Shatterglass Paddlers, When people on this list have been talking about the perfect kayak, I am surprised no one has brought up plastic kayaks. I own plastic and shatterglass kayaks, and when it comes to really using (having fun) with a kayak, it is almost always plastic for me. Sure, shatterglass is prettier, a bit lighter, and holds its shape better. But I'll take a little plastic oil canning so that I can bounce off and slide over rocks without having a second thought about it. At the Channel Islands down here is Southern California, almost every beach is rock strewn, a nightmare for shatterglass paddlers. If you don't paddle across to the islands, then your kayak is thrown and stacked 5 high on a ferry, another nightmare for shatterglass paddlers. Needless to say, you don't see many shatterglass kayaks at the Channel Islands. Most local outfitters won't even let you rent shatterglass boats to take over there. Sure, shatterglass is fine if you want to look pretty and always have a bay or calm sandy beach to launch and land at, but if you want to have fun and really use your kayak, then plastic is the material of choice. Go ahead, drop it off your car, drag it across the rocky beach, get cartwheeled in the surf, slam into rocks, seal launch! Come on, a little oil canning never hurt anyone! By the way, oil canning is almost always caused by improper storage or car topping. If you store and car top your plastic kayak properly, it won't oil can. Duane Strosaker Beating the Crap Out of a Looksha IV and Skerray RM in Southern California *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Dec 03 1999 - 08:35:20 PST
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