Re: [Paddlewise] Another Tiderace Review

On Sat, Mar 8, 2008 at 11:58 AM, Duane Strosaker <strosaker_at_yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Doug and All,
>
>  I took a look at that link.
>
>  What I want to know is when kayak manufacturers are going to stop
> designing sea kayaks with so much stern rocker. I see stern rocker, and I
> see a weathercocking and broaching SOB with high a PO factor. It seems they
> are fine making their kayaks skeg or rudder dependent even for mild
> conditions.
>
>  Is Mariner the only manufacturer to ever get it right?
>

I think the answer is "yes" to that question. And also the reason I have
three Mariner kayaks. The mystery isn't so much why no one has copied
Mariner's designs (lots have, the infamous Sportee being one) but that the
kayaking public doesn't seem to be that interested in their ideas. At least
the great majority of the public. The Coaster is practically a legend but
maybe most kayakers don't think it would fit their style and aren't aware of
the other models available. They only built 600-odd Coasters and finding one
used is almost impossible (I finally got one but it's so beat up I'll have
to take it to a pro to get it back into shape for what it was meant to do).
In fact, there are stories about people trying to find Coasters and waiting
years for one to turn upl.

How can designs with that sort of presence be largely ignored? At the Pt.
Townsend seminar I could easily spot a Mariner hull upside down in a gaggle
of other designs simply by the hull shape. All the rest just looked alike
inverted. I was amazed. The last hull Matt and Cam designed was in the early
1990s and they STILL stand out in a crowd. It would be different if the
damned things didn't perform as advertised.

Why wouldn't a major kayak manufacturer want to sell - or even license - a
design that they don't have to compete with on the used market because
they're so heavily in demand?

Doug said he doesn't like their "esthetics"; maybe he can explain that. I'm
sure he's paddled Mariners and certainly has a lot of experience paddling
the sort of water Mariners (and the Coaster in particular) were designed to
handle. Maybe Doug knows something you and I don't

Perhaps the designs are just too radical even now. Designed to excel in the
sort of kayaking that is only now becoming more popular. And perhaps no one
believes the hype. I know I didn't until I paddled an Express in choppy
water and felt it try to accelerate and surf every wave.

As of this morning, two Mariners appeared on the Seattle craigslist (in
"boats"); a Max and an XL. I wonder how long they'll last at $1200 each. The
only Coaster that has appeared on any craigslist on the west coast (and
trust me, I've been watching for them) was the one I bought 2 hours after
the ad appeared.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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