It was the beginning of my kayaking journey and it was perfect! People said the ocean is too dangerous for a kayak. Industry veterans remember the late 1970s and early 80s as a time when, if you had a kayak on your car, heads would turn. Deep bow entry, tracks well, fairly stable andboring. The first thing we learned was that even though there was no floatation in the bow, the kayak would stay floating level as long as you kept it upside-down or right-side-up. "Suddenly people didn't have to buy a kayak to live. Pacific Water Sports, a store that's been a fixture in local kayak and canoe circles for 32 years, saw revenue drop off following a move to bigger quarters in Tukwila in 2001, said. PWS is no longer in business but operated in the south sound for years. KN found the boat easy to get going and maintain moderate speed. GL thought it moderately fast. For TE, it seemed to be capable of a brisk cruising speed and a respectable, though not extraordinary sprint. Seattle, WA 98188 All edges and seams were nicely finished and smooth to the touch. GL thought the secondary stability was fair, and noted that the lack of hip bracing and having the seat slip 1/4 inch laterally in its brackets made the boat feel less secure when set on edge. Harrie Tieken started building flatwater racing kayaks and Derek Hutchinson sea kayaks in Holland in the early 1970s. Comes complete with seats, 2 neoprene spray skirts, a sea sock, and bow rope. The third company in the Seattle early '70s trio was Easy Rider, started by Peter Kaupat as a whitewater boat builder in 1970. Your email address will not be published. Its lines mirror everything youd expect in a kayak: a pointed bow and stern with low profile to minimize exposure to winds, front and back decks for seaworthiness, as well as a large cockpit for easy entry and exit. Liberal arts student Steve Schleicher and microbiology instructor Joe Matuska were just a couple more semi-employed whitewater paddlers building paddles and boats for their friends in a converted chicken coop behind Schleichers parents house near Vancouver. Uncle Paul started taking me paddling in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. What Flatpick saidI will say, it was the first kayak I ever paddled and that was about 1981. Compared to the first kayak, this was a rocket. Guy offered to sell it to me on behalf of the owner who is locked up for a bit. cloth with reinforcements. The models included: the original Old Town Otter; the Old Town Otter XT; the Old Town Otter Sport; and the Old Town Otter Plus kayak. Whitewater kayaking was big in the early 70s, first appearing in the Olympics in 1972 at Munich, and many boat builders came to sea kayaking after being drawn to the glitz of whitewater firstskipping the venerable folding kayak tradition entirely. I guess around 50lbs. nly this faint stirring in the air remains: the whisper of ancients only a generation past. In 1975, Ken Fink, an oceanographer in Maine, started paddling his whitewater slalom boat on the Atlantic Oceana not-uncommon way for whitewater kayakers of the day to discover touring. A wave caught me as it broke and I tumbled a few times before I got out of the kayak and (to my surprise) stood up in about 3 feet of water. Things got off to a slow start in the East. Phone: (206) 246-9385 Lots of room for camping gear. But unlike Recreational Equipment Incorporated, which started as a group of amateur mountaineers and grew into the international chain known as REI, the company remained specialized. Slade worried theyd get scratched, and Neckar retorted, The first time people use them theyre going to get scratched.. Address Concerning some of the small details: We do not include rescue bungies because we have never considered them to be positive enough. A solidly built glass boat is perfectly capable of landings on rocky shores and will hold up for years with some simple maintenance. This boat therefore is extremely stable (secondary stability) in bumpy water. Thanks, Required fields are marked *. There was only a wee tendency to veer into the wind, and I found that an almost unconscious correction by edging kept the bow on line (TE). The secondary stability is excellent. Wonderful history of the rise of the sea kayaking industry of which I personally experienced, first as a Feathercraft and Necky dealer in Alaska and later as a board member and then president of TASK. Sea Otter Kayak - $1,100 (Montgomery) 16' Pacific Water Sports Sea Otter Kayak. Antelope Point Marina. Open daily 9:00 (except Christmas). I think TASK did a pretty good job of helping a bunch of amateur businesspeople act a little more professional. One of TASKs most important discoveries was of the needfor boat pricing that would include a healthy profit margin for builders, retailers and, eventually,distributors. We figured out how to get back in it if we somehow flipped at sea. All were nearly the same, with a stable 9-foot, 6-inch hull, great handling, a large, easy to enter cockpit and simple outfitting. "Now they've sold out to bigger companies. Jun 11, 2021. 907-351-2257. Padded section under feet for comfort and heat. This may be a good place to introduce yourself and your site or include some credits. Both are fiberglass and in excellent condition. David Hunt. Others had homebuilt boats whose hulls resembled European downriver racing kayaks or traditional fold-boats, so that by 1974 when commercial production was just getting going, most Seattle-area kayakers were already paddling fiberglass. Women's Florida Springs and Manatee Kayak/Snorkel January 2024 . KN found the Intrepid easy to roll, as did TE, though the height of the aft deck kept him from getting close to the aft deck for a lay back roll. On its side in the water, it would flood quickly. roving with end reinforcements. This content was made possible with the support of OntarioCreates. 537 Marina Pkwy Page, Arizona 86040 . The overall feel was one of solidity and good craftsmanship (KN). Expect to pay between $150 and $250 for a used Old Town Otter kayak in good shape. TE and GL both noted that the middle of the hull oilcanned when pressed hard, though not while afloat. Read Sea Otter R reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. But against what that kayak made me feel. The only problem I have had is that tiny coaming (16x22"). The next kayak Uncle Paul bought was a Pacific Water Sports Sea Otter. The wide kayak had a lot of rocker and a flat bottom. Double Fiberglass Ocean Kayak. The biggest single thing that happened in our industry to make it become what it is was to get the pricing right, said Dowd. Furrer, a design engineer from Austria who had toured in folding kayaks since the 1940s, built his first fiberglass kayak in 1965a slender Greenland-style boat he called the Eskimo. My Uncle still has his Polaris II, Ive gone paddling with him in Port Angeles Harbor and at Lake Crescent. As we returned to Clallam Bay, breakers appeared between us and the beach. 