Thursday, September 30, 2010

Kayaking 101X
How to Destroy Your Kayak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ2yZ8aZaVI

If you missed the comments from the last posting, you missed this link from Gnarly. Worth a look.
Thanks, mate.

Paddle Safe...
DS

2 comments:

JohnB said...

gnarly indeed! No helmets or pfds?

gnarlydog said...

the term "destroying" is relative.
Pittarak kayaks are not your ordinary QCC/surfski style hull.
While some eggshell sea kayaks would indeed be destroyed in those conditions Pittarak kayaks might suffer some damage but far from destroyed.
Just like some wannabe 4WDs will get really bent out of shape if taken on a real trail drive some kayaks hole at the first sign of impact.
I had kayaks like that.
A simple low speed contact with another kayak put a nice hole in it.
Repair was easy since it was a composite hull but gave me very little confidence to use those kayaks in demanding conditions.
Since some of my paddling sees me on rocky shores ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53RarOwotyg ), these days I favour a heavier kayak with a decent lay up.
I won't try to emulate the moves in the video but at least I won't be limping after some mild action.
But hey, how many 4WD actually ever see the dirt?
Very few...