Matt, I'll "cc" the list just in case anyone was following this: Doug wrote: >>>That was a good letter you sent him at the time Matt. I remember it, and I remember Derek's response at the time: "Who in the hell does this Matt guy think he is, to tell me how to write my books." Ahh, for the old days, Matt! <<< Matt then said: <Funny he should have said that. In 1982 I asked Frank Goodman (Nordkapp designer for those who don't know) who I'd just met at the first sea kayaking symposium ever in Maine, "What's with this Derek Hutchinson"? I won't repeat what he said here but I still remember it. I have a lot of respect for Frank.> Frank impressed me immediately back in 82/83 when he came out here for the first west coast sea kayak symposium (in Victoria). Doreen, his wife, was a real keener too. His talk on design was right on the mark as far as I was concerned. His comment that every sea kayak ever made or would ever be made will _always_ be a compromise of various design considerations. He kept his ego in check, relegated the BCU to a useful hierarchy -- but an organization run by humans, and as such, flawed at times -- and had to be pressed hard before he would run anybody down (maybe he was more open with you). He showed us how important -- or at least how integral -- the actual curves and contours of the kayak's shape were in order to render greater strength and overall structural rigidity in his designs (personified in the Norkapp, of course). He has some fine kayaks, like the 'Anas' and the Pintail, not to mention a double sea kayak that is in my opinion, one of the finest in the world. Matt, you mention in another post how inferior the navigational information is that Derek H writes in his books (as evidenced by Burch "highlighting" certain text). Derek is one of the highest rated BCU coaches and coach instructors in the UK (at least he was at the time). So, something is wrong with this picture. Either Burch, et al were just being too picky or, ??????? I know they do a lot of navigational work at the top BCU levels. Could this be a sad commentary on this British regime? Or has it been "Derek inertia" (rather than boat inertia) that has propelled him to stardom despite the gravity of reality and the inability of those in charge to keep a rein on the guy? I actually like Derek, and have learned a lot from him over the years. I do have issues with him. Last time I spoke to you about him, you wondered why I had it in for derek. Well, I see you are closer to the issues than I thought. well, I've never actually read Derek's stuff all the way through. I'll have to check it out. <snip> By the way, I'm personally not willing to commit myself to say the average North American kayak is under built. I'm pretty much in the middle of the road on this issue. I just know that when I am out on the more exposed coast, or even in protected waters at a rescue clinic, it appears to me many of the other kayaks I see are not up to the conditions or program. This is just an observation. I also know that a lot of the Brit boats are overbuilt: In order to get a stiff rear deck or a non-oilcanning hull, the manufacturing process in the UK seems to opt for adding more layers and resin to the whole boat, rather than strategic placement and other stiffing methods as employed here in North America. Both situations are rather unfortunate. Thank you, however, for your commitment to the sport and good sea kayak building that is individual customer sensitive and oriented. Hey Matt, why did the Canadian cross the road? To get to the middle! BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Oct 12 2000 - 00:08:48 PDT
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