>The boat was incredibly stable, but making headway in a fairly strong >wind with a good rip current was a real battle when crossing La Partida. >My guys in the Sealution and Necky Narpa were struggling too, but at >least they were able to maintain a course and concentrate their efforts >on paddling. I was literally doing a sweep paddle most of the way across >(2, 3 or 4 sweeps on the right, one short stroke on left) to keep the >boat headed in the right direction and maintain some forward momentum. >It was challenging paddling for everyone, but the pointed bow and >sleeker design of the Sealution in particular seemed to be the most >efficient in those conditions. I've read the posts about learning to keep the boat straight, and I believe them all. In a couple of years I'm sure I'll be able to track without a problem. But FWIW, I had a full day instruction in the Necky and found it to be a huge pain in the [insert euphamism here]. It tracked like a top. My girlfriend was in a Sealution and had no problem. I spent most of my day on my hip trying to stop turning into the wind. In hindsight, it was a good instruction experience. The instructor wouldn't let me use the rudder so I learned early on that leaning is important. But if I were on a 7-day camping trip I would have seriously considered hiking into town for an outboard motor. Some boats track well and some don't. BTW, thanks to everyone who sent me their opinions on boats. The feedback has really helped. Since I just found out I'm being reassigned to South Florida for 2 months, I will be putting off the purchase. This just gives me a better chance to try out some of those tips I was given. Thanks everybody. La lucha sigue, Dan Horowitz DanH_at_gdi.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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