Re: [Paddlewise] Ease of renting a kayak

From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 11:15:19 -0400
At 10:32 AM 8/2/00 -0400, Bill Leonhardt wrote:
>Hello List,
>
>I just posted a reply to Fred Thomas' post about his not finding paddling
>opportunities in England when it occurred to me that it might be useful to
>poll the list, especially our non-US members, to get their comments on the
>ease of kayak rentals for an individual coming in "off the street".
>
>I have walked in to kayak rental places in New York, California, Florida
>and Victoria, BC and, after a short chat with the person there, have been
>able to rent anything in the store.  This was not true for me in England.

It would also be worth considering what "anything in the store" means.  In
many warm water climates (Florida, Hawaii), "anything in the store" is
often limited to large, stable, sit-on-top kayaks.  There just aren't too
many place you can walk into and rent a Nordkapp.

>So, please report what you would expect to happen if I showed up at your
>local kayak rental facility and asked to rent a kayak for the day.

A good friend of mine owns a kayak rental shop and will generally try to
put people in a boat that *fits* them best.  Unless he's pretty convinced
the person knows how to wet exit he'll send them out without a spray skirt
and ask them to remain inside the inlet.  If someone were willing to
demonstrate a wet exit and a reasonable amount of boat control out in front
of the shop they could pretty much take out anything he's got (most of the
Prijon and Seaward line of boats).  Unlike many places he doesn't charge
more to rent his fiberglass Seaward boats than he does the plastic Prijon
kayaks.

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Received on Wed Aug 02 2000 - 08:16:58 PDT

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