Mon - November 12, 2007

Paddling Kruger Designed Sea Wind Canoe after a Year in WSBS Thunderbolt Kayak



Thunderbolt-X kayak in Colorado

I received my Thunderbolt-X in early December of 2006 and spent the entire year paddling almost exclusively that kayak. I am starting to devote a little bit more attention to my other boats.

I spent last Saturday afternoon paddling Sea Wind canoe on the Lake Dillon in central Colorado. I love to paddle Sea Wind designed by Verlen Kruger. Since 2002 I paddled her in very different waters including Florida in WaterTribe Challenges, a twisty Dismal River in Nebraska Sandhills, and the Colorado River in Colorado and Utah.

I also used to take Sea Wind for short paddling on my local waters. However, I've got really spoiled by light racing kayaks. It takes a minimal effort and less than a minute to load Thunderbolt or Sisson Nucleus, or even Spencer X-treme to the top of my car equipped with Ez-Vee roof racks. So, there is no problem to take them for even a short 1 hour paddle workout. The same operation with 60+ lb Sea Wind is much more complicated and time consuming. If I have a shoulder problem it is showing up not during paddling, but rather during carrying and loading a heavy boat.

Nevertheless, I am planning to paddle Sea Wind more often in winter season, especially, when lakes and reservoirs are still liquid in Colorado. I am also hoping to do some photography with my DSLR camera which would be too challenging for a racing kayak. Of course, I am always carrying a waterproof Pentax Optio W10 in a pocket of my life jacket.

Oh yes, and I need a new Zaveral paddle. All my single blade paddles are chewed by shallow rivers in Colorado and my favorite one was broken when trying to paddle upstream of the Big Shoals on Suwannee River to take a better picture.

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Posted at 10:21 AM    


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