Hello everyone. This is a follow up to a discussion that we all had last December. My company, ITT Rule Industries, manufactures a complete range of bilge pumps for the pleasure boating industry and I am the Product Manager. We are now developing a battery powered system for kayaks but want your feedback before we come out with the product. Now's your chance to tell me what you want! In short, the concept is to have a rechargeable battery pack (5" wide x 4" high - 4 lbs) that would be mounted (heavy duty velcro)somewhere (probably behind your seat) that is connected to a powerful but compact (4.25" high, 2-3/8" wide weighing 10 oz) bilge pump (also mounted with heavy duty velcro). These two main components would be easily removed at any time. We would include hose as well as a thru hull fitting along with a small waterproof on off witch that can be mounted anywhere you wish (probably in front of you somewhere). Our concerns include total weight added (about 5 lbs) as well as your feelings about cutting a hole and installing a fitting on your kayak. The "kit" would probably include a 12 volt (cigarette lighter) recharger as well as a home 110 volt recharger. The pump with the fully charged battery pack can pump for about 45 minutes total pumping time, evacuating a total of about 500 gallons of water. Most impressive will be its ability to initially remove 100 gallons of water in 7 minutes. We know that you probably don't get that quantity of water but if you did, you would be ready for it. So my questions are.... 1. Dou you want this product? 2. What would you be willing to pay for such a system? 3. What changes would you like to see in the system?

Lastly, I am trying to get a grip on just how many kayaks are out there and how many are manufacturer/sold each year.

All of your comments and help are greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.