Rick, I think you've and others have touched on the problem that w.w. is facing in the near future. The boats are getting very specialized and basic skills are not getting taught or practiced Companies are using rodeo and steep creaking hype to sell most of there boats these days. I'm not saying I don't love the new smaller play boats that make so thing's easier but the sales people could do a better job when selling them. I've seem more then a few boats for sale because the person who bought them didn't paddle them but ratter went with what a sales man or brochure said. This thread on P.W. started from someone trying to find a multipurpose boat. Something the w.w. industry as whole is getting way from. Most w.w. paddlers have more then one boat because of this. It's when you only want to buy one boat and you decided to go with the new Wave Spot EZ because it surfs sooooooo well then find yourself getting window shaded in hole that you realize maybe you've got the wrong boat for the job. . . Oh and your friends never seen a rescue done on the latest twitch video so he can't help and didn't have the room for a throw bag too. ;-) JFF <chuckle> I don't really strongly disagree *except* that I am very concerned that a lot of beginners are not acquiring strong fundamental skills, and I think boat designs are part of the problem. (They're certainly not the only factor, though.) I'm not trying to get everyone into a 4-meter slalom boat (although it has its advantages), but I don't think designed-for-rodeo-and-not-much-else boats are the answer either. I think that part of what we're seeing in designs represents evolution and progress; I think another part of it represents the influence of the tremendous success of rodeo in promoting itself and its style of paddling. Not that this is bad, per se, but I'm not sure it's all-wonderful either. ---Rsk *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Feb 28 2001 - 13:51:23 PST
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