Vince Dalrymple wrote: > > Not so much the stability, Ralph, as getting used to a v-bottom hard > > chine design. > > Ken Fink "tested" me in the original Khats (and expected a quick > > capsize, I think), and the trick was to not fight for a vertical rest > > position, but to just let the craft settle over on a chine 'til getting > > under way. I have found that all of the Khats that I have tried out do that, the prototype (then called the Kitsalano, which is the name of a section of Vancouver named after a chieftain, Khatsalano), the plain Khats and the Khats with the largest sponsons. I found it absolutely disconcerting in the Kits prototype and actually climbed out and got into a hardshell rather than paddle it. After 15 minutes, even the factory guy who was in the Kits decided we should turn back from the rough conditions we were beginning to enter. The Khats family likes to fall over on to a chine when you stop; in which direction depends on your skeletonal structure I guess. I bet a chiropractor could use having people sit in a Khats to determine the natural alignment of their spine :-) > > The price paid for those training wheels comes in the form of difficulty > > righting the boat if it should go over. The same force that once kept > > you upright is now working against you to keep you inverted and the flat > > Greenland style deck will not help matters any. I have yet to try > > rolling with a full camp load (sponsons fully inflated), but presume it > > might be easier than without such a load. I did experiment with keel > > ballast, though. Better kept in round hull, round deck boats. With its > > flat deck and some air in the sponsons, the Khats becomes very difficult > > to initiate the roll (up to the 90 degree mark). The only benefit > > (besides the obvious force against initial capsize) was easier roll > > finish. I have not attempted to roll a Khats but my understanding is that for marginal rollers (Vince, I am not implying that you are :-)) it is a more difficult boat to roll than would seem evident by its sleek look. My understanding also from Ken Fink is that you need to not rush the roll in a foldable; he feels foldables move slower through their rotation in a roll and you need to avoid getting out ahead of yourself. Let the boat come around and it will. Diaz to Wendy: > > > Incidentally, at your weight and need for stability, you may want to opt > > > for the K-Light even at its present 13 foot length. It is a speedy > > > enough boat, very agile and sporty feeling and accelerates well. > > > Sometimes smaller paddlers actually can do better in a smaller boat than > > > a longer boat. At least give it a try. > > > > Good point, Ralph. Not having paddled the K-Light, I don't know its > > tracking capabilities and weathercocking liabilities. If you do find a > > way to test the various F-crafts out, Wendy, try them with (& w/o) > > F-craft's removable skeg, making runs on most headings to and from the > > wind. The K-Light is a delight to paddle, a nice mix of tracking and turning. I don't find it weathercocks. > > > > Something I forgot to address in the last e-mail to Wendy (and list) is > > the ease with which the K1 and esp. the K-Light set up due to their > > simplicity, especially when compared to the Khatsalano, a boat which > > wears me out just putting together (which explains it being on my car > > rather than in it). Amen. The Khats takes a lot of assembly. Just when you think you are finished, you need to do the secondary or upper buttressing frame insertions and connections. The K-Light is fairly easy, although some individual ones take somewhat more, and the K-1 is vastly improved in assembly time since the major revisions to that model in 1998. The K-1 is usually the better choice for most paddlers than the Khats although people do like and want to be associated with the looks of the latter. I have talked several paddlers out of opting for the Khats and instead go for the K-1. They thank me every time we meet. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - 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 Tue Mar 28 2000 - 10:11:17 PST
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