At 04:39 PM 12/15/01 -0800, Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe wrote: >Marinell asks: > >What exactly does "maximum capacity" for a kayak mean? > > >It is a rough estimate of how much the boat will hold and still maintain >some buoyancy and *reasonable* handling characteristics. The manufacturers >are *generally* conservative on this issue and I have found that the weights >they claim are relatively low. I have NOT tested this theory with ALL >manufacturers. Most boats will hold a ton of weight before they actually >sink. > >I think a good sales person, this forum, Nick's technique forum, RBP, and >other "opinion machines" are a better source of info regarding safe weight >capacities. The manufacturer's claims are fair to good guidelines. Second the motion. Since there are no real standards, it's pretty much someones opinion, and those opinions are notably conservative, and not to be taken as gospel. As a for-instance: My Old Town Heron was initially rated at 275 lbs, although they later upped the rating to 300. I never paddled it with a weight of less than maybe 320 lbs -- if you weigh 300, that's me, paddle, PFD, and pants and shirt, plus some odds and ends. I probably had it loaded close to 400 pounds for a trip one time. It was starting to become noticeably unresponsive at that point. -- Wes --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wes Boyd's Kayak Place http://www2.dmci.net/wesboyd/kayak.htm Kayaks for Big Guys (And Gals) | Trip Reports | Places To Go | Boats & Gear --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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 Sat Dec 15 2001 - 18:09:20 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:46 PDT