I too got a K-1 recently as a replacement for my old beloved hardshell which suffered an untimely demise while in storage. The maiden voyage was two weekends ago, on a lake in conditions ranging from glass to about 2 foot waves into a rain-driven headwind. The boat was a pleasure - moved well - easily as fast as my old hardshell, based on the continued good match of paddling pace with my hardshell-paddling buddy. I was also very pleasantly surprised with the extra "water sense" in the waves - a bit of a flex which would have a person panicking in a hardshell, but reassuringly absorbs a lot of energy and minimizes the "buck" a hardshell gives going into the waves. The one surprise, even in comparison to my demo, was how responsive the boat was on turns - without a rudder through a winding creek/wetland was a lot of fun - the boat tracked well but turned wonderfully, too. Having briefly paddled a K-light - well, I liked and was very impressed with that boat, but am really happy I ended up with the K-1. I'd also considered a Khats-S, but wasn't sure I was willing to live with the lower capacity (I could camp with it, but the K-1's a lot easier to do so - esp. to pack given the frame) and somewhat extra skittishness. No doubt I'd have grown into it, but I think I'll feel a lot easier when it comes time to debut the boat in NY harbor. Maybe I'll be ready for swim escort duty by then, Ralph! I won't deny having a good case of sticker shock when it came time to seriously consider the foldable, but the combination of storage options (I'm another apartment person), impressive, elegant, engineering, the company's reputation for service, and the general quality and performance of the boat all made that a lot easier to live with. Besides, it's a long term investment and it leaves open travel/paddling options I would never have otherwise. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
What Mel Lammers and David Quist say about the K-1 is echoed by other people I have seen with the boat especially heftier paddlers. The K-1 has always been a pretty good boat but in 1998 Feathercraft vastly improved it by marrying it to portions of the Khats design. The boat was lengthened by half a foot, the cockpit was made smaller and the bow was given a shape resembling the Khats. If I take a side glance at one of them I often mistake it for the Khats until I check off some of the telltales in my head that I know are different. Assembly was also greatly eased in 1998. I know some paddlers of the older model feel that its welded center ribcage was stronger and better but it did complicate assembly as did operations you had to do at the bow and stern. I know paddlers who get wet dreams thinking of the Khats but I think many of them would be better off thinking in terms of the K-1 if the Feathercraft is what they want. Again, the very positive experiences that Mel and David have with the K-1 comes as no surprise. It is a lot of money. But if you compare it to a very top of the line hardshell, which is the fair comparison, the differential in price is in the $1,200 range. What you get is a top performance boat you can take any where with you that represents zero sacrifice on the water when you get there. Skins are likely good for 25 years and frames should last longer than that. Pro-rate the hefty $4k over even 20 years and it ain't so much of a bite. And you can always sell it and get top-dollar on the re-sale. Let's see. Mel and David, do I have your current addresses to send a payola check to? :-) 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/ ***************************************************************************
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