[Public-list] Kayaks?

[FINNUS505 at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/28/2006 5:59:39 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
liquid_addiction at hotmail.com writes:

Hi, I  have a feathercraft folding kayak on board.  Folding kayaks fall  
somewhere in the middle of rigid and inflatable boats.  I find my  kayak to 
be a good compromise, and certainly a usable alternative to a  rigid boat.  
Hydronamically, they are behind their rigid  counterparts, however the 
inaesthetics and inefficiencies of inflatables  will always stop me from 
going down that route.  Some folding kayak  enthusiastics claim that they can 
be more seaworthy than rigids, and mine  certainly copes in a big sea.  They 
do suffer the same problem as  inflatables that they can't be run aground, 
and must be treated with more  tenderness as a result.  In terms of 
usability, though, folding boats  are great.  I paddled 60km in 10 hours in 
mine a little while back,  not too much off what I get in a much longer flat 
water boat in that  time.

Have a look at folding kayaks on google.  They're not cheap,  but for me it 
was a simple choise, as it was either a folder or nothing at  all on board.

David
Kalitsah  440
Sydney



two more cents..............:)
My folding kayak is an old Folboat, with wooden frames and floors, and  
aluminum stringers. I love it to death, but it is heavy. Take home message; all  
folding kayaks are not created equal. The newer models are built with more  
plastic and aluminum in the frames, which makes them lighter. I am sure that  they 
are just as strong in relation to dealing with the stress' that they are  
designed to deal with, so you just have to give up the aesthetic of the  
varnish:).
 
The Klepper folding kayaks are a little better than the Folboats, in that  
they have an inflatable bladder that runs along the shear line. This stiffens  
the boat significantly. The Folboat works quite a bit when dealing with  chop.
Lee :)
 
There are newer brands out there as well now, but I have not had any  contact 
with them.
 
 

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