Doug: > I'd expect nothing less from Sterling though, in terms of his > good-workmanship, build-proper ethic. Matt put me on to him a while back; > the man's a freaking >genius, living in relative obscurity (from my > perspective, anyway). Craig: >>I was impressed with his shop and his people who were checking in with him >>regarding quality issues so often while he and I chatted that I began to >>feel guilty for >>taking him away from his work. The Ice Kap (Pam just >>bought one) is a boat I think you could fall in love with. That Ice Kap is a nice boat - not cheap in the epoxy-infused version, but with unprecedented resin/cloth ratios, outstanding. Dubside's black Ice Kap was featured on a YouTube segment (or whatever); I missed the symposium, but I understand Sterling lowered the profile (at least the rear coaming). Too bad an LV version isn't already mandated as an available non-custom option. So many manufactures are missing the boat here. Doug: >Deck rigging: You are talking to a guy who spent 4 to 5 hours per recessed >deck fitting for an individual mold-refit on 20 fittings on one of his epic >multi-month >Nordkapp rebuilds. But for my next kayak, I'm going to the >other extreme, with a full sweep of clear deck. Craig: >>I'm just afraid that if I change anything I'll kick myself later. Stuff on >>the back deck doesn't bother me (I can't twist around enough to even look >>back very >>easily). >Matt's deck rigging looks so... so.... complicated >>that it just *must* be super useful. I'm just too dense to figure out how >>to use it more effectively. LOL Matt was one of the early promoters of temporary outrigger re-entry methodology; his rigging reflects that. Funny to now see almost all kayak reviews include deck rigging as an integral component of good design. I remember going to a Canoe Sport BC annual meeting in Vancouver 25 years ago to defend deck rigging and perimeter lines, but not to the point of making it a must have requirement. The large crown gathered was so very worried that due to the British boat bias of the Ocean Kayaking Association's membership and executive, we would try and implement a standard if OKABC became the defacto representative organization for BC kayakers. What silly days those were. Seems like marketplace sorted that one out anyway. Doug: >Reviewers called it a "lively hull." There was observations about how the >Nordy's lack of secondary stability compared to the, say, NDK Explorer's, >made that >last bit of completing a roll just that bit more difficult. Craig: >>Now, see... this is where I completely lose touch with the thread. When I >>came back to sea kayaks I was stunned to find them so much less stable >>than white >>water kayaks. Modern w/w boats are lots wider of course >>(there has to be some place for your knees to go when you stuff a 6'2" >>frame into a 6'0" playboat) >>which accounts for the initial stability; >>but they have impressive secondary stability too (so you can edge to and >>fro in eddies). The only "twitch" factor in a w/w >>boat is the lateral >>(directional) stability which, of course, is practically non-existent. >>Imagine my surprise when people tell me that a sea kayak with 120 gallons >>of >>volume is "too small" for me (my biggest w/w boat is 90 gallons and >>supports me just fine). Why I would actually seek out a twitchy boat to >>take into white >>water remains a mystery to me. Maybe I'm just too much >>of an ol' fart but I'm perfectly capable of screwing up a move all by >>myself; I don't want my kayak to >>step in and make it worse. But I don't >>want it so stable that it has no performance either. Another thing I like >>about the Mariners. I find out on open water, narrow is better. Ken Fink has promoted this aspect of narrow is better from a wave-handling dynamic at symposia over the years. Most definitely couter-intuitive.But for an ocean playboat, short and wider seems the preference. Certainly, I've found for pure surf fun, this holds true. For rock garden work, same again. Waters can be so extremely soupish and jobbly, that the extra stability is very reassuring. And big rebound, elevator rides, and rock garden, stability is king. Of course, every good playboat that gets reviewed mention is made of how much slower the kayak is for touring. For the paddler navigating long, exposed coat on a multiday trip who like to play as he/she travels down the coast, this compromise becomes a difficult choice. Day/weekend paddlers living, say, along the northern California coast, their choices, by proximity, often make the decision easier, and certainly lend credence to the owing multiple kayaks philosophy. As for fast currents/tidal streams, a playboat in the 16 to 17 foot range is fine. I don't have a strong opinion there for width. Stability here is a somewhat subjective factor. But no one takes these different zones of play into consideration apart from one another, usually. Bow bouyancy, ability to manouver, track in winds, primary versus secondary stability, fit of cockpit, and the myriad of other criteria really mean trying out many boats and taking in honest reviews helps, but until you get a kayak out into the conditions of preference, it's hard to know, let alone deciding what your focus is going to be. Some guys like narrow in the rough. At the very least, my Nordkapp has been anything but boring is some of the bigger coastal impact zones, whirlpools, nightime stoems and tideraces, and rougher bar crossings. Hey, on the "This is Warren" movie, the action in Deception Pass in a narrow Anas Acuta shows just what a narrow Greenland-inspired kayak is capable of. http://www.paddlinginstructor.com/video/sea_kayak_videos/this_is_warren_-_extreme_greenland_paddling_20070108.php And from a minamilist Greenland paddler Sgian Dubh: http://bp0.blogger.com/_VfzQ-j5f79k/R7Ek4LfJYEI/AAAAAAAAALU/2hgGCz-hvko/s1600-h/-sgiandubh-drum08.jpg Doug: >And yes, the Mariner handling aspect would address many of the more honest >reviews of other brands of kayaks with handling/tracking, maneuverability >issues. >But like Jerry pointed out, wave effects and wind effect are >different issues, whose combined energies present both unique problems and >commingled difficulties >for paddlers and designers alike. Craig (snip): >>The second surprise was when the southerly wind kicked up. It had a lot of >>fetch and the whitecaps were hitting us pretty hard but the Express - >>despite being >>loaded down by both me and the crap I'd put into it - rode >>over them. Neither kayak was much affected by the wind but the Nimbus >>actually was taking more >>water over it than the Express. Dan had not >>secured his skirt that well (it's just a lake... after all) and he got a >>nice bath out of the ride. The ability of that Mariner >>hull to ride over >>and not through big waves was demonstrated later that month in the San >>Juans. I'm sure Matt had mentioned it but I was surprised, >>nevertheless. Kayak with a proven ability to ride over waves and not through then also have a problem in high winds of being blow sideways. Just like boats with low volume give a wetter ride. I was looking around at kayaks for playboating available to me locally. The Necky Chatham 16 looks promising. Also, Duane mentioned they make playboat too long; I noticed a number of male paddlers looking at the new designed-for-women Neck Eliza. 15 feet or so, low deck for women (there's your LV), moves fast through the water for cruising, yet configured with a playful hull, lightweight, and built-in-China cheap. Looks like a nice kayak for the surf. Most of Spike Gladwin influenced designs have lots of playfulness. I'm still thinking a lowered Nordkapp LV might be the perfect combination of form, hull speed, maneuverability, and touring potential. I will keep an open mind. I still am disappointed that local kayak retail stores largely ignore the segment of the paddling community that is interested in more than just touring kayaks. Doug *************************************************************************** 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 Sun Mar 16 2008 - 13:34:53 PDT
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