words readers Do boobs float?
On page 21 of your early summer 2006 edition, an abso- lutely lovely and well-endowed model is featured paddling one of the new BIC Yakka rigid-hull inflatable kayaks. Is this boat somehow endowed with magical properties such that the paddler need not require a PFD? Maybe we would not be able to feast our eyes on her body, but it is wrong that ads featuring paddlers not wearing required safety gear are featured in your otherwise fine magazine. Beau- tiful model aside, this is irresponsible and perhaps BIC ought to be told as well. Show us pics of the girls at the campsite, if you must, but if they’re in boats get ‘em suited up properly, thanks!
FRED via Internet
On the cover of the same issue was a photo of three Inuit chil- dren paddling without PFDs. We half expected a letter about that cover photo so we held a meeting to get our rebuttal locked and loaded: PFDs aren’t part of the Inuit’s traditional way of hunting, who are we to tell the inventors of kayaking how to paddle, and so on. But it turns out you are more apt to notice the lack of a PFD on well-endowed models who have considerably more, um, “integrated flotation” highlighting the region of their torsos that a PFD would otherwise obscure. Just a coincidence perhaps. The ad isn’t irresponsible; it’s an opportunity for us all to think
about our personal responsibility while assessing our abilities and the conditions in which we paddle so that we can choose safety equipment that is appropriate. We’ll pass your suggestion to BIC Sport, but think about this
for minute. Wouldn’t it seem just a little strange to see a Yakka ad with a bikini-clad woman gathering wood for a campfire? I don’t know where you camp, Fred, but women can’t prance around campsites half-naked—the bugs would eat them alive.—Ed.
Where am I?
I subscribe to two of your magazines, Adventure Kayak and Canoeroots, and enjoy them a lot. My real request from you is to increase the number of maps you put in your articles. They don’t have to be half-page size. A small map is instruc- tive and gets the imagination running.
DON MCMURTRY Waterloo, Ontario
We agree. Stay tuned for more maps! Anything else you want to see, just ask.—Ed.
Your skin could last the rest of your life
The writer of the letter “The bare naked truth about skin” (AK v6i3) built a skin-on-frame kayak and stored it outside the garage in a Winnipeg winter. Wouldn’t something have told him to store it inside the garage? I have two skin-on- frame kayaks which are 28 years old, still used and in good condition, but they are stored inside the garage. After all, folding kayaks are skin-on-frame boats and they have been in use for a long time and give 30 to 40 years of service be- fore a skin replacement is needed. Even then the owner can still use the old skin. I know as I have just bought a new skin for my Klepper but I know I could have made the old skin last the rest of my life.
SIMON ALLSOP via Internet
Words from Readers con’t. on page 10— 8 | | ADVENTURE KAYAK fall 2006
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