And skin boats fly.....I have seen my Klepper Aerius parked and minding its own business on my local beach, picked up by a savage gust of wind howling off the land , blown thirty metres through the air, before bouncing jauntily off a handy outcrop of rocks. I couldn't believe my eyes. Kleppers aren't supposed to fly. Heart pounding, I chased after my boat: damage report: slightly torn deck, where the aforesaid Klepper touched back on earth. Couldn't believe it. If that had been a glass boat...... What was I doing out on such a day? I was making use of the wild conditions to learn more; and obviously I learned among other things, don't leave your boat unattended on the shore, even if you think it's so heavy it couldn't possibly fly.... I don't know the gust velocities on that day, but they were enough to turn seawater into spume. Back on topic,... I guess a plastic boat would also have survived the gust, but I was mightily impressed at the survivability of the folder, because of the inherent flexibility of skin on frame. And the ability of the timber to absorb the stresses. But then I hesitate to push my luck in big surf. I have the utmost respect for the power of the ocean, and have heard stories aplenty of machos who think their seakayak is a surfboat. It aint. And they have the pieces to prove it. Kleppers and other folders get reduced to matchwood, plastic boats get tin-canned, and glass boats fracture in big surf. Each product has its strength and weaknesses, but big surf is the Great Leveller. Cheers, Peter Rattenbury, Wollongong, Australia. *************************************************************************** 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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