Stand up paddling is getting popular in Colorado. Colorado River Race 2011 in Glenwood Canyon was dominated by SUPs. It looks like SUPs may soon provide more flatwater racing opportunities than kayak or canoes. Last weekend (March 25, 2012) Rob Bean tried his new paddling board on Beaver Pond in Arapaho Natural Area near Fort …
Stand Up and Paddle – Trying Boardworks Raven in Colorado Read More »
Paddling JKK Supernova kayak below Plumb Ditch Dam on the South Platte River near Greeley. The picture was shot with Canon 5D camera with a timer control on a tripod.
Thunderbolt kayak and snow – climbing South Platte River shore at Evans Riverside Park
Quickblade paddle (Proton) and JKK Supernova kayak during winter paddling on Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins, shot with GoPro Hero camera mounted on a kayak front deck. January 29, 2012.
Soldier Cove of the Horsetooth Reservoir (Pentax Optio W30 camera) After a couple of weeks of test paddling on Beaver Pond and Horsetooth Reservoir including some windy winter condition JKK Supernova kayak was added to my paddling fleet. First thing I had to do was to customize a cockpit. A narrow hanging seat was removed …
JKK Supernova Sea Kayak Added to My Paddling Fleet Read More »
I am still testing Jeremy’s JKK Supernova, a racing sea kayak from New Zealand. I did a couple of 5-7 mile runs on the Horsetooth Reservoir in a winter scenery including pretty windy conditions. Paddling was much drier than it would in my Thunderbolt kayak. The Supernova feels much more comfortable with my bumfortable foam seat. However, for a better comfort, I would have to trim the seat hangers as I did in my Thunderbolt.
I shot a few pictures of the Supernova together with Thundebolt-X kayak designed by Doug Bushnell from West Side Boat Shop. Supernova appears to be a few inches shorter than Thunderbolt, but much wider, and has much higher volume. Thunderbolt cockpit is placed more forward than in Supernova. I am going to measure these kayaks by myself. Data listed by manufactures are not very accurate.
Next, I added Sisson Nucleus 100, a multisport kayak from New Zealand, to the picture for a reference. I like that Grahame Sisson is specifying the sizes of cockpit opening for his kayaks.
These three kayaks have very different cockpits:
– Sisson Nucleus: a very roomy cockpit with a small opening (shorter than Supernova), but quite wide, tiller bar steering
– Thunderbolt: a long open cockpit, tiller bar steering,
– JKK Supernova: a roomy cockpit, but a very narrow opening, sea kayak fit, pedal steering