Last night I picked up a new (to me) kayak, a gift from Scott Stenberg who has a large number of boats and was looking to get rid of a few. This one has been rode hard and put away wet over a long career with a couple of owners who are far more intense than I, but in spite of a number of nicks and bangs and customizations and re-customizations, the gel coat is still clear and unclouded by UV and it’s still pretty smooth under the waterline. Scott even included a cover to keep it that way. The boat is currently rigged with a rudder underneath, although it came with an over-stern rudder or two if I want to convert it. I have a suspicion that the underneath type is better in the surf, but the over-stern one is better in weeds. I’ll have to see. The boat is only 29 pounds – I’d never weighed my Looksha before, and was astonished to find it come in at 49.5! I’d always assumed it was lighter because it felt so much lighter than my Skerray. The Thunderbolt is also about half a foot longer and about 2 inches narrower. Dan described it as “tender”, which I think is a polite way to say “tippy as hell”.
One consequence of the underneath rudder is that I had to dig a hole in the lawn in order to sit in the boat to adjust the foot bar position. I guess I should mention that the first time I tried sitting in the boat on a flat lawn, I tipped over. That doesn’t bode well for my first experiences on the water, does it?
The strange thing for me is the tiller steering. I’ve never really looked at one before, so I’m not sure how stock this one is. I know that Scott added the PVC pipe to extend the tiller bar because he couldn’t reach it the way he had the foot brace. Interestingly, even though he’s shorter than I, I actually had to pull the foot brace towards the cockpit a few stops to get enough push to get some rotation. I’m going to order a set of “normal” foot pedals from Onno Paddles just as soon as I figure out which of those things he needs the dimensions for.
I tried to enlist Widget’s help while I was adjusting things on the boat, but he was no help at all. In this shot, you can see the “cargo net” behind the cockpit for keeping PFD or extra hydration, and in front of the cockpit you can see that red tapey thing which I’m not sure is some sort of carrying handle or to attach the GPS to. There are also patches of velcro here and there that I’m sure had a specific use for one of the owners. One of the strangest things is a couple of wide velcro straps across the cockpit – you can see the screws they attach to just to the left of Widget’s giant head. Scott said they were thigh straps, but I can’t see how you’d use thigh straps and get a good racing rotation, so maybe he or a previous owner paddled more like a sea kayaker than a racer? I will probably remove them and patch the holes with some epoxy and Fiberglas.
Once it warms up a bit today, I hope to get out to try to paddle this thing. Obviously I’m going to need to bring a change of clothes and a towel because there is no way I’m going to avoid dumping. I guess I’ll go to the beach where the bottom is sandy and not too unpleasant to swim in. I’ll let you know how it goes.