Author: Ray

Much as I am endeared to composite sea kayaks, I recognize that polyethylene kayaks fill a useful niche — and a polyethylene kayak is my boat of choice at times. I’ve been using a poly VCP Avocet to run local rivers for the past 5 years. While a great sea kayak, the Avocet — maneuverable, rockered, durable — adapts quite well to the river. This year I’m paddling the Riot Brittany which at 16.5′ x 21.75 is slightly longer and narrower than the Avocet. This combined a deeper bow and stern (and less rocker)seems to make the Brittany significantly faster, which is important on the flatwater sections of local rivers. The Brittany turns readily when put on edge and appears to be able to handle Class I and Class II whitewater just fine. (I’ll get back to you later on Class III).

Overall the Brittany is a very nice boat, fun to paddle and fast. It includes outfitting details such as a adjustable thigh braces, rescue outrigger system, interior gear net, paddle hook and security bar in addition to details present on boats like the Avocet. The one thing I would change about the Brittany at this point is the high backrest. I’ll be looking into how I can modify the backrest or replace it with a back band.

(Disclaimer: I am a new dealer of Riot Kayaks this spring.)

A visitor to touringkayaks.com asked whether the Q700 kayak would be a suitable fit for him, given the fact that he has a bad knee. I hedged in my response, asking for more information. In general, though, paddling can be a great activity for those whose knees may limit their ability to participate in sports such as hiking, bicycling, running, etc:

“Once you are seated in the boat with your knees under the deck, it is not necessary to use your knees a great deal. But that also depends on the type of paddling you are doing and the conditions you paddle in. Edging a kayak and rolling both involve using the knees. Paddling in rough conditions is also likely to demand use of the knees to help stabilize the boat. On the other hand, paddling in flatwater places little demand on the knees.

My overall answer is that I think kayaking can be an excellent activity for those with knee problems. I have worked with handicapped paddlers including amputees and have seen them do very well paddling conventional kayaks without any modifications.

A recent discussion on paddling.net has more views on this subject: http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?

One of my resolutions for 2006 it to post here more regularly. I thought I’d start out by posting some links to sites with kayaking desktop wallpaper, but was surprised when my Google search didn’t turn up much to my liking. (Please send links if you know of any. Two links that did turn up: Kayaking desktop wallpaper at Paddling.net and
Kayaking screensavers at Outdoorplay.com

Click to open a 1034 x 768 copy of the image. Then you can right click on the image and either “copy” and “paste” into your own files, or select “set as wallpaper.”