Re: [Paddlewise] AH kit

On Thursday, July 18, 2002, at 4:52:05 PM PST, RWMCT_at_aol.com wrote:

> Melissa, glad to hear you are building an AH kit.

It was a close call between a North Bay and the AH (I may build a
North Bay next).  More on that in a bit.

> I will be interested in how you like it. A while back you told me
> that you much preferred the Caribou to the AH, so I wonder what made
> you cange your mind?

While I did like the handling of the Caribou over that of the AH, it
was not that great a difference. Also...at the time I bought my
Caribou (which I still love!), I was a less experienced paddler than I
am now, almost six years later. My main complaint with the AHs I'd
paddled was the Wilderness Systems glass lay up. I found it to be a
bit light (flimsy even), and one of the boats oil canned pretty badly
in rough water. I just didn't feel entirely comfortable with the WS
version of the AH.

With the wood/glass kit, I'm not as concerned with the lay up problems
I perceived with the WS boat, and I can also customize it in certain
ways as I build it. I've recently paddled another WS AH, and found,
with my now more developed skills (and my Greenland Stick), that it
handled quite nicely.

This is only the first of several boats I want to build, and I think
it will be a nice addition to my growing fleet (to follow: more
wood/glass boats, some skin on frame boats, and a surf boat!).

> I also wonder how people who have built and paddled both the
> Northbay and the kit built AH rate the boats.

John Fereira built a North Bay, and seems quite happy with
it...perhaps he'll comment. I was originally interested in building a
North Bay, but since I haven't had a chance to paddle one yet, I
decided to start with a boat I'm familiar with, and know that I
already like.

I ordered my AH kit last week, but since they're backed up on orders,
I'll not get it until about the 30th. I've turned my bare garage into
a well appointed boat building shop (new electricity, lighting,
ventilation, utility sink, saw horses, tools, supplies, etc.) I'm
really excited about my first building project! :-)

Melissa

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