: Sounds like my comparative problem. The VJ, complete with all the
: hardware and extra stuff I usually carry along in the hatches,
: is over 50-lbs. She weighs in at about 45-lbs MT. In the old
: days (go back 8 years) I thought she was a piece of cake to
: carry. Once I built the Raven in 2005, (a Hans Friedel TK-1
: trainer which weighed in at 24-lbs), I barely noticed it's
: weight and began to ponder how to build lighter kayaks. The
: Raven was built with with really minor fillets and seam tapes on
: the inside and 4-oz on the outside. Now that I have the NH,
: which weighs in somewhere under 30-lbs (no hardware on the decks
: and not weighed yet) and I can carry with two fingers if
: necessary, I balk at the idea of lugging the VJ across any
: distance longer than 20 meters. Add to that my increased age, a
: lack of exercise and a growing penchant for watching movies
: while sipping red wine and eating such delictables as chips and
: dip and you have impending disaster.

: Heck, once I get past the age of 55 I might never take the VJ out
: again just because the thought of carrying her would tire me
: out. Since meeting Linda and getting into a relationship with
: her, I have noticed that kayaking tends to be fairly relaxed
: sight-seeing events instead of the hard pulling training I used
: to do. However, I did resolve this year (not a New Years
: reso-thingy so I shouldn't fail at it) to get on the river more
: often and get back to doing those hard upstream paddling
: workouts. Here's to the idea of paddling upstream more often
: this year.

: *eats a chip with ample dip and washes it down with a little
: home-made red*

: Robert N Pruden

I am very often called upon to be a safety boat, so the Greenlander stays around, even with it's gross excess weight, since I have no fear of damaging it dragging repeated kayaks over it's decks :)

It's also entertaining to paddle once it's in the water and the round cockpit is an excellent anti-theft device ;)

Bill H.