I just returned from a wonderful 20 days of paddling in the Ely and Rainy Lake area. While in and around Ely, the right sponson on my K1 blew. I brought the defective sponson to Piragis, (super outfit staffed with incredibly courteous and knowledgable people) after my attempts to glue failed miserably. They called Feathercraft in Vancouver who promised to send a new one by one day air - and sure enough, the next day at noon, there it was. NO charge! My point in telling this to paddlewise is to persuade those who might consider a Feathercraft but are reluctant because of cost, It might cost a little more up front, but if you need service, it'll be there at the highest level. Besides, if you travel to areas a little remote, it is really the only boat to have. Pack up and go! I have no financial interest in either Piragis or Feathercraft, but I sure wish I had! hans *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
H.W. Brandl wrote: > While in and around Ely, the right sponson on my K1 blew. I brought the > defective sponson to Piragis, (super outfit staffed with incredibly > courteous and knowledgable people) after my attempts to glue failed > miserably. > They called Feathercraft in Vancouver who promised to send a new one by > one day air - and sure enough, the next day at noon, there it was. NO > charge! I have heard something similar. A Rhode Island fellow with a Feathercraft K-Light was heading off for several weeks in Finland when he discovered that the bow piece had split. It was a weekend and he called me. I suggested some remedies including duct tape and splints. And I added that I would call the factory as should also he albeit he was flying out Monday early afternoon. We both got through. They asked him where in Finland would he be the first few days. A complete replacement part was sent to him air-express free of charge and got to him, I think on his second or third day there. BTW, for paddlers with folding kayaks who wind up with a leaking sponson, they will repair easily using the Sevylor pool toy glue. If you don't have this and need to continue on, you can shove an inflated paddle float in the middle of the boat on the deflated side. The hull will be quite loose but you can still paddle aways. Early 20th century folding kayaks had floppy skins and no sponsons; they were paddeable albeit slow and draggy. 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/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:16 PDT