In light of Doug Lloyd's encouragement for newbies not to be afraid of asking questions that have been asked before, and at the risk of re-opening a pandora's box, I have the following questions related to my anticipated purchase of a folding boat within the very near future. It will be my first boat, and I'm looking for something that's general purpose -- that I can use for day paddles as well as longer trips here on the West Coast (Southern California). I'm leaning towards a Feathercraft K-1. I paddled a Khatsalano in June and loved its speed and the way it carved turns, but I recognize that it would probably be too much for me as a novice paddler. The other alternative would be a Klepper Aerius I, which is appealing because of its apparent relative ease of assembly, but I would be concerned about its speed and being left behind when paddling with others in hardshells. I would appreciate any thoughts or insights you may have about these boats. Also -- and here's where I realize I'm opening up the pandora's box -- can I do without the rudders on the K-1 and the Klepper? I generally don't like rudders, and they appear to add an extra level of difficulty in assembling and taking down these boats. Thanks! - Gareth Evans > -----Original Message----- > From: Doug Lloyd [SMTP:dlloyd_at_bc.sympatico.ca] > Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 1999 9:12 PM > To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] WCSKS 99-Message Error > <snip> > And the last point, I hope the newbies out there who have been lurking for > awhile, won't be afraid to ask questions that have been dealt with before. > So what if we rehash stuff. The more a subject gets aired, the more little > bits of info one picks up. I think it's great, and I would go as far as to > say that I've gotten more out of a month of paddlewise than from a weekend > symposium. > > So, keep on posting, so I can have a life :-) ,and I'll keep on keeping > on, trying to post more carefully. > > BC'in Ya > Doug Lloyd > > > > > Hey gang, > > > > Kirby's comments were okay - his bark is worse than his bite. I was a > > little upset though, when Kirby said that dealers who didn't attend were > a > > bit childish. I hope no one feels that is my feeling too. I was simply > > disappointed that Matt/Cam weren't there with their kayaks, as I would > have > > loved to have tried them out; same with Seda and Eddyline. > > > > If Matt doesn't want to bring his boats, that is *his* choice. Maybe he > has > > good reasons. > > > > I'll just have to make the "pilgrimage" to mecca (Seattle) sometime > soon. I > > hear it is a religious experience. In the meantime, I shall bow four > times > > a day, in this case, South!!! > > > > BC'in Ya > > Doug Lloyd > > > > ************************************************************************** > * > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > ************************************************************************** > * *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Evans, Gareth T. wrote: > > It will be my first boat, and I'm looking for something that's general > purpose -- that I can use for day paddles as well as longer trips here on > the West Coast (Southern California). I'm leaning towards a Feathercraft > K-1. I paddled a Khatsalano in June and loved its speed and the way it > carved turns, but I recognize that it would probably be too much for me as a > novice paddler. The other alternative would be a Klepper Aerius I, which is > appealing because of its apparent relative ease of assembly, but I would be > concerned about its speed and being left behind when paddling with others in > hardshells. I would appreciate any thoughts or insights you may have about > these boats. When the Khats was still in prototype stages and was planned to be sold without sponsons (as it was for the first year), it was run in speed trials against the then K-1. The top speed differential if I recall correctly was about 7 percent. The Khats now comes in two forms, one with full width sponsons and one with smallish sponsons. Both of these models are wider than that prototype Khats. Meanwhile, the K-1 has been totally revamped so that it is almost a new model in a sense. The bow took on the sharp entry form of the Khats, the boat was lengthed about half a foot and the boat underway has a tighter skin (the earlier had a cordura deck that stretched when wet loosening the skin a bit; the current Polytech doesn't stretch when wet meaning a consistent tension of the skin). My guesstimate is that the differential in top speed now is probably 4% maybe. This is a long way of saying that the K-1 would probably give you all the speed you need and feel more comfortably stable and less tender than the Khats. As for the Aerius I, it will keep up with most paddlers in most hardshells. When I had one, I often had hardshellers comment how fast it was. I once was paddling with a group that included some pretty good paddlers. There were well ahead of a slower pack. I had hung around at the back to stay with a newbie who had never paddled before and was in a borrowed Nordkapp; when someone came back to take over babysitting I took off, flashed through the slower pack and caught up to the lead group. They were paddling pretty fast but I kept up (albeit a bit winded for the catching up phase). When we got to our destination, I walked down the beach to get something from my wife. When I went back to my Klepper Aerius I, several of those lead paddlers were peering into my Klepper as if they were looking for a motor!!! Actually they were looking for how I had braced myself in the boat as they knew that the kind of speed I was developing with the boat (which had impressed them) could only be accomplished if I had my feet well braced to transfer the power of my stroke to the forward speed of the boat. It so happened that, while the boat did not have foot pegs, my feet hit a crossrib at just the right angle to provide a good bracing position. This is a long way of telling you that if you are well braced in one of the better full sized folding singles, K-1, Aerius I, or Nautiraid Raid I and have a level of efficient paddling stroke, you should be able to keep up with most hardshells and most hardshell paddlers. > Also -- and here's where I realize I'm opening up the > pandora's box -- can I do without the rudders on the K-1 and the Klepper? I > generally don't like rudders, and they appear to add an extra level of > difficulty in assembling and taking down these boats. Skip the rudder. As you said it adds to assembly (and weight--3 pounds or so in the Klepper), it is one more thing to go wrong and it causes drag. Learn how to paddle without a rudder and use all the body english and other tools of the corrective tracking skills to keep the boat on course. ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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