1. It was the sort of enormous, high-volume, flat-bottomed cruiser that came to typify the West Coast boat. My teenage son can tuck the paddle under the toggles and cowboy back in, but I'm not as nimble as he is. Call for the nearest dealer. Many of the original manufacturersNecky, Current Designs, Tiekensold to larger American companies. KN57, 125-pound female. The companies were up and running with viable boat designs, and looking for somewhere to grow. Around this time, a trio of whitewater boat builders sprang up who would eventually make touring kayaks their core business. This boat is a Greenland, is fairly short, and has no skeg. It was probably the product of a paddling club mold set and someones desire to have a kayak. [The Intrepid] was very well balanced at the middle of the coaming (GL). It is a fun boat! Desert Voyagers offers fun guided river trips in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. Traveling any distance in the Otter will be a workout compared to longer kayaks. Their new boat building business soon evolved into a paddling retail store and full-time jobs for Lee and Judy Moyer. I could recommend it to novices as well as experienced paddlers. The fit encourages a feeling of stability (KN). Lots of room for camping gear. Over the years they helped spread the sport by sponsoring kayak festivals, kayak trips and learn-to-canoe programs. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community! But there were no prominent kayak builders until Tieken Kayaks. I just wanted to have a little kayak store that I could run for a few months of the year and I couldpaddle and I could ski. Point it at the other side of the lake and it would take you there in a hurry. This kayak was a whole different beast. Humanity is a whisper here. Besides a user-friendly hull design, another big attribute of the Old Town Otter kayak is its bombproof construction. Foot pegs also reduce paddler fatigue by improving posture while seated in the kayak. Optional features:Rudder. This 16 long kayak designed by Lee Moyer was our first introduction to a sea kayak. I bought this little boat already built, so I cannot comment on the building process, but I can review the boat itself. The Old Town Otter kayak spray skirt is available to stretch over the kayaks 38- by 19-inch cockpit to keep waves and chop out of the kayak and provide protection from the elements; spray skirts are available in lightweight nylon (best for sheltered waters) and robust neoprene (best if you want to paddle the Otter in whitewater). Extruded vinyl hull/deck seam glassed inside. I still measure kayaks against that kayak. As a pioneering recreational kayak the Old Town Otter was among the first to include features that are standard in todays entry-level kayaks, including the high back seat. Companies like Current Designs began to reap the support of the big-box U.S. outdoor stores like L.L. Fink became a self-described evangelist for his new low-impact sport. They formed the Trade Association of Sea Kayaking (TASK)now the Trade Association of Paddlesports (TAPS)and studied the successes and failures of other outdoor industries to put together a plan for theirs. Its not much different than todayexcept you have to go build your own boat. I could get it on my rack without difficulty (KN). Again, the first time I paddled it was at Lake Sutherland. DearTim, So interesting to see the history of sea kayaking as you portray it. cloth, 17-oz. Like my other designs, the Intrepid is easy to use compared to other kayaks of similar performance. Concerning some of the small details: We do not include rescue bungies because we have never considered them to be positive enough. The most challenging paddle destinations for kayaking in the Pacific Northwest (in the south) include the Klickitat River, Wind River, Little White Salmon River and more. A variety of Loon kayaks are available in different lengths to match different paddler sizes and needs. Outfitters such as Adventures By the Sea, Kayak Connection and Monterey Bay Kayaks provide renters with proper outerwear, life jackets, gear and a 10-15 minute lesson before you head out to paddle on the bay. Comes with skirt, cover, and other paddling gear. We have an optional paddle-float rescue system of rope and cleats we believe is much more positive and is easier to set up while you are laying on the kayak, out of the water. Its only logical that the earliest fiberglass sea kayaks appeared in Seattle, where the Washington Kayak Club already had hundreds of members. As if the Pacific Northwest didnt already have its share of the action, a few other Seattle companies entered the businessin the early 80s. GL and KN would find that the Low Profile Intrepid fits better, is more secure and is easier to lean and lay back on the roll. The Intrepid is available in a low-profile model for smaller paddlers and with two seat styles. [The Intrepid] was very well balanced at the middle of the coaming (GL). GL thought the Intrepid was a good-looking kayak with good speed and plenty of stowage for long trips. This is a beautiful fiberglass sea kayak made in Canada by Lee Moyer. I was going to be in the kayak business, he said. Most backyard boat builders were using pirated designs, Moyer said, so he and a buddy set out to buy the rights to a legal mould. If its of interest, John Macgregors original kayak (now on display in the River and Rowing Museum at Henley) was used by his friend to paddle around the North Cape of Norway (the Nordkapp) in 1867. frameless is the newest and best thing created for scuba diving, snorkeling - forget full face mask that fogs up badly.selling$45, new frameless dive mask, crystal clear silicone, incredible fit and feel and will never leak plus fits ANY face shape and type. Slade operated Striders sport store at Fourth and Burrard in Vancouver and became Neckars first dealer, long before the formal existence of Necky. This recreational kayak is easy to handle in flatwater conditions and up to Class II moving water, if equipped with a spray skirt. 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