[Paddlewise] Fibreglass kayak life

PeterO said (snip):

>>>Leads me to the question. Just how long can a fibre glass kayak last if
its regularly maintained? Do high (as in Australian) levels of UV in
sunlight make a difference?<<<

I would imagine UV degradation must be cumulative in your neck of the woods,
though judging by the number of bikini/thong manufactures down under, your
female species seems to largely ignore the dangers. :-)

I repaint my boat every few years, so I can't give you real anecdotal
information as the paint I use is sprayed on and highly UV protective. At
over twenty years, I figured it was time to replace the Nordkapp. I still
like the Foster Legend, but my wife has taken over finances and it could be
awhile before I replace the old girl...the kayak, that is. I stopped in at
Seaward this summer after a family canoe trip and saw Chris Banner. He was
very pleasant (to my huge relief) and tried to sell me a Shadow they had on
special, as I also want a boat for longer trips (350 lb capacity) when I
slow down my work life (which could be real soon as the government here is
privatizing everything). Anyway, my wife was laying on the horn, so I had to
make a hasty exit before utilizing my high credit card limit, though I did
get a quick read in of Banner's very recent, humorous article in Adventure
Kayaking magazine about the investment potential of purchasing a kayak.

My Nordkapp is still going strong and I know what you mean about wanting to
retain years of outfitting. A keyhole cockpit would be nice. I tried the
Mexican Rescue after Rafael kindly sent the video, but the Ocean Cockpit is
too small for the blade to fit under the thigh area of the under-deck.

A bunch of us from the Fat Bas*ar*s got out for a nice paddle on sheltered
waters this past weekend, just as some of the first rain in months showed
up. It was nice not to melt for once. A Sou' Easter blew up a bit, and gave
some good comparison on various weather cocking tendencies of some of the
kayaks present. I had an impromptu race finally with the  Seda Glider owner
for a couple of nautical miles. I couldn't pass him however, which upset me
no end. But I guess the 100 lb Nordkapp, 10 lb weight of the first aid kit,
and other gear, was a hindrance. As well, my kayak was turning up into the
wind, so it was harder to pump out the strokes while stuck in a J-lean
position doing sweeps. I also didn't want to induce any arrhythmias from
exceeding my target heart rate. The Seda owner had his rudder down and
Euro-pride fully mandated. I'll get the Fa(s)t Ba*tar_at_  next time. Or maybe
buy a Seda Glider instead!

Well, I hope you find/replace your kayak advantageously.

Oh, one more thing. I'd just finished reading Southern Exposure by Duff
before the Sunday paddle. I was chatting away with Gordin about the book on
the way out from the bay, especially the part about "being on the lookout
for apples." (Chris found two perfectly good apples a mile out on the Tasman
Sea, on a remote part of the coast). Later, in the middle of our crossing
Sunday, I came upon two apples. The first one was rotten to the core, pardon
the pun; a second one showed up a few minutes later, in much better shape.
Obviously, Duff has better Karma than I.

Oh, and my point: seems like sometimes you get a good boat and sometimes
not. Apparently, there were (and have been) a number of paddlers reporting
issues with leakage problems. I rather suspect quality control is now being
revisited at some of the plants where these boats are made. I'm sure when
you pump up production, quality can suffer wherever the kayaks are made in
the world. A good manufacturer no doubt addresses these thing promptly.
Personally, I'd only buy a boat with glassed-in bulkheads (seam welded,
etc), but that is just my opinion.


Doug Lloyd
Victoria BC



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