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 *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
If you are interested in the whole history of fiberglas boatbuilding, there is an excellent book out there called "Heart of Glass." It's mostly about the "big boat" builders, but I seem to remember reading that somewhere along the way the military tried to simulate the ageing process for fiberglass and found no significant deterioration after a simulated 400 years or so. I think you need to keep the UV off your boat to get these kinds of results, as well as keep your boat off the rocks! Your individual mileage may vary. But a fiberglas kayak stored indoors out of the water when not in use should last either forever or until you wear holes in the bottom through beach landings, whichever comes first. --Karl Coplan *************************************************************************** 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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