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Who are your kayaks for? Everyone!! Professionals will appreciate the authentic contours and exceptional handling characteristics of these craft, which, because of their origins, are among the finest of their kind on the skin-and-frame market. And for ametuers--no matter how low your skill level, you will find these models very enjoyable, as long as you are cautious enough not to venture into conditions that strain your abilities. What's more, they are excellent boats for practicing the fine arts of paddling (in pools, lakes, etc.) as well as using for fishing excursions, cardio-vascular training, and kayak contests. Are any of these boats competitive craft? The South West Greenland and Aleut Unulaska Baidarka are excellent amateur competition craft, Properly outfitted, both can hold their own with any boat in the world when in the hands of skilled paddlers who also happens to be satisfied with the standardized dimensions. However, although these are very fine boats with qualities ranking with the best kayaks of the experts, a standardized kayak will never serve a serious competitor as well as will as a custom kayak designed to fit that particular person's body and build. Therefore if you are a professional interested in a boat with which to enter national and international contests of kayak skill, consider our Custom packages. Are your kayaks different from other traditional ones? Yes and no. Our kayaks, like some on the traditionalist market, are perfect hullform replicas of native craft, with their hydrodynamic characteristics left untouched. However, we've chosen a more modern structural framework for our kayaks than the bent-rib system employed in the originals and replicas. For quality construction, low pricing, and suitability for folding design, our models have a cross-frame structure similar to those of other, modern folding kayaks. With this design, these boats are somewhat stiffer and tougher than their native prototypes, with less risk of racking or warping, and minimal increase in weight. How does stability factor in your kayaks' design? We have not altered the original formulas and compromises represented by the native's authentic craft. We have left the responsibility for the stability (or lack thereof) in these hullforms to those who knew best what was needed and what was not, the Inuits and Aleuts. For those of you unfamiliar with the terms used in the articles on our models, this link provides an excellent, if technical, explanation of stability concepts as applied to kayaks. http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Design/StabilityArticle.html What range of body sizes can your boats accommodate, and how well? Our standard models, though easily able to carry practically any weight, will not be ideal for people under 100# or over 300#. Particularly light paddlers will find the kayaks faster but less stable, as the center of gravity is higher in an underloaded boat and less hull is beneath the surface to promote stability. This problem is not unique to our boats; whatever craft light paddlers choose will require somewhat greater caution or skill in use. Large, tall, or heavy paddlers, on the other hand, will find the kayaks somewhat slower, delightfully stable, more so than originally intended perhaps, but in their case the standard dimensions of the cockpit and foothole present a potential limitation to comfortable use. If your experience or your body measurements compared with the given dimensions of our boats suggest you are in this category, consider our Custom packages. Are your baidarkas as flexible as traditional ones? Although the cross-frame system exhibits differect structural behaviour under water forces than the authentic rib system, our longitudinals have been adjusted to compensate for the changes, and the end result is a boat that is practically as flexible as its native prototype. What outfitting do you include with a bare frame? An OEM fabric-and-wood cockpit seat is the only accessory included with all our bare frames. The Greenland model(s), additionally, come with wood reinforcement that fits on the deck behind the cockpit, forming a second seat useful for entering the boat. All other items—coamings, hatches, decklines and lashings, toe-kicks, knee and hip blocks, etc—must be acquired additionally, from us or elsewhere. See our Accessories page for basic types of many of these skin-and-frame necessities, which we ship free with any of our kayak packages. How should these boats be skinned? Since it is not possible to offer here a tutorial on how to skin a kayak, see the appropriate sources on our Links page to learn how if you wish to do your own skinning but do not have experience in doing so. Whether you do your own skin or buy one (from us or elsewhere), it will help to remember that there are three factors that determine the characteristics of the final skin:
We suggest that you consider our PVC removable skins for use with our foldable boats. What is the nature of your “semi-folding” and “folding” models? The semi-foldable boats are assembled with wood screws, and we strongly recommend against disassembling more often than a few times a year, as the holding strength of the screws in the wood members can easily be comprimised through over tightening. The foldable boats, on the other hand, are completely outfitted with pins, hardware, and metal screws, and are intended for disassembly as often as required. How are they assembled? The process differs across models, but specific diagrams/instructions are provided with each boat. Basically the process involved splicing the gunnels to full length, inserting cross-frames and stems, then the other longitudinal members. Once these are connected, the few remaining pieces are fit into place. Why do you offer free shipping for foldables, yet require a 60% shipping fee on non-foldables? It is our policy to absorb shipping costs as much as possible in order not to penalize lower 48 and international customers. We have developed the foldables to such an extent that shipping them anywhere in the world is extremely cheap (approx 40-60 USD) so we are willing to make up that sum ourselves. The non-foldables are much more expensive to ship, chiefly because of their size, and it is reasonable to expect the customer to take a share of that expense. Compared to our foldables, this may seem unfair, but compared with the shipping rates charged for other companies' fiberglass and non-foldable boats—which are totally the responsibility of the customer—our policy on solid boats is very generous indeed. How firmly do you stand behind your products? In common with most builders of traditional skin-and-frame kayaks, we offer NO WARRANTY WHATSOEVER on our frames. We cannot be liable for the end-user's treatment of our kayaks or the riskiness of the environment the end-user may subject the kayaks to, particularly since the hardiness of the skinned boat has a great deal to do with the quality of the skinning job. This by no means implies that we are not confident in the integrity of our design and workmanship; it is standard practice among even the best frame-builders. However, we will readily replace any parts that the end-user may find defective. We stock an inventory of pre-fabricated drop-in parts for the foldables, and in the unlikely event of damage during assembly we will ship the necessary part(s) for a nominal S/H fee. Damage during reasonable use, if clearly proven to be directly caused by defective workmanship, will be remedied on the same terms. (Note that most accidents resulting in damage to these type of kayaks are caused by bad skinning and/or poor seamanship and technique and/or dangerous environments not conducive to the use of skin-and-frame boats at all and/or plain bad luck. We may or may not choose to replace a part under these circumstances; certainly we are not ethically obliged to do so.) If you choose to have us skin the boat, however, we do offer a one-year warranty against damage in both skin and boat, under conditions of normal ocean or flatwater use, and limited to replacement of the damaged part(s) only. We do not reimburse for losses. Surfing, whitewater runs, and stunt kayaking in heavy waves are not reasonable use for these boats and we are not responsible for any damage caused by such misuse. |
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