Kayak Demo
I headed down to Stan Sayres Park along Lake Washington for the REI Paddle Demo Day. Manufacturers of Kayaks and Canoes, of which REI sells, bring in their boats for anyone to try out for free. Basically I got two and half hours of free paddling. SweeT!
Oh, and to make it very Seattle, it rained the whole time. But that doesn’t matter when you are kayaking since you are wet anyway. I showed up at the opening (10am) and grabbed a life vest, a paddle, and tried out the Wilderness Systems Tsunami 145. I would classify the Tsunami line as a rec/touring boat. This boat had lots of initial stability and it was very easy to enter and exit. I next tried the Wilderness Systems Tempest 170. A much tighter cockpit and I didn’t feel overly stable in this boat - probably my least favorite. Again, a kayak fit is very personal - everyone likes something a little different. I then tried the Wilderness Systems Tsunami 175 and Tsunami 125. Some of the kayaks had rudders - the demo rudders were definitely abused and not as usable as one would hope - but again, I believe this is because they are demo boats getting abused every weekend. Overall I was generally pleased with Tsunami series. I unfortunately didn’t try any pro series boats which may have made me a bigger fan.
I next tried out multiple Delta kayaks. First I took out the Delta Fifteen 5 Sport. The first thing I noticed was the greatly improved rudder system over the Wilderness Systems boats. The pedals on the Delta kayaks are stationary and you use your toes to manipulate the rudder, and these rudders were in better condition than the ones on the Wilderness Systems’ boats. In addition, the overall look of the Delta boats was nicer (again, I didn’t try an Pro series boats from Wilderness Systems). The stability was better on these boats also - both primary and secondary stability. On the Fifteen 5 Sport, the cockpit seemed tight to me - otherwise I enjoyed it. I took out the Delta Twelve - mainly since no one else wanted to. Not a bad boat - good stability and decent tracking. Finally I took out my favorite of the bunch - the Fourteen 5 Expedition. The dimensions between the Fourteen 5 and Fifteen 5 cockpit are not different - but for some reason it felt much different for me. I’m not sure if the seats were adjusted differently or what (just checked the stats - the cockpit volume is bigger on the Fourteen 5 Exp then on the Fifteen 5 Sport). Anyway, I loved this kayak. The rudder system worked well, it was comfortable, and the stability suited my abilities. I even adjusted the foot pegs while adrift in the lake with no difficulty.
By this point two and half hours had gone by and I was cold. Since it was a demo day, all the kayaks were wet inside from people getting in and out - so I was soaked all the through on my pants. My upper body, while dry, was cool. Time to leave and get a beer.
Oh, one more thing…this was my Father’s Day gift…leaving the house for 3 to 4 hours to go kayaking…I loved every minute. Thanks Hon!