Dear Friends: Our kayak club is interested in purchasing a high-quality, plastic double, the kind that you can put beginners in and not have them tip out (and least right away!). We want plastic to minimize maintenance, since the thing will get abused like hell. Has anyone had experience with the Current Designs "Crosswind?" Any recommendations? All the best, Josh (who has just given his Lendal Nordkapp blade to a carpenter to saw it to the size of an Archipelago... I'm crossing my fingers...0 ============================================================================== Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow Tel: [972] 3-640-6448 Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and Fax: [972] 3-641-5802 African Studies Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel E-mail:teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il www.dayan.org ============================================================================== *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 01:15 PM 9/26/01 +0200, Joshua Teitelbaum wrote: >Dear Friends: > >Our kayak club is interested in purchasing a high-quality, plastic double, >the kind that you can put beginners in and not have them tip out (and >least right away!). We want plastic to minimize maintenance, since the >thing will get abused like hell. > >Has anyone had experience with the Current Designs "Crosswind?" > >Any recommendations? Up until a couple of years ago there really wasn't much available for a plastic tandem touring kayak that had what I consider to be acceptable performance. There are a couple of things that I would consider if you're looking at purchasing one. Awhile back I was looking at my kayak database and found something kind of interesting. When looking up tandem kayaks in plastic the longest boat in the list was 18' long (Necky Amaruk). However, when I changed the criteria to search for fiberglass boats the *shortest* was about 18'. That seemed to indicate to me that the plastic boats were targeted toward the more recreational paddler (due to their cost), while the glass boats were targeted to those that were looking for more performance or would actually use the boat for actual touring. While the longer length is certainly going to increase performance, it also has the advantage of allowing the cockpits to be placed further apart, making it much easier for beginners to paddle that might have trouble keeping their strokes in sync. I'm not sure that stability will be much of an issue for any of the tandems worth considering. Pretty much every tandem kayak that I have been in has been very stable, much more so than almost any single kayak. Something else worth considering is the bulkhead arrangement. I'd stay away from anything which didn't have at least two bulkheads unless you're going to fill it with float bags. I don't have a lot of experience with tandem kayaks but I make a couple of recommendations which you can take with a grain of salt. The Necky Amaruk is a very nice tandem boat for a rental or club fleet. At 18' long, 28.5" wide it is a good compromise between performance and stability. I have seen them in several rental fleets and even the most nervous first time paddlers have little trouble. In my second day in a touring kayak another neophyte and I were able to paddle it while on edge with confidence and even do simultaneous hip snaps off the bows of two kayaks. The old rudder system was a bit clunky but it looks like they've improved it. At least the ones I've seen had 3 bulkheads. The center one could be removed and a center hatch installed. The Current Designs "Crosswind" looks like a good boat too. It's 6" longer than the Amaruk and 1.5" wider. As I have not actually paddled one I can't comment on how it performs, however, it only has two bulkheads. Wilderness Systems also makes a boat called a Northstar (18'4" LOA, 29.5" beam) that is likely similar to the Amaruk and Crosswind. The deck outfitting looks a little more finished (with recessed fittings) than the others and it has two bulkheads, and a center day hatch bag standard. The most interesting looking plastic tandem that I have seen (only from their web site) is the Boreal Designs Esperanto. It's 19'6" long (the longest of any plastic tandems available) and 28'6" wide. It comes standard with two bulkheads and hatches and has an optional full size hatch that implies two additional bulkheads. It also implies that there is likely a little more space between the cockpits. It's also the sleekest looking plastic tandem I've seen. Hope that gives you some ideas. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On 9/26/01 7:34 AM, "John Fereira" <jaf30_at_cornell.edu> wrote: > When looking up tandem kayaks in plastic > the longest boat in the list was 18' long (Necky Amaruk). However, when I > changed the criteria to search for fiberglass boats the *shortest* was > about 18'. That seemed to indicate to me that the plastic boats were > targeted toward the more recreational paddler (due to their cost), while > the glass boats were targeted to those that were looking for more > performance or would actually use the boat for actual touring. It has a lot to do with the fact that plastic is not as stiff as fiberglass and this becomes more of a problem as the boat increases in length. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Robert Livingston & Pam Martin wrote: > > On 9/26/01 7:34 AM, "John Fereira" <jaf30_at_cornell.edu> wrote: > > > When looking up tandem kayaks in plastic > > the longest boat in the list was 18' long (Necky Amaruk). However, when I > > changed the criteria to search for fiberglass boats the *shortest* was > > about 18'. That seemed to indicate to me that the plastic boats were > > targeted toward the more recreational paddler (due to their cost), while > > the glass boats were targeted to those that were looking for more > > performance or would actually use the boat for actual touring. > > It has a lot to do with the fact that plastic is not as stiff as fiberglass > and this becomes more of a problem as the boat increases in length. Concur. Even some of the rotomoulded singles need an aluminum stiffener to prevent folding. Also, FWIW, seems to me the hull thickness of the rotomoulded doubles I have seen is greater that that of the singles ... same manufacturer. The Amaruk seemed to have a thicker hull than others. Heavy boat. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hi There, It has been asked: >Has anyone had experience with the Current Designs "Crosswind?" The Current Designs Crosswind is 18' 6" long and weighs close to 100lbs. The Crosswind was initially manufactured for 2000. It suffered from many of the problems already discussed. The plastic tended to be too thin and the kayak didn't have the stiffness it should have. The Crosswinds produced that year got the nickname the `wavy navy'. However for 2001, the boat was extensively modified. A central bulkhead was installed. A pillar was reinforced between the two cockpits and Current Designs increased the density of plastic in formerly flexible areas. They now produce a roto molded double kayak that I have every confidence in selling. I didn't have that confidence in 2000. It is now a pleasurable boat to paddle. It is stable and quick. It belies it's weighty plastic heritage with its performance. I don't own a Crosswind, but I've paddled one on several occasions and have not been disappointed with it. c. banner Thetis Island. B.C. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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