When I got my first Feathercraft K-1 in about 1987 and was ready to go solo to the south China coast for a few weeks, it was obvious that I had to see how this kayak and I got along in lots of difficult situations. Rolling was the first test. Two of us used a regular western screw roll, landing face up on the back deck at the end of each roll. A friend and I went to a pool, inflated the integral sponsons, put on the spray deck and tried to roll the kayak. I screwed myself right out on my first try. I am well less than 5 feet high and didn't realize how much knee power it would take to keep myself in the kayak. On the second try I rolled up perfectly - no extra padding, just some "knee awareness." We next each tried a roll with the spray deck off, with the boat 1/4 full of water, 1/3 full, then 3/4 full. Every roll worked perfectly, except that we, just as in a loaded hard shell kayak, needed to slow down the roll as more water inside the kayak caused friction with the skin as the skin turned. Finally, we both sat on the ends of the kayak, simulating lots of internal weight, and splashed all the water we could in the almost underwater kayak. Again each of us rolled it up just fine. Later I tried unloaded rolls in fairly rough water, with no difficulty. We learned or confirmed: 1. Learn how to get a roll-tight fit with a kayak before you need to roll it. 2. Even a person hardly big enough for a cockpit can apply knee power to create a secure fit. 3. Try rolling under different load conditons to know what to expect (a slower roll in this case). 4. Of course, have an efficient roll to begin with! BTW the trip to China was great and, no, these boats (K1 and K2 double) are solid enough that we have never had to roll one in real conditions in over 150 days of fully loaded, expedition paddling, some in hellaciously rough conditions. But, yes, I have had to brace in big waves and knowing how to lock in definitely "saved several days" for me. Joanne Turner -- Southwind Kayak Center, Inc. 17855 Sky Park Circle #A, Irvine, CA 92614 U.S.A. 949-261-0200 or 800-SOUTHWIND (800-768-8494) info_at_southwindkayaks.com doug_at_southwindkayaks.com joanne_at_southwindkayaks.com http://www.southwindkayaks.com *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Feb 26 1999 - 14:40:43 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:05 PDT