RE: [Paddlewise] Quetico Provicial Park

 -----Original Message-----
From: Dan Hagen [mailto:dan_at_hagen.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 11:11 PM
To: PaddleWise
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Quetico Provicial Park


>While I agree with some of Chuck's remarks, I have a few points
>with which to quibble:
>
>> The main reason is that sea kayaks are much harder to portage than
>> canoes. First, you have to portage two kayaks instead of one canoe.
>
>Huh? This assumes a tandem canoe. Some of us paddle solo canoes for the
>same reasons that we paddle single kayaks.  Why would you paddle a
>single kayak but a tandem canoe?

Yes, I did assume a tandem canoe, but even solo canoes can be portaged
easier than a Sealution, especially if you want to carry a pack at the
same time. My experience with a Sealution kayak, which is what the
couple intends to use, is that it cannot be easily portaged by one
person. (See below.)

As for why a solo kayak but a tandem canoe, a partial answer is that
portaging a lightweight tandem canoe is quicker and easier than two solo
canoes, since one person can carry gear while the other is carrying the
canoe. The fewer the carries, the quicker and easier it is to portage
away from the crowds. On Lake Superior, I prefer a solo kayak because it
is as much a playboat as a means of transportation, and there are no
portages.

>> Second, they are heavier than a good lightweight fiberglass or Kevlar
>> canoe (my foam core, skin coat, fiberglass Jensen 18 weighs about 52
>> pounds; Kevlar versions weigh about 20 pounds less).
>
>According to Wenonah's figures, the lightest Jensen 18 weighs 39 pounds,
>and most lay-ups (including most Kevlar lay-ups) weigh well over 40
>pounds.  My Wenonah Advantage (a fast, solo cruiser) weighs 50 pounds in
>"Tough-Weave" with a center rib.  This compares with 42 pounds for my
>favorite sea kayak (a kevlar Caribou; the Caribou is also available in
>Carbon fiber at a weight of 29 pounds--just don't use it for
>surfing).

I stand corrected on the weight. Also, I think the standard model
Sealution is lighter than the one I used to own, which had a special
heavy-duty layup.

>> Third, it takes
>> two people to carry one Sealution versus one person to carry one canoe
>> for two people.
>
>If you think that it takes two people to portage a kayak then you either
>have the wrong kayak or the wrong portage system.  A kayak can be
>portaged from the center using the same basic approach as a canoe. (I
>won't bother to explain how this is done, as everyone on the Paddlewise
>list is smart enough to figure it out on their own.)

<snip>

We're talking Sealutions, not just any kayak, and my old Sealution did
not balance well for a solo carry, the center of balance being somewhere
around the front edge of the cockpit, if not ahead of it. Mine was a
1990 model, and maybe this has changed in the newer models. However,
the couple was planning to use slings, probably for a side-by-side
carry, rather than portaging their Sealutions individually.


Chuck Holst





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