Mattias Altin

Open boating on moving water

2007-08-22T19:52:00Z

I did a weekend of open boating on moving water with James Weir from Kayakojacko back in April this year.

It was great fun and I can higly recommend James for his relaxed coaching style and passion for open boating!

See this blog entry over at Kayakojacko for some pictures.

Some photos from my 3 star open canoe assessment

2007-08-22T19:44:00Z

Jacko from Kayakojacko has put up some photos from my 3 star assesment on his blog.

A nice evening - thanks!

North Water - Quick Release Rescue Tow Line

2007-08-22T19:23:00Z

I bought this tow line from Knoydarts back in June and it is really good; large bag with a nice big opening, good shock absorber and a quality line.

The only big disappointment has been the aluminum karabina that became useless due to salt water corrosion in less than 1 month!

It's the same with the club towlines from the same manufacturer - all of them have got a jammed/broken karabina...

I don't understand why they try to save money on something like that?!

From the outside...

2007-06-10T23:10:00Z

A friend just sent this link to me, fun to read about how people view us when we paddle on the Thames.

Feathercraft K1

2006-05-15T09:29:00Z

Yolanda and I popped in to Knoydart while we were up in Lake District over the weekend to test some Feathercraft models we have been interested in for a while now.

Dave at the shop was really friendly and talked us through the model range before we headed over to a nearby lake to test out the Khatasalano and K1 Expedition.

We both fell in love when we tested the K1; it handles almost like a fibreglass kayak but still has that stable feeling you get in a foldable boat. It’s also really fast and easy to paddle both on flat water and against some sea. The Khatsalano was a nice boat that might give you that little extra in handling and speed but the construction has some extra assembly quirks that adds time and the hatches is very small and I can imagine endless fiddling and re-arranging to fit all the gear for a multi-day trip.

Dave is also a keen kayak sailor and told us about his extended trips along the Scottish coast with his K1 and a Balogh rig. The Khatsalano can not be fitted with a sailing rig.

The downside? Both boats are really expensive (£3000+)! However, people are now selling their 3-4 year old boats for nearly the same price they bought them for when they were new; a sign of the exceptional quality of the Feathercraft construction and selection of material.