Re: British Heavy

Posted by LeeG on Aug 3, 2004

You're going to find that one statement used to market one kayak in one field may not necessarily be generalized to all kayaks. For example the term "Greenland style" is often used to describe ANY four panel hull. Which is as accurate as calling any four wheeled vehicle a car whether it's an ATV or pickup. Necky uses the term "multi-chine" to distinguish elements in it's Looksha designs,,but those "chines" have nothing to do with the hulls maneuverability just as the OspreyHp or WR180 multichines have nothing to do with their lack of maneuverability. The tradition of British kayak design comes from a higher skilled customer base,,and rougher use, using the construction techniques of hand layed FRP(fiber reinforced plastic/'fiberglass') that necessitated thick ablative gel coats and durable decks. That's how you got 60lb fiberglass boats using less than the most efficient construction techiques or materials. This is all changing but the terms take awhile to change as well. The OspreyHp is a design from ten yrs ago, essentially a skinny GoldenEye/Osprey Standard. 15-20yrs ago straightkeeled Nordkapps were an example of a heavy straight tracking British kayak,,but is as representative of "British" designs nowadays as a 1985 Cadillac is of 2004 American cars.

In Response to: Re: British Heavy by Mac on Aug 3, 2004

Replies:

• Re: British Heavy by Mac on Aug 3, 2004
  • Re: British Heavy by Terry Mcadams on Aug 3, 2004
    • Re: British Heavy by LeeG on Aug 3, 2004
      • Re: British Heavy by Mac on Aug 3, 2004