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.