Kirby and friends: At 20:48 14/10/01, Kirby Stevens wrote: >Excuse me! I think you people are missing the point. You are trying >to appraise apples and oranges! You are dealing with a folding >kayak, they don't handle the same way a fiberglass or hard shelled kayak >should. > >What do people expect when they purchase a folding boat? Well, we expect that a folding boat like the Khats, which is designed to perform like a Greenland boat, would not bend significantly on medium-sized waves, that it would roll easily (by an experienced roller), that the stern hatch would not pop open during a surf landing, and that any change in the trim caused by a small amount of water would not significantly effect performance. And does not the need for flotation bags take up what little storage space there is on the Khats? Now, I would like to try out the following hypothesis on the group, and it is only a hypothesis: 1. The MAIN appeal of the folders is their portability. For those who need this feature there can really be no substitute. 2. The folders also appeal to those who like the modern-authentic idea of having a skin on frame boat, and a technical marvel like the Khats and other Feathercrafts is wonderful. 3. The Khats is an extremely beautiful craft. I love to look at it. If I had $4200 to spend on a work of art, and space to hang it, a Khats -- preferably in teal -- would definitely grace my living room wall. 4. The folders also appeal to those who like to tinker and improvise. Ralph D.'s wonderful "Folding Kayak Newsletter" is full of modifications and "fixes" that help make these boats more useful. There is a certain attraction to the mechanics of construction. Maintenance, such as constant lubrication, drying, and cleaning are a pleasure for those who love these boats. 5. Finally (he writes with trepidation), these boats are not for those whose primary pleasures are long expeditions, challenging seas, leaning, rolling, maneuvering, and big surf. Would Doug Lloyd ever paddle one in the conditions he prefers? And to follow up on Kirby's remarks, what SHOULD be our expectations from high-end (and high-priced) folding kayaks. I welcome comments (but my flame-retardant dry suit is being repaired!), particularly by experience paddlers who have paddled the Khats and hardshells. And please, no offense intended to Khats and other folding kayakers! As Kirby implies, we are simply talking about two different aspects of our great sport of sea kayaking. Josh ============================================================================== 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Oct 14 2001 - 23:42:23 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:45 PDT