Kayak Skills

Sam and I took a friend's new kayak down to Blackmans Bay beach today to give it a bit of a test to make sure it was suitable for "young children" .  We were obviously the perfect candidates for such a test.

Sam undertaking the "can kids paddle the boat into the blowhole test".

Me testing it in 'the big surf'.

After a bit of a play near the cliffs and in the backwash and the surf, I decided there was only one way to truly test how stable this boat is: the well regarded ISO17003 certified "stand up" test. Under the protocols of this test, the paddler, well, try's to stand up.

This is me demonstrating to Sam how a stand up test should be undertaken:

Notice the graceful way I entered the water with barely a splash.

Unfortunately, Sam is a very slow photographer so only got this shot of me showing how to do an emergency dismount after (and I swear it is true) standing up on the boat for a good 2 or 3 minutes playing in the surf.  Fortunately, after my expert tuition, Sam managed to also show how the "stand up" test is done, albeit that he only managed to stay up for a few seconds unlike my marathon effort.

Fortunately I am a much better photographer and managed to capture this shot. 

Our conclusion - you couldn't tip this thing unless you really, really tried.  Shame it's almost as difficult to get it to go in a straight line.  Think I'll stick with my Ocean Ski.

:)