Re: [Paddlewise] My Reaction to the Zegul Baidarka

My first reaction to the Tahe Baidarka was that it didn't look much like a
baidarka to me. But I'm certainly no expert. My first reaction to Nick's
post was, "Damn! Someone copied someone else's design!"; as if this had
never happened before. I've certainly listened to enough stories by kayak
designers to understand that this is not at all uncommon. It's even common
to have the company that contracted to build a design subsequently copy it
and market an almost-identical (looking) kayak with a different name. And I
know there is a certain amount of acrimony over this.

But I read Nick's blog and then I read the wording he quotes; some of  which
is, word-for-word, Nick's description of his design philosophy presented as
their design philosophy. It's hard for me to believe that this is
coincidence. Mind you, not every word in their "designer's statement in Sea
Kayaker is identical, but it seems to me that something like, "As kayak
designer Nick Schade has said...." might have been appropriate.

I'm convinced that the folks at Tahe have at least read Nick's blog about
his design. Whether or not their design is a take-off of his I'll leave to
the folks who understand designs better than I do.

Craig


On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 6:01 AM, Nick Schade <nick_at_guillemot-kayaks.com>wrote:

> I noticed a distinct similarity between the Zegul Baidarka reviewed in the
> recent issue of Sea Kayaker Magazine and one of my designs. I've blogged my
> reaction to that similarity:
> http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/blog/nick/how_should_i_react_zegultahe_baidarka
> I'd be interested in getting some feedback. Am I over or under reacting?
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