[Paddlewise] 6 Months in a Leaky Boat

Garth said:
>On Oct 21 my brother Kevin and I completed a 7 month kayak trip from
Victoria to Juneau and back.  On Oct 28 a posting on Paddlewise reporting on
our return was posted and has subsequently been brought to our attention.
Included in this posting was the authors observations regarding the post
trip state of our boats and his personal conclusion that Kevin's Seaward
Quest did not hold up as well as my Current Designs Expedition.  We do not
agree with the authors conclusions and feel that Seaward has been unfairly
maligned.   It was also erroneously stated that Kevin is in the market for a
Nordkapp, further implying dissatisfaction with the Quest.< >snip<

Since I was the author, I guess I should respond. In responding, I would
like to state upfront my deepest regrets for not more carefully wording my
original post. It is obvious that too much was read into my report, but as I
was the one who inadequately represented certain aspects, then I owe the
apology and some further explanation. It is also unfortunate that two fine
paddlers departed on a trip of a lifetime, only to return successfully and
safely to Victoria -- and then subsequently have to deal with problems like
this. However, that is life.

Upon further reflection, I'd fully agree with Garth that there were no
obvious structural inadequacies with the Seaward Quest. Indeed, both boats
performed well, carrying the two men through 20 foot seas off Alaska, seeing
them safely across mind-numbingly long crossings -- while keeping each
paddler comfortable, secure, and well provisioned with the volumous capacity
of the two boats working in harmony. What causes certain boats to wear
faster than others of a similar construction is somewhat subjective,
including how careful the paddler is with leaving the beach and landing.
Objectively, what thickness of gelcoat the manufacturer applied, how well
the gelcoat bonded to the fibreglass lay-up, and how well supported the
gelcoat layer is by the substructure underneath are all considerations.

I do take exception with the above snipped quote  regarding Kevin's alleged
desire for a Nordkapp. While I appreciate the context Garth goes on to give
about New Zealand's availability of kayak models, I didn't erroneously state
anything. Kevin and I spoke briefly about the Norkapp Jubilee, its
performance characteristics as a fast mover and low-windage rough-water
boat, and other aspects of its design, including the rugged construction of
British boats in general. I would not knowingly report something on
Paddlewise that I knew to be false or out of context. Kevin simply stated
he'd love to own a Nordkapp. His eyes widened and he smiled. I took that at
"face" value, and reported likewise. Where I strayed was juxtaposing this
with my personal conclusions about the Quest's lay-up -- but that is more an
issue of poor wordsmithing that false reportage. Kevin never made any
disparaging remarks about the performance or hull-integrity of his Quest,
though he did like to show-off his abused hull.

In terms of deficient lay-ups, I have a right to my opinions, and I still
maintain this to be true in general. Also, Marintex is very expensive, and I
highly doubt it was as liberally applied to the Expedition as the Quest was
with green "Bondo." However, if what Garth maintains is true -- namely that
the repairs were all superficial -- then the point about structural
inadequacies is certainly a mute one. Having said that, I do have insider
information from someone who works for Seaward that the lay-up schedule
isn't as good as Current Designs, though again, it sounds like my comments
were unwarranted in this case, so an apology is due to Seaward too.

This little debacle does raise some interesting points about sponsorship.
I've often wondered what obligation a paddler is under to report truthfully
on the performance of a given boat or piece of equipment.  For example, if a
paddler receives sponsorship from a well known sprayskirt company, and the
skirt leaked terribly, would that paddler feel compelled to overlook the
deficiencies. Politics and privilege always have the potential to cause a
paddler to overlook product faults. Perhaps Paddlewise isn't a mature enough
venue to discuss such sticky matters.

I mention the above in general terms only. But I do wonder sometimes. And I
do wonder why two guys who went to Alaska and back chose to play "Six Months
in a Leaky Boat" during their slide presentation. I know why. And a lot of
Victorians know why. But I'll avoid any further maligning, fair or unfair.


Doug Lloyd
Victoria BC

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"Whatever can be said at all can be said clearly and whatever cannot be said
clearly should not be said at all."
Ludwig Wittgenstein
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