dreamBoats
WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE SIX-PACK? Hide your credit cards. Imagine you could have a quiver, a kayak for every occasion. Say you have a rack that holds six. Some you’ve paddled and loved, others you’d love to paddle. Which one would you get first? Here’s our list, with some bonus fantasies.
T O R A C E
Epic V10 Surf Ski Our superhuman fitness and flawless technique make us ludicrously speedy, and the rocket dimensions of a surf ski are the ticket to race domination. Epic designed the V10 to be the ultimate rough water racer for chasing big swell across the Molokai Channel. The “ultra” layup weighs less than most bikes.
Length: 21’4” • Width: 17-1/8” • Weight: 25 lb • Price: $3,395 US •
www.epickayaks.com T O S U R F
WaveSport Flyer Our cabin overlooks a beach that breaks every afternoon, exactly when we quit work to go paddling. Champion surfer John Grossmann created the Flyer like a superhero with the speed of a surfboard and the agility of a river freestyler. We can finally progress beyond “front surf,” “ender” and “broach.” Length: 7’6” • Width: 25” • Weight: 30 lb • Price: $1,750 US •
www.wavesport.com
T O F L Y Feathercraft K1 Expedition
We make frequent flights to Chile, Baffin Island and Vietnam, so we need a backpack boat in the closet ready to toss into an airport cab. Feathercraft’s flagship is a seaworthy single with the volume for an expedition load and an optional add-on sail.
Length: 16’6” • Width: 25” • Weight 51 lb • Price: $5,185 Cdn, $4,460 US •
www.feathercraft.com T O A D M I R E
Night Heron Every boat is a work of art, but here’s one to hang in a gallery—in fact, a Night Heron resides in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Handcrafted in Canada by Blue Otter Kayaks, the Night Heron paddles beautifully too, and is built to endure hard use, if you dare.
Length: 18’ • Width: 20” •Weight: 36 lb • Price: custom, from $5,000 US •
www.blueotterkayaks.com
GEAR
T O E X P L O R E
Valley Nordkapp We hit the road for a month every summer, maybe two, and the Nordkapp is the RV of choice. In 1975 this became the first kayak to round Cape Horn. Updated several times, it’s grown up but never grows old. Length: 18’ • Width: 21” Weight: 50 lb
Price: $3,899 Cdn, $3,099 US
www.valleyseakayaks.com
T O P L A Y
NDK Romany Woe, we have too many specialized boats. One is too big for play, another is too puggy for gunkholing; that wood one looks too damned good on the wall. The Romany has enough space for some gear, speed for cruising, manoeuvrability for surfing, and burly construction to survive a rock garden mosh. Come to think of it, if we had to keep just one… Length: 16’ • Width: 21.5” • Weight: 54 lb Price: $2,999 US •
www.seakayakinguk.com
ADVENTURE KAYAK |
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