http://www.wavewalk.com/ This guy has designed and is marketing a catamaran type recreational kayak. Seems like a fairly eccentric fellow (not a pejorative) Total Length: 10' 2" (310 cm) Total Width: 25" (63.5 cm) Total Height: 20" (51 cm) Total Weight: 56 lb (25.5 kg) The web site has what would appear to be inflated claims for a 10' foot boat which makes me nervous about the whole thing. _____ Cruising Speed with user up to 200 lb (90.7 kg) ____ 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h)- Inexperienced paddlers 5.5 mph (8.85 km/h)- Experienced paddlers And the discussion of speed/design issues seems off the mark for a small kayak such as this. But still I am intrigued. Not because I expect to be paddling at 4.5 mph but because I am interested in a kayak that I can use for short (less than 1 mile) trips carrying things like groceries. I like the idea of a kayak that is easy to get in and out of (for a 55 yo) and launches/lands easily on a beach in a fairly calm water environment. One thing that did seem plausible was that you might be able to launch off a sloping beach relatively easily because the catamaran nature of the craft means that you can walk to the cockpit with the boat pointed out to sea, hop in, and then slide toward the bow to "lift" the stern off the beach. The stability might make it easy to get in and out onto a dock. It is not available at any dealers on the west coast of USA so it would seem to be exclusively an east coast phenomena at the moment. I would have to be buying sight unseen which makes me uncomfortable. Has anyone tried one of these out? Willing to share any "gotcha's"? One inevitable fact because of its complex shape is that it is heavy for its size. Looks like it might be awkward to carry for one person although perhaps relatively easily for two because you could walk between the hulls holding a bow toggle in each hand to symmetrically distribute the weight. *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Mar 18 2005 - 10:25:23 PST
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