Found my kayak. The one.

[Cataboo]

*cough*

Well, that lasted a few months! Then there was an arms race & I found another MY KAYAK.

Actually, I love the vela & I'm keeping it - and as long as I was paddling with people in plastic boats even if they were a couple feet longer - I was faster.

But then I started paddling with people in 18 foot kevlar racing kayaks or surfskis... And I'd be paddling all out getting to hull speed on the vela, while they were just cruising.

Then R bought a 17.5 foot fiberglass boat and my 15'8 one just wasn't quite fast enough....

So when someone mentioned they were selling their custom made nigel foster silhouette (bulkheads are moved closer for a short person to have more storage space, etc.), I kinda decided that instead of having 1 fiberglass & 1 plastic boat, I'll just have a short fiberglass boat for daytrips or fun on my own and a longer one for touring & paddling with the faster one. So away went the plastic boat and a new boat was adopted.

And... the fact that it's red just sealed the deal. I've wanted a red kayak or bike FOREVER. It's actually got pretty similar lines to the vela, so behaves in the same playful manner despite being more than 2 feet longer (it's 17'11"), it's slightly narrower, so it cuts through the water better, definitely faster, and rolled for me the first time.

So here's the new "used" one:

[divingbiker]

Congratulations! It's gorgeous.

Red bikes and kayaks rule!

[lph]

OMG That is a BEAUTIFUL boat. Congratulations!

[Zen]

I have a feeling this is not the last bump for this thread

[NoNo]

That's puuuuurty! Happy paddling

[tulip]

Soooooo...which ones ARE you selling??

[Cataboo]

thanks everyone! I was out on the water with her for about 6 hours yesterday. I need to go buy some stuff to replace her decklines and such.

The tempest 165 gets to stay around for another year or so as R's 2nd boat. If he ever finds a good price on a p&h cetus LV,the point 65 XP is going:





Avatar's gone. Kevlar CD caribou is gone. prijon barracuda is gone. tempest 170 gone.

Zen - unless I get into racing, this thread probably won't have any more bumps. There is a limited selection of really nice good low volume high end boats for lighter paddlers - most LV boats are just cut down versions of the normal sized boats that have bad compromises. So as far as I'm concerned,for my paddling styles and needs - I've got probably 2 of the best boats for me - 1 playful day boat and 1 long fast touring/expedition boat... Now, would I want something light in kevlar instead of the fiberglass I have? The point 65 x-lite is basically my vela in kevlar and about 25 lbs lighter... That i might consider if I ever see it used at a good price. But I think most people with that boat probably won't ever give it up - and kevlar is harder to repair than fiberglass. My boats are "british heavies" - basically british boats designed to paddle along the rocky shores/islands around Britian... and there is some advantage in a fiberglass boat that you can beat around a bit like you can do a plastic boat without worrying about it, even though it makes for a heavier boat.