Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak Surfing

On Sep 3, 2009, at 07:30 AM, Joe P. wrote:

> Not a surfer
> Not a paddler
> Maybe a fisherman.
>
> And he's a huckster.  He's hyping what he can to sell his product  
> but doesn't know enough to realize how far off he is.
> It's just not a kayak.

This is all a little harsh. How can we as a group of kayakers  
"reserve" the words paddler and surfer and kayaker for that matter.

He is out there paddling and he is out there in the surf.

As for hucksterism, I just call that marketing. In this case it is a  
little crude and obvious but he is just a guy running a little  
business out of his basement. I have heard BS from much bigger kayak  
companies that is more subtle but equally exaggerated. Every kayak out  
there is super fast... Like the Garrison Keiler town where everyone is  
above average.

I live in Seattle but went back east and made an effort to meet this  
guy and paddle his boat. He was very cordial. This is a very low  
budget operation. And his boat is very different with the good and  
often bad that comes from wandering off the mean. But I enjoy people  
who are doing things out the the ordinary rather than another sea  
kayak that is indistinguishable from dozens of others except for the  
claim made for it. At least his boat is actually different.

He is a dreamer and an "original". He originally designed two hulls  
that you strap to your feet and walk on the water. Not very practical.  
He evolved into his current design from that unlikely start.

I guess I am a lumper not a splitter. I am happy to call him a paddler  
and a surfer.

_________________

As for his boat, it is less stable than one might think. Fun and easy  
to get in and out off the shore. Symmetric like many ferries so you do  
not have to turn around if you go from one shore to a nearby one. I  
would not want to paddle great distances in it.

And it is made of that plastic stuff that I dislike but which a  
majority of people paddle now. Wobbly and squishy.

I think he sells mostly to fisherman. You are sitting in a position  
that is overall more comfortable than sitting in a classic kayak --  
for older folk.

I was over in the kayak forum kayak building thing that Guillemot  
kayaks runs. There is a guy there who just made a catamaran kayak with  
all the problems that that creates. But it is interesting. I would  
like to paddle it. I do not think that it makes much sense. But you  
have to have people who are willing to do the far out.
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