Re: [Paddlewise] Advice on boats

On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 6:04 PM, Doug Lloyd <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> wrote:

>
> Your original notion that a performance sea kayak with slightly more
> stability (primary and secondary in equal measure perhaps) should be more
> desirable that one without this improvement if that design retains similar
> performance roles is one I cannot disagree with. Who can? Craig has brought
> this issue up in earnest here before.
>
> Well yeah... I have. I'm still grappling with the idea of an 18-foot boat
being a "playboat"; but maybe it's because only 14 feet of it is actually in
the water.

But I'm starting to see that it's a matter of what you like. Let's face it,
sitting on top of a 1-ton bull is downright stupid; but it's probably fun to
see if you can do it and someone else can't. So there are people who sit on
top of 1-ton bulls. In the same vein there are people who sit inside a boat
that is too unstable to let them reach behind them for their lunch.

It's no secret that I love the way a couple of the Mariner kayaks move in
the water. I love to edge a boat and have it begin to carve a turn or have
it settle in on a boat wake without the need for a brace. I like to sit out
in front of my house and wait for some board boat to trundle by ballasted
deep in the water and catch its wake for 100 yards and then turn around and
wait for the next one. But while I'm waiting I like to relax and watch the
bikin.... er, birds.

Matt Broze has made the case that a well-designed boat needs neither rudder
nor skeg and has put his mouth where his laptop is with a half-dozen hulls
that really don't much need either of those. Unless you call the sliding
seat a device designed to eliminate the flaws of the boat itself (which I
don't think it is... but you could make that case). I like that subtlety of
purpose.

So if you actually *like* having a boat that you need to keep one paddle in
the water for at all times and stay alert then who am I to say you're wrong?
And Robert's point that all kayaks under about 24" wide are unstable in one
way or another is a valid point that underscores the entire discussion.

I just prefer to paddle a boat that doesn't *try* to kill me if my attention
wanders a bit. :D

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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