<nik586_at_mts.net> wrote: >> Can you tell me in what situations you would use one of those boats that look like a kayak, only they have a long cockpit? Sometimes sold as a convertible 1 or 2 man boat. When would that boat be preferable? When would you use it with out a spray skirt and when with it? >> Niels Blaauw's assessment of these boats is valid for the plastic, low-freeboard types. They are good boats for smaller, well-protected bodies of water, but not useful in rough conditions. In fact, a liability. I paddled one, sans sprayskirt, on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in the Fort Myers, FL area for several days one January, and never felt so insecure on waters that would be tame in my spray-skirted FG boats. However, these low-freeboard "recreational" boats should be distinguished from the various models of folding kayaks (Klepper, Nautiraid, Folbot, etc.) which have a sturdy spraydeck to keep out the waves. These latter are designed for rougher waters, but also have "open" cockpits, unlike the usual hardshell doubles. I should also mention that Jill Fredston has used a Necky FG boat modified with a sliding seat for rowing that had a very "open" cockpit, fitted with a spray skirt, to row much of the outer coast of Alaska, sections of the outer Norway coast, and other wild, rough waters at high latitudes. She claims something like 22,000 miles in such craft, and wrote a delightful book about her adventures with husband Doug. The recreational boats are in a lesser class, and do not belong on exposed waters ... unless one likes swimming [grin]. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Jul 10 2003 - 08:07:47 PDT
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