimes or jammed and
overall I was not happy.  Now I'm sure there are people that love all the
stuff of that boat, it just didn't work for me.  Guess thats why I drive an
American car rather than a British one (I hit my head on all the Brit
machines)
So there you have it, another long winded, old buzzzard commentary on how nice
it is to have a choice.    
Tom          
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