Matt Broze wrote: > The K-light cuts its wetted surface (friction) by being shorter and as Ralph > pointed out, its speed can surprise a lot of kayakers, especially those > saddled by the mistaken, but common, belief that longer is always faster > (see FAQ's on our website for more details on this). I am glad you make this same point. Paddlers are lemmings in how much they follow some general concept like the one about length or for that matter the concept of width. The K-Light is as fast as many longer boats except perhaps at top speeds, but who can paddle at top speed all the time? The K-Light has the beauty of paddling almost effortlessly at a cruising speed of around 4 knots and has lots of glide between strokes. I do an energy conserving stroke (I am over 60 and not in the best of shape) in which I take a longer more powerful stroke with each paddle dip with a split second rest before the next dip. So if you see me paddling alongside another paddler, he is stroking much more than I am. The K-Light allows that because of its great glide between strokes. It is also relatively easy to get it up to speed as it is so light and agile with little inertia to overcome. \ Oh the point about width. Many of the folding kayaks are often some 4 inches wider than hardshells. But that is up high at the deck seem level where the sponsons flare out. If you look at the cross section that is actually being pushed through the water it is significantly narrower. If you get a folding kayak in which you don't sink it to the point that its sponsons are constantly in contact with the water, you have less to push through the water. > My advice is to get a K-light while you still can. The Kahuna promises to be > the kayak that a lot of folks are looking for. More capacity/reasonable > price and better suited in reserve buoyancy for heavier paddlers. I think > Feathercraft is making a mistake to discontinue the K-light though. The > Kahuna will cut into the K-light's market seriously for sure, but the > K-light will still likely be the better choice for smaller paddlers. My > advice would be to direct it more at smaller paddlers by shortening the > footpads and narrowing up and possibly lowering the cockpit slightly. I vote > to keep the K-light in the line and will tell that to Feathercraft the next > time I talk to someone there. I too am disappointed to see that the K-Light is being discontinued. For those with K-Lights that they wish to sell, the resale value should go up quite a bit. They will offer a premium package for some paddlers. I have not talked with Feathercraft about this much but I think what happened is that in effect they changed the model so much that it really needed a new name. The same has happened all along with the company's K-1. It has borne that name since the early 1980s but it has radically changed, so much that it could have easily been called the Granville (for the island in Vancouver where the factory is located) or anything else. At one point, it was not much longer than the new Kahuna (Kahuna 14 ft 9 in; the 1980s K-1 without coaming around 15 feet and a couple of inches) Even in 1998, the company changed the K-1 so much (length earlier had creeped up to 15 ft 10 in and then with the latest change to 16.5 feet; but the frame also was completely overhauled and the bow made to look like that on the Khats with a fine entry point) that in my review I stated that they probably should have changed the name because it was now a different boat. In a sense Feathercraft may just be wanting to recognize that the Kahuna is a K-Light so radically changed (significant length addition plus sharper bow, plus a significant frame change) that it is a new model. Matt mentioned something about Feathercraft should perhaps lower the cockpit rim on the K-Light and continue to sell it for smaller paddlers. In there lies a probably for Feathercraft. The K-Light/Kahuna are the only model(s) produced by the company that has injection molded crossribs (of polycarbonate) instead of being cut by machine individually from large slabs of polyethylene. The costs of the molds and machinery is so great that the Kahuna will have the exact same 4 injection molded crossribs as the K-Light. Feathercraft simply could not justify now reducing the cockpit height on the K-Light (which would require lowering the height of crossribs #2 and #3). BTW, the Kahuna looks terrific. Elongating the K-Light by two feet (12 ft 10 inches to 14 feet 9 inches) has made the boat look sleeker especially with its more narrow sharp and slightly uplifted bow. Changing only $80 more is also a plus. 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 20 2000 - 08:21:44 PDT
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