: An so it is with kayaking, most "innovations" came from hunters,
: not racers.
Derek is a hunter?

As soon as there is two of anything, there is racing. When Roger Paris and Walt Harvest passed each other on the road with kayaks on their cars, they both did U turns to connect with each other. If you look at the early whitewater records you will see that both of them were national champions several times in the sixties. I started paddling in the seventies and California had about 300 paddlers. Most folks were content with mild touring. The real skills, knowledge and equipment evolution was coming from the racers who were also excellent exploration kayakers and opening more runs for us to follow. Slalom course design called for fast manueverable kayaks and the kayaks evolved to rockered designs maintaining the 4 meter 13'2" restriction. These were also better for steeper drops because the bow would not pop abruptly causing the stern to slam into the drop. Plastic came along 73-74 and was dominent by 79. At the same time racing kayaks were getting lower to sneak under the slalom gates. This was the point of separation where plastic was too heavy for racing and racing kayaks were not practical for exploration. In 1979 we asked for shorter kayaks and Perception came through with an Eclipse 12'2" in 1982 and the Dancer 11'7" in 83. That was the beginning of kayaks for the masses. Many Composite kayak companies turned their energies to sea kayaks which lasted longer and commanded a better price.
In early 1979 Ann Dwyer bought a GAP kayak from Grahame Sisson in Nelson N.Z. and introduced them in the US as KIWI kayaks. That and Ocean Kayaks Scupper addressed much of the publics phobia associated with the performance kayaks. Larger cockpits did the same with WW kayaks. Corin Addison tryed to design a WW kayak that would flat spin and came close. It was Mark Cosina working with Spike at Necky that came up with the first planing hulls that now dominate that market. Somewhere in the mid eighties Aquaterra brought out the Lee Moyer designed Chinook sea kayak, others followed and that was the birth of affordable sea kayaks, though lighter composite kayaks hold there own quite well.

So depending on when you got into the sport or the industry will strongly effect your reality of what is so.

That is how I saw it from 1970 to the present and though I am aware of the thread of connection going back through the Kleppers, Robroys, and native crafts, I do not have an experiential sense of that and will leave that to others.

It is all good and the last thing that I would want is everybody using all the same equipment, feather angles, styles, etc.

Best,

Reg