I had said in a previous post: >snip< >In terms of deficient lay-ups, I have a right to my opinions, and I still maintain this to be true in general.< I certainly don't want to belabour this thread anymore, but I did want to clarify this sentence above, as apparently what I say on Paddlewise has much farther reaching consequences than I had ever imagined a few comments on a chat line could. Anyway, my point above, for clarification (it is a bit ambiguous upon reflection) was that general hull wear and retention of gelcoat correlates directly to the underlying structure and a good propriety laid up, among other things. This wasn't a specific comment in context about Seward's kayaks - or about any others, just a general comment. My whole point is that fibreglass kayaks _are a system_, as is their "skin." I _don't_ think paddlers think about this too often, or the importance of how the manufacturer renders the end product -- including the quality of resins, and all the other aspects that go into the process. You don't have to be a fibreglass expert (of which I am certainly not) to appreciate the above, but you do need to be aware of it. I've had terrible problems with my Nordkapp over the years. While the thick gelcoat provided a great wear surface (or at least a longer-wearing one that more typical North American ones), I've had terrible problems with cracking and bulk-chunk fall-away of gelcoat. I'd grind and repair, but unless I'd grind all the way to fresh glass to get out the deep crack(s), the repair build-up would just crack again. If I did grind all the way, there was no way spot repairs would hold very well at all - and I've tried all the various products over many years. It is truly sad that I made disparaging comments about Seaward, as it is also funny that comparisons were made to Current Designs. They both employ their own "systems," and are two of the finest fibreglass kayaks made in my part of the world; so it is kind of hilarious that this all erupted from some misunderstanding on my part. Now, I could tell you some horror stories about some of the other manufacturers in Canada, but I'll not tempt fate and quit while I'm ahead. I simply recommend prospective buyers do their research, ask questions of the dealer (or even the direct factory representative -- which I should have done), and realize that quality is probably going to cost you a bit more. I'm currently thinking about another boat for long-range trips, something lighter and more manoeuvrable than my "point-and-shoot" Nordkapp. I'd like something with a chine hull and lots of gear capacity. The Romany 18 and the Foster "Legend" are two boats I'm considering if my health and finances improve. The Romany kayaks vary so widely from advertised weights, and I'm not sure about spending a fortune for Kevlar without a local manufacturer to deal directly with. The Legend on the other hand, appears flawless in every regard, with a good carry weight, and optional lay-ups. I'll switch to a different "subject" header here. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ "Whatever can be said at all can be said clearly and whatever cannot be said clearly should not be said at all." Ludwig Wittgenstein ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ *************************************************************************** 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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