Re: [Paddlewise] New Khatsalano - Tips?

Hey Patrick,

Congratulations.  I recently bought a used regular
kaht.  It took me quite a while to figure out how to
get the thing together.  I had a more fundamental
problem than the alignment of the expanders.  I didn't
get the concept at all.  Only after over an hour did I
realize that I was supposed to put the two tubes
together and then stretch them until the dimple popped
out, rather than stretching them to their fulll extent
to get the tubes together.  Sort of silly I know.  

One trick mentioned by Ralph Diaz that helped me was
to think of the initial bow and stern assemblies as
the frames of an umbrella and to pull them into a
tighter cone as you put them into the skin of the
boat.  

To your question about hip pads: you should paddle the
thing to see whether you think you need them.  The
boat fits me tightly enough that I am not going to get
them for a while.  Feathercraft has them listed as an
accessory (with no price) on their web site.  Folding
kayak adventures
http://www.foldingkayak.com/accessories.htm lists them
for $50.  

I will be interested in getting your first impressions
of the boat after you get it into the water.  I was
astounded by its lack of primary stability.  I
literally wore myself out flicking my hips back and
forth trying to fight it.  On subsequent outings I
learned to trust the boat's secondary stability and to
let the thing wobble a bit.  

I find that the boat takes on a lot of water after a
wet exit and that it is difficult to drain through an
assisted "T" rescue.  I think this is a combination of
the fact that it has no bulkheads and that it flexes a
bit when lifted from one end.  So I suggest you use
the sea sock, annoying as it is, along with the float
bags.  

I have a follow up question for any kaht owners out
there.  My boat takes on more water than I think it
should when the coaming is below the water line (as
when I am skulling).  When I do this I can feel the
water coming into the boat Is my sprayskirt not
tightly enough attached to the boat?  Is there
something about the folding of the skin into the
coaming or the attachment of the sea sock that I am
missing?  Is there a difference between the seal made
by the neoprene sealed sea sock and the nylon one?  Or
are my expectations wrong about what the tightness of
the seal of the cockpit should be?  

Best, 
Grant

P.S. I work for Banta Integrated Media across the
street; do you want to hire a project manager for your
development group?  But seriously... I'd love to go
paddling in the Charles or the Harbor if you're
interested.  

> well the new boat arrived with Steve the UPS guy
> yesterday. It's a 
> Feathercraft Khatsalano regular. I assembled it in
> my studio which I 
> am really enjoying as I live on the 5th floor with
> no way to get any 
> of my other boats up here. Now I can play around
> with packing 
> scenarios before I get to the beach.
> 
> A couple of questions:
> Any tips for assembly? It went together fairly
> easily, though lining 
> up the expanders was kind of a hassle. I ended up
> scoring them with a 
> pen so I can tell when they are aligned correctly.
> I'm sure some of 
> you have some secrets. I think I'll get a light tarp
> for onsite 
> assembly.
> 
> I won't get to paddle until Monday, but I am pretty
> sure I am going 
> to want some padding. Does anyone know who makes
> those new inflatable 
> hip pads? How do the fit the Khats? Who sells 'em.
> 


=====
Grant Emison
Cambridge, MA
gemison_at_yahoo.com

Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/

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