RE: [Paddlewise] Sliding seat issues

Thanks Steve,
>From your description I would quite confidently guess you are describing
John Dawson. I'll try to contact him for more details, but your latest post
now makes a lot more sense to me now that you make it clear he didn't really
get up to his armpits. If it was John, his kayak would have been a Mariner
XL, first produced in 1985. The XL was later redesigned to become the MAX in
1992. To make it into the Max I raised the bow and stern and adding more
volume up high in both ends (for better lift in waves and surf, a drier
ride, and enough back surfing ability to allow turning off a breaker one
couldn't punch out through before getting rear endered (like I had already
done with the Express design in the interim between the XL and Max). I also
adjusted the bow rake and rocker as well as the stern keel to make the Max
turn quicker while still retaining the tracking, non weatherhelming, speed,
and following sea performance of the XL that I loved so much. The XL would
be the most likely of all our ten designs to be able to pearl deep enough to
hit the bottom in big surf.

John Dawson did the first serious kayak testing for Sea Kayaker magazine
back in 1986. The XL was one of about a dozen kayaks that were tested in the
UBC towing tank (as well as by test paddlers) back then. That spring 1987
issue review is reprinted on our website if anyone is interested in it. John
liked the XL so much he didnt want to give it back. We kept asking John
Dowd (then editor at SK) when we were going to get our XL back as we needed
it for demos. Finally, we found out why when John Dawson called us wanting
to buy that demo XL that he had been using since the SK tests (and that John
Dowd was bugging him to return). If I recall that first ever produced XL was
blue over gray. Last we heard (a few years ago) John was still paddling that
same demo XL demo he bought from us back in 1986. Being it was the very
first XL we ever made (in early 1985) John's boat didn't have the L-shaped
footbraces we developed a bit later (the ones with the automatic braking
action if pushed by ones feet anywhere but along the outside edge). I used
to surf that exact same kayak when it was our demo and the seat never moved
on me, but then I don't think I ever rammed its bow into the sand either. I
recall the first time I tried that XL demo in the surf, at LaPush, when it
was new. Cam (paddling the Coaster--also a new model in 1985) and I  were
both taking off to grab a ride on the same huge wave (going mostly straight
down the wave face but angling slightly away from each other to stay apart).
As the wave got steeper I hollered over to Cam: "look it's not pearling"
(referring to the XL's bow which was staying up better than I had expected
it would in such a steep wave). Cam thought I said: "look out it's curling"
and then looked back over his shoulder to see what he thought I'd said was
about to come down on us. That glance back over his shoulder changed his
heading from going slightly left down the face to angling right so that we
were now on a collision course. I didn't realize this until I saw him
barreling down from behind (and way above me) as the wave peaked shortly
before breaking. He was heading right towards my midsection at high speed
and was only a few feet away. I capsized away from him as quickly as I could
and his Coaster jumped off the bottom of my hull. Cam say he went airborne.
Luckily, no damage to us or the kayaks resulted. But I digress.

Steve's recent more detailed explanation makes much more sense to me than
the original mention three weeks ago. Especially given the long ago date it
occurred and that the paddler didn't really go up to his armpits but rather
just further forward in the cockpit while remaining in a sitting position
that he could roll up from. Another difference back then was the spraydeck
for the sliding seat wouldn't have limited the forward slide range nearly as
much the Snapdragon Sea Tour skirts we have been using since the late
1980's. Had that ever happened to me I probably would have slid the seat
back to the rear while still upside down before rolling back up.

Matt Broze
www.marinerkayaks.com
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