: The design looks like a high volume white water kayak. How does the boat
: handle? What are its tracking characteristics? What is the origin of the
: design? Lots of questions... just never saw a boat of this configuration
: before. Looks like it could handle a brisk Alaskan river.

: Roger

Roger,

Let me first say that I had never paddled a kayak until last summer when I bought a used Perception Dancer.It is a short, rather round-bottomed kayak, and I can only guess that it is pretty well an 'all round' design...It is not a sea kayak! My first few paddling sessions must have been amusing to any bystanders, as I was unable to keep it going straight, and it did seem very tippy. So, with this rather extensive kayaking background, I do not feel very qualified to comment on this Recovery kayak's performance. I made it flatter on the bottom for stabilty, like one of the examples in the article. This kayak does go much straighter than the Dancer, even though it is shorter. According to the article, it was used in the surf to recover game that had been shot from water's edge. The author points out its similarity to modern surf kayaks. The builder can pretty well decide the handling characteristics desired and build accordingly, says the author. I wanted it to track a little more, so I used a deeper keelson??

I just wanted to try my hand at building a kayak, doing it on the cheap, and for lake use. I live in Japan, where space is at a premium, and prices are very high. I was still able to build a kayak for about $200 and it fits on the deck/balcony! It does, as one poster mentioned, look 'funny', but it fills my needs for now, until the next one, a stripper!

kelly