Couldn't resist a point-by-point here: RH: What type of boat do you normally roll, Reinhold? RWW: Why should I normally roll my Klepper?? I've never heard that getting its canvas deck wet will make it last longer! RH: Pickling it in brine helps to check the rot, just don't wash it with fresh water later! My RZ85 (double) has survived 30 years of such "abuse" :-) RWW: Rolling a foldable with air-sponsons is a circus act, really fun, but you don't need it. RH: Most of the time you don't need your PFD, GPS, first aid kit, tow rope ... in fact I don't need to be able to do a handstand either, but practicing it has certain indirect benefits nonetheless. As I pointed out previously: Bracing, sculling and rolling practice is a good back-up to (boat-) form-stability complacency! RWW: I have been watching Faltboot.de (the German folding news group) now for some time, but I haven't noticed yet a discussion about rolling foldables. RH: Excellent point. I'd better start one. Or do you want to? :-) RWW: That is difference with respect to plastic boats, where it is an important safety feature. RH: I expect that most hard shell paddlers never actually need a roll either. Depends on the boat, the paddling circumstances etc. Ralph Diaz has written eloquently on the subject with regard to folding boats here recently, so no need to go into it further. RH: And, dare I point it out, the Pouch singles E65 (no sponsons) and E68 (sponsons and 27" beam) roll with little trouble (pictures on www.PouchBoats.com to prove it in the case of the latter). RWW: I am looking forward to see a Pouch RZ 96 double being rolled on your site. This would be some kind of "Ersatz" to PW Members for the picture of the Klondike (print only). RH: I take that as a challenge :-)). But I need a partner for this: My usual bow man is only 3 feet tall. Anyone Wise Paddlers in the Stamford CT area up for it? On-water demo day in South Norwalk CT coming up this Saturday ... RH: Grinning from ear to ear ... DWW: But let's get a bit more serious: ... RH: And here I was trying not to be a "typical" German. DWW: ... I wrote that folders with air-sponsons are dificult to roll, not foldables in general. Let's remember that the eskimo-roll was re-invented by Eddi Hans Pawlata in the twenties in a slim greenland style folding kayak. RH: 1927 it was. Franz von Alber was next and the Rautenberg brothers probably have a justified claim to having developed a roll independently. "Kipp Kipp Hurra! Im reinrassigen Eskimokajak!" Do you have access to a copy? RWW: For an example see: http://www.mariangunkel.de/moell.html (It's the Gesa-Möll Marian Gunkel, maintainer of Pouch inofficial has acquired and restored. German text and lots of pictures.) RH: He has so far refused to send it over here for me to "test". (See, Marian, now it's out in the open and you're embarrassed. I warned you about this!!) RWW: These were folding kayaks to be rolled. Today they have nearly died out. Two models subsist: Nautiraid Greenlander (with 'stabilairs') Pouch Falt-Eski Both don't seem to be commercial successes. Perhaps you might comment on the Falt-Eski. RH: The Pouch Falt-Eski clearly and regrettably did not appeal to a large enough market to secure its commercial viability. The boat was designed for one particular paddler in such a way as to suit his not-so-standard dimensions. If you're going to spend the kind of money that it takes to get a commercial builder to create such a craft, you want it to fit perfectly, after all, Arctic kayaks were built specifically for each paddler. But never say never in the context of a Pouch Falt-Eski ... Also, there is a surprisingly large "underground" of folding kayak builders out there. If you're interested, drop me a line off-list, so we don't bore the rest of the PaddleWisenheimers to tears with more "mere" folding kayak stuff. :-) Ralph C. Hoehn Ralph_at_PouchBoats.com http://www.PouchBoats.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 13 2000 - 10:34:26 PDT
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