At 01:37 PM 10/13/99 -0400, Reeves, Debbie (Debbie) wrote: >Last night I received the REI Holiday 99 gift preview catalog. On page 90, >selling for only $380, is a bright red Perception Swify recreational kayak >[9'5" x 29"] with its bow overlaying a stunning photo of 2 sea kayakers >paddling along an exposed coast in tropical-looking, turquoise water. Both >these kayakers are clearly paddling full size sea kayaks. I don't have access to the picture but I took a look at their web site and they do try to make a distinction between "touring kayaks" and what they call "Day Touring/Recreational Kayaks". What I *do* disagree with is the statement in their description of the recreational class boats: "In general, day touring boats are designed with beginners and recreational play boaters in mind." Since recreational boats are usually fairly inexpensive they look pretty attractive to beginners, but in my opinion these boats are designed for paddling conditions, and not necessarily for "beginning" paddlers. Due to their width, typically flat hulls, and short length they're very good for solely recreational paddling on quiet waters. They're good if you want a craft that is going to be very stable on quiet waters for fishing or picture taking. They are not, however, a very good choice for a beginning paddler, if that person wants to become an intermediate/advanced paddler. The excessive initial stability restricts ones ability to edge/lean the boat, the typically poor secondary stability makes it difficult to learn how to brace, and the width, flat hull, and wide cockpits make it extremely difficult to learn how to roll. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Oct 13 1999 - 11:41:45 PDT
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