Sunday, August 26, 2012

Demo + Used Boats on Sale

Here is our list of demo and used boats currently on sale at the shop. For a closer look, please stop by.

Mega Neutron HDP. Excellent condition.One careful owner. Lightly used. Larger guy's surf kayak. Comes complete with float bags, fins, footblocks, heal hole and skirt..you'll be surfing by sundown. Great deal..$750.


Bic Yakka 120
Brand new, discontinued 'clam shell' collapsible kayak. Ideal for downtown apartment or RVing. Hard bottom, inflatable top. As new - $525

Merrimack Canoe- Green
Beautiful handmade canoe with ash gunwales. Wood, carbon and kevlar hull. Weighs in at 58lbs. Very good condition. $1350.

Valley Avocet. Blue over white.
Great sea and surfing kayak for the smaller paddler. Very good condition, with deck compass. $1650.

Stellar S14. Sport Layup. Yellow over white
Shop Demo model. Almost brand new, perfect condition. Very fast, lightweight touring kayak with two bulkheads and hatches. Skeg. $1330.



Mega Xray. Mustard Yellow.
One of the best HDP models made by Mega International. Ideal for the small to medium sized surfer. This one is brand new and ready to rip. $750.

Mega Short R's. Kawasaki Green. Brand new. Short by name, kick your ass by nature. Needs a set of thigh braces. Very fast stunt boat ideal for kamikazi ww paddler living on the coast. $1300.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Skin On Frame Kayak Building Workshop

Session I - November 3-10th.
Session II - November 12-18th.

By Zac Smith
It is an amazing thing to paddle a high performance composite or high density molded plastic boat, however when you paddle your very own skin on frame kayak, that you built with your own two hands, it’s nearly transcendent.
From the time I first began sea kayaking about 10 years ago, I’ve been greatly intrigued by the idea of building my own boat. I knew that there were several types of kits available on the market for stitch and glue boats, and I’d even seen some extremely fine strip-cedar canoes and kayaks as well. Ultimately, however, the aesthetic beauty and the surprising strength and durability of a skin-boat, paired with such a diminished build-time and significant weight reduction, helped me to decide on building a skin-on-frame kayak instead.
The environmentally sustainable materials over plastics or composites was an advantage, and the relationship with a tradition that was developed by the earliest native Inuit paddlers was also of great appeal.

After much research on the traditional skin-on-frame style of kayak building, I discovered Brian Schultz and his boat-building school, Cape Falcon Kayak, (www.capefalconkayak.com).
Cape Falcon operates a small off-the-grid farm and homestead on the rugged coast of Oregon, where Brian tests his boats by fishing, surfing, and distance trekking in the frigid and extreme conditions of the Pacific Northwest. Brian’s utilitarian approach to paddling, and the practical use of his skills and his equipment were very appealing to me, and Brian has never been hesitant to put his boats up to the most rugged and rigorous tests of use and abuse, as you can see in the picture below:



I built my first traditional West Greenland replica seal-hunting kayak with Greenland paddle at Cape Falcon in 2007, see pictures at (http:/www.capefalconkayak.com/oslo.html.) From start to finish the build took us just under a week’s time. Having gained a new knowledge of woodworking and sewing during the class, I also gained a much greater respect for Brian’s expertise and attention to detail as an instructor, paddler, and craftsman.
The West Greenland boat I built is an amazingly elegant and beautiful boat. Weighing a mere 25lbs., it is super fast on the water, and it sits just above the water-line, so it is virtually unaffected by wind. It is a great option for someone wanting to practice rolling and even more of the traditional Greenland-style paddling techniques. Being such a slender boat at just over 20,” it will advance any paddler’s balance and edging skills tremendously.



Last summer in 2011, I returned to the Oregon coast to build a second kayak with Brian’s more modern F1 design. The F1 is a shorter and wider design, 14-1 3/4” x 23” , and with a bit more weight at 30lbs., it is still fast and performance oriented, and unlike the Greenland boat, I can put any of my novice-paddler friends in it and they will be comfortable and confident while out on the water. It is playful and fun in the surf, and it is also great for camping because it has extra volume and capacity for gear. Oh, and my 35lb. dog Maybelle rides beautifully on the back deck! Both boats have served me very well. They are extremely easy and pleasurable to paddle, and I continue to paddle them as my primary kayaks.

At Savannah Canoe and Kayak we want you to get the very best out of each and every paddling experience you have out on the water, and we know that Brian Schultz works very hard to design some of the best skin-on-frame kayaks you can buy or build anywhere, so we’re very glad to be able to offer this kayak-building class right here in Savannah at our new shop. The cost of the class includes all materials needed to build your own boat and Greenland-style paddle. Class will be held in the shop behind Savannah Canoe and Kayak starting Saturday Nov. 3rd-10th from 8:30am-5pm daily. Registration deadline is Aug. 31st!! Please call us with any questions you may have.



Skin On Frame Boat Building Workshop in Savannah, GA
November 3rd-10th, 2012
Sign Up Now!

Monday, August 6, 2012

UTAH SLC WAS ORSM

We recently went to the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Show in Salt Lake City, a vast trade show for shop owners and manufacturers involved in the business of selling and promoting the outdoors.
It's a huge event, and takes over most of downtown SLC every year. We thought it a great chance to see new gear, meet existing suppliers, and experience full-on the nuts and bolts of the outdoor business. Yep, sounds pretty boring, but someone has to do it.

We flew into Vegas, hired a car and spent 5 days driving, camping and hiking in valleys, canyonlands and desert landscapes of extreme beauty. Man, there are some big cracks in the earth. This was the highlight of the whole adventure... hiking in Mukuntaweep Canyon, a night at the Lodge on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, driving through Monument Valley, and on up to Moab and the spooky landscapes of Arches NP.

Of course, none of this involved any paddling, so by the time we reached the demo lake for the ORSM show, we were jonesing for a dig. With over 70 SUP companies in attendance, we hopped from one board to another, until we reached the kayak shore, by which time everyone was packing up and going back to town. But, it seemed like OR was not really a big canoe and kayak paddlers' gig, with very few sea kayaks to be seen. We did, however, run into Nige Foster and P65, which is always cool.

Voyageur SUP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For the next 2 days were spent fumbling and stumbling through miles of aisles, trying to meet appointments, stay on schedule, and keep focused on task. We failed at this quite brilliantly, and are very sorry to those companies whom we had appointments with, but were some three miles away from where we needed to be at the time.


Foam Kidz...for those looking to reduce stress, expense and footprint. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<







The end result of all this is?
It was good to be reminded that we live in a fantastic country with broad mysterious landscapes. Thanks to the Bureau of Land Management, there are even free campsites to stay at, in incredibly beautiful places.
We have several new lines coming to the store which we are very excited about. The outdoor industry is big and corporate with a large foot print indeed, but everyone we met was super cool and a pleasure to do business with.
The water flowed like beer.