Sunday, January 08, 2006
slob!
done next to nothing since the race... now test-driving sea kayaks!
070106- tried a Barracuda ultralight (18 kg) 4.88m bilge-hull polycarbonate boat. Easy to paddle, responsive, and turned well but seemed that I sat on the water a bit so wonder about the stability in rougher seas; I am maybe a bit light for it. stayed reasonably dry in choppy water
080106- tried a Penguin and a Squall. Penguin (4.8m) bilge hull thermoplastic is quite heavy feeling (26kg) and takes much more effort to paddle than the Barracuda. quite stable but probably would get tired of how unresponsive it is; got reasonably wet in choppy water.
080106- also tried a Current Designs Squall (5.03m), a 26 kg thermoplastic boat. Less primary stability than the penguin and a rounder bilge-type hull. heavier than penguin but instantly easier to paddle; stayed quite dry inn choppy water; probably not as fast as Barracuda to paddle and a bit less primary stability; that said i would probably grow into it fairly quickly;
must try barracudea and squall with about 3-4kg of weight inside the hull to see how they feel under load.
// posted by Canuckiwi01 @ 12:03 
