Skills weekend sponsored by Expedition Kayaks

[Ben Britton]

I was speaking to Rob Mercer over the weekend and he made the offer of a weekend of Klan training, half sponsored by Expedition Kayaks.

The details:
A group of six Klanners pay for one full day of training and get the second day paid for by EK.

This will be two days of on-the-water training but will also include sessions about paddle selection and hull design.

I'm keen to do some surf or rougher water training, if you had suggestions of other things you'd like to do, they could probably be incorporated.

Expedition Kayaks will bring a trailer full of gear for us to test and on the sunday will extend a more general invitation to people who aren't in the six to come and have a test paddle. Obviously the exposure to their range of boats and gear is the incentive for them, but I don't imagine it being a hard sell.

The weekend needs to be in the next couple of months - consider it a winter special.

It will cost $130 each.

Rob likes Umina as a site because of the greater range of conditions available. But if a better alternative was suggested then I'm sure he'd consider it.

If there's a bit of interest i'll start talking dates and post an Event.

Cheers,
Ben

[Simon McGuire]

Hi Ben,
I believe this idea has been discussed before and received good support although it did not proceed. I for one would be interested and more than happy with Umina as a location, so count me in. It's going to be tough to keep it to just 6 members though. Perhaps Mark could come with Rob and have a bigger group.

[Ben Britton]

Sounds like they might both come but they were pretty keen to keep it small - one of them to look after the gea I guess. Rob said that a few people have been interested in surf training - I think Phil may have mentioned this - so he really only wanted a group of 6 max. I thought it might just be first-in best-dressed.

But if lots of people put their hand up I'm sure we could ask.

[John Anderson]

Hi Ben,

yes please, definitely interested. Certainly needs to be in the next couple of months for me, as the new bub could be with us anytime after mid August.

cheers,

John

[Ben Britton]

No worries John, I'll lock you in.

Incidentally, Rob mentioned you were thinking about buying a Valley RM. I was there test paddling the Aquanaut but Rob suggested I probably should have a go at the Nordkapp too. He mentioned you were wondering about the same options and suggested that we could borrow a Nordkapp for a week or two to have a bash with. If you're interested maybe we could figure out a time that would work for both of us.

And congratulations about the upcoming addition to the family.

[John Anderson]

Thanks Ben,

I'll look forward to it. Rob's a talented instructor, time spent with him is always a good investment.

Yes, I'm looking at those two boats. I'd love a chance to have the use of a Nordkapp for a good stretch of time. See how it feels with a load of camping gear in and so on. What sort of time frame are we looking at ?

[Ben Britton]

Hi John, It sounds like we could have it any time we can pick it up, in terms of how long, it sounds like only a week or two (2-3 weekends I guess). Is that any good to you?

[John Anderson]

It certainly is, Ben.

All I could really do at RnR was jump in and go. No load except me. At my weight the boat was close to it's lowest level of righting moment and I think having the time to pad out the seat would have made a big difference. Even just having the thing for a full day, to see what difference the load makes would be good. The extra weight should change the stability profile quite noticeably. Having the chance at a couple of solid days and maybe a few short paddles before work, that's just gold. It would really let me work out whether I can live with the stability profile of the boat for the sort of use it's going to get.

[Simon McGuire]

You know you want it John. I see you paddling a Nordkapp in the not too distant future. Hope Julie is doing well.
Simon.

[John Anderson]

Thanks Simon, me too, especially since they've sold out of plastic aquanauts :)
That's my excuse anyway.

Julie's good thanks, any chance of catching up before you guys head North ?

[Owen Walton]

John, Ben Are you looking at the Norkapp or Nordkapp LV? There is a brilliant review of the LV at http://seakayakphoto.blogspot.com/2007/01/valley-nordkapp-lv-test.html It's almost good enough to turn my head from the Anas Acuta or Night Heron; but only almost!

[John Anderson]

Hi Owen,

we're actually looking at the Nordkapp RM, which is the poly version, also called the "Enthusiast". It's received some really glowing reviews too, along the lines of "we can't believe it's not composite". Performs almost exactly the same as the composite version. That's what they set out to acheive with it and they've done an amazing job of it, because the process requirements for the two materials are quite different. In size it's in between the regular Nordkapp and the Nordkapp LV.

If I could afford composite, I'd definitely be looking at the Nordkapp LV as I think the stability profile vs load would be slightly better suited for my size and needs. It would be the size though not the material attracting me, I don't really believe that the composite offers me much advantage over the trilaminate poly. That foam layer stiffens it up nicely. Gives the boat more inherent buoyancy. Is virtually indestructible and is not much heavier than a strong glass layup.

I'm also tossing up an Avocet RM, as with bub due in September, my overnight trips might be somewhat limited for a while. A good play boat may fit the usage bill better in the near future.

[Selim Tezcan]

Ben, I am interested in this training. Apart from surf Skills I am also interestd in improving my forward strokes. In terms of hardware i am interested in Paddles. I like to try all different types possible.
Selim.