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Re: Suitability
By:Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks
Date: 5/20/2016, 10:12 am
In Response To: Re: Suitability (Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K)

“The wind and waves come up so quickly on Lake Erie that you can go from dead calm one minute to ten foot waves within ten minutes.”

So, what would you consider a "suitable" kayak for a novice on Lake Erie? What is it about the design that would make it suitable? According to your information, during the summer winds are less than 20kts 80% of the time, how does this inform your design decisions?

I am not discounting the dangers of Lake Erie. Here are fatality statistics for Ohio including Lake Erie: http://watercraft.ohiodnr.gov/watercraft-home/accidents/fatalities-2010-2014 Notice that hazardous water and weather is rarely what kills (4% of fatalities). Most fatalities are due to the actions of people: Drugs, behavior, inattention, inexperience (56% total). Inexperience was 3 times more to kill someone than hazardous water and weather. Notice also that a overwhelming majority of victims were not wearing life jackets (93%).

As kayak designers we like to put a lot of faith in the qualities of our designs. I personally put a lot of effort into designing specific kayaks for specific bodies of water and conditions. I strongly believe that traditional qajaqs and baidarkas were developed with hyper attention to local conditions and uses. Yet, for all that, once in the hands of a specific paddler, the success or "suitability" of that design is purely in the hands of the user.

The last thing I will say is:

Wear Your Life Jacket


Messages In This Thread

Strip: Almost finished *PIC*
Marc Donnelly -- 5/15/2016, 5:43 pm
Re: Strip: Almost finished
Bill Hamm -- 5/16/2016, 12:13 am
Re: Strip: Almost finished
Marc Donnelly -- 5/16/2016, 5:29 am
Re: Strip: Almost finished
Bill Hamm -- 5/17/2016, 1:29 am
Re: Strip: Almost finished
Shawn Jones -- 5/17/2016, 6:41 pm
Re: Strip: Almost finished
Marc Donnelly -- 5/18/2016, 11:46 am
Re: Suitability
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/18/2016, 1:11 pm
Re: Suitability
Marc Donnelly -- 5/18/2016, 5:06 pm
Re: Suitability
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/18/2016, 7:18 pm
Re: Suitability
Marc Donnelly -- 5/18/2016, 8:30 pm
Re: Suitability
Bill Hamm -- 5/19/2016, 12:48 am
Re: Suitability
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/19/2016, 3:37 pm
Re: Suitability
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 5/19/2016, 3:46 pm
Re: Suitability *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/19/2016, 7:39 pm
Re: Suitability
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 5/20/2016, 8:05 am
Re: Suitability
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/20/2016, 10:12 am
Re: Suitability
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 5/20/2016, 11:55 am
Re: Suitability
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/20/2016, 3:05 pm
Re: Suitability
Thomas Duncan -- 5/21/2016, 8:22 am
Re: Suitability
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 5/21/2016, 10:44 am
Re: Suitability
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/21/2016, 11:22 am
Re: Suitability
Robert W -- 5/21/2016, 11:09 am
Re: Suitability
Dan Thaler -- 5/21/2016, 9:04 pm
Re: Suitability
Bill Hamm -- 5/22/2016, 12:30 am
Re: Suitability
Bill Hamm -- 5/22/2016, 12:22 am
Re: Suitability
Marc Donnelly -- 5/22/2016, 9:33 pm
Re: Suitability
scottbaxter -- 5/24/2016, 12:36 am
Re: Suitability
Marc Donnelly -- 5/24/2016, 7:48 pm
Re: Suitability
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/24/2016, 8:37 pm
Re: Suitability
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 5/24/2016, 9:45 pm
Re: Suitability
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/24/2016, 10:10 pm
Re: Suitability
scottbaxter -- 5/24/2016, 11:20 pm
Re: Suitability
Mike Bielski -- 5/25/2016, 11:39 pm