Re: [Paddlewise] ?? for old salts and old farts...

Hi Ralph,

As a coauthor of soon to be released kayak books I am of course praying for a
growing number of kayakers so that with royalties, maybe in ten years time I
can get my labor rate for four months of full time work up to the current
minimum wage!  I have not seen any figures on the number of sea kayakers in the
US, but if anyone on the list has the demographic info I would be very
interested.  The sport may or may not have reached a steady-state number of
participants on the Coasts, but in the Midwest it seems to still be growing
rapidly.  When Sarah and I talked to store owners all over the Great Lakes the
typical response was that they were seeing boat sales increase by 25 to 30%
each year during the last five years.  Also many of their customers who has
started out in small open cockpit boats (a Kiwi for example) on inland waters
were getting hooked on kayaking, improving their skills and coming back after a
season or two to buy a sea kayak.

rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com wrote:

> Karen H. wrote:
> >
> > I'm enjoying all the bios and am impressed by all the experience we've
> > got on this list!
> >
> > I was wondering, and maybe you people who have been involved with
> > kayaking forever can tell me... is there any person, or any
> > technological advance that's made a major contribution to the sport, or
> > changed it in a big way? In other words, is there a kayakers "Hall of
> > Fame"? Are there names or events we newbies should become familiar with?
>
> Good question, Karen.  In the folding kayak realm I would thing these
> three pivotal figures who I know personally and my reasons why:
>
> 1.  Dr. Hannes Lindemann.  His crossing of the Atlantic in a Klepper
> double in the mid-60s was not only a major feat that put a kayaker on
> the front page of a then major world wide magazine, LIFE, but also gave
> a great impetus to selling folding kayaks in the US and other countries
> for 20 years afterwards.
>
> 2.  Dieter Stiller.  Dieter ran Klepper's US operation for several
> decades until 1995 or so.  He introduced thousands upon thousands of
> people to the sport and was a conduit to the great number of military
> sales here and in other NATO countries.
>
> 3. Doug Simpson.  Co-founder of Feathercraft in the late 1970s and early
> 1980s.  He worked for MEC (the Canadian REI) and had an idea of a better
> folding kayak.  He built his first prototype using aluminum tubes and an
> adjustable set of wooden crosspieces to test various shapes; the
> prototype's skin was made from dress material by a girl friend.  He
> started production as a squatter in an abandoned industrial area in the
> middle of Vancouver (fascinating story).  Doug's designs and innovations
> have spouted out a number of Feathercraft models that have helped
> folding kayaks get a great deal of respect.
>
> In the hard shell world I can cite two individuals who I know well here
> on this coast:
>
> Chuck Sutherland.  Chuck lived in New York and now resides near
> Philadelphia. I consider Chuck a kind of Johnny Appleseed for paddling
> on the East Coast as he has done much to popularize the sport and to
> promote safety.  He once ran the SeaKayaking subcommittee of the ACA.
> Was instrumental in starting Anorak, a seminal kayaking newletter here
> on the East Coast.
>
> Ken Fink.  Ken was one of the originators of the first sea kayaking
> symposium...the LL Bean Symposium.  He also was one of the early
> importers of British kayaks.  A great instructor and speaker.  A highly
> respected individual and often controversial...very strong in his
> opinions.
>
> I am sure there are more but these guys make any list, I think.
>
> > And what do you think... is kayaking (as a sport) still in it's infancy,
> > and what changes might there be in the future? (The bike pedaled
> > sit-on-top comes to mind... I think it's a Hobie.)
>
> It probably has plateaued.  I doubt that there are more than 200,000 sea
> kayakers if that.  Compare that to other major recreational sports and
> the figure is quite modest.  One way you can figure out the universe for
> a sport is to take the leading publication, if has been around awhile,
> and say that it has probably penetrated 10 per cent of the readership.
> I think Sea Kayaker has around 20,000 to 25,000 readers (the figure has
> to be published as part of a statement of ownership and circulation).
> So that figure.
>
> The sea kayaking trade had its own trade group but for reasons of
> membership and costs, it recently merged with a more general paddling
> trade association. This is either a sign of just not having the numbers
> to support an industrial group or that the organization wasn't doing its
> job.  I think it was (I was a member for awhile) so you see...the
> industry isn't all that big.
>
> ralph diaz
> --
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
> PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
> Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
> "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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