Re: [Paddlewise] accident scenario: Successful uses of SeaTouring Kayaks on WW

From: Matt Broze <mkayaks_at_oz.net>
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 21:41:15 -0700
I wrote:
>
> ...
> If you must maneuver quickly while dodging rocks you definitely want the
WW
> kayak and nothing else will come close. If open canoes use the river a sea
> kayak should have no serious problems (except I would rather not scrape
them
> down the shallow riffles at low water).

Dan wrote:
Wow. You are either kidding (and inadvertently left off the smiley face)
or are living in the past when it comes to solo whitewater canoes. Do
you really mean to say that if you can run a Class V, boulder-choked
steep creek in an OC-1 (as is done quite frequently) then you should be
able to do the same in a sea kayak? I don't think so. Highly rockered
canoes that are 8 to 11 feet long have distinct handling advantages over
sea kayaks in such circumstances. There has been considerable
convergence between hull designs for whitewater kayaks and whitewater
canoes in recent years (as was recently pointed out in an excellent
article written by one of the designers on this list). The same cannot
be said for sea kayaks. :-)

Dan Hagen

I'll admit to both being out of date on WW gear and was not paying any
attention to solo open canoes at all. I was speaking of two person open
canoes (I was more worried about distinguishing them from closed WW canoes
and didn't consider solos when I wrote the above so failed to specifically
exclude them as well as the closed canoes--and I was unaware that some Solos
are down to only 8 feet long now--can I call an 8' Kiwi a sea kayak?).

Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com


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Received on Wed Aug 16 2000 - 21:37:22 PDT

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