[Paddlewise] Paddlesport 99 and Feathercraft

On March 18, 1999 Ralph Diaz wrote:

>If you have a question regarding the models, assembly, etc. he is the
>guy to ask.  He will be at the Feathercraft booth.  Also with him is
>Anna (I forget her last name).  She is the person who makes the K-1. 
>All Feathercrafts, with the exception of the K-Lights, are made by a
>designated person.  Skins are sewn by a team of individuals but that
>designated person does all the frame bars and crossribs; he or she cuts,
>burnishes and elaborates these from basic aluminum tubing and
>polyethylene sheets.  Anna is _the_ K-1 lady.

>From my experience, the situation with the K-Light isn't all that
different.  True, some parts are `mass'-produced, but otherwise the
K-Lights also seem to be made by a single designated person. I discovered
this last summer when my K-Light suffered a leaky sponson while I
happened, as excellent luck would have it, to be in the Vancouver area. So
I took it to the Feathercraft factory on Granville Island. Needless to
say, they undertook to replace the sponson immediately (seems the sponsons
are made by another company and have had some quality-control problems). I
was brought to the workbench of a woman who was introduced as "the person
who has been making all the K-Lights for the last few years."  When I
evinced some surprise, she showed me her signature on a tag on the inside
of the skin. Seems she has to literally `sign off' on each boat she
completes. 

Incidentally, the most remarkable comment she made during the conversation
we had while she was replacing the sponson came when I was raving about
the K-Light's performance. "Actually, I've never paddled one," she said.
Turned out her paddling inexperience wasn't limited to the K-Light.  She
said she'd only tried kayaking once in her life, found it uncomfortable
and frightening, and never been tempted to try it again.  Kind of amazing
for a woman who has single-handedly made so many fine paddle-craft.  Makes
me wonder whether Stradivarius ever actually played the violin. 

David Kosofsky
Seoul, Korea

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************