StandingWaves
boat price index W
surfing the
ith the price of some of last year’s kayak models approaching $1,700*, many paddlers couldn’t help but wonder about the dra-
matic increase in boat prices. The latest playboats offer significant improvements over their predecessors and make a vast range of new moves accessible to all, but do these prices make sense?
T
o accurately judge the increase in boat costs and make sure that our sense of
value hasn’t been distorted by nostalgia, it’s necessary to account for inflation—about two percent annually over the past 12 years accord- ing to the Canadian Consumer Price Index. The classic Perception Dancer is a good baseline indicator. Compounded at the inflation rate, a Dancer at the 1990 price would only cost $1,092 today, far below the cost of modern playboats. If you graph the price increase of each
year’s new boat designs against the price increase of the Dancer due to inflation, you see two sharply diverging lines. The graph shows that the new playboats have indeed been get-
Boat Price Index
$1200 $1300 $1400 $1500 $1600 $1700 $1800
$800 $900 $1000 $1100
1992 1995 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 * All prices are in Canadian dollars. 2003 Ace, Full Tilt, ID EZ, Session, Super Ego Infrared & “Z” Glide Transformer, Air
Legend Dagger
LiquidLogic Perception Riot WaveSport
New boat trend
Dancer plus inflation
2002 Dagger G-force. Suggested retail price: $1,695. Coolest move? Donkey flip, pan am, helix...your choice.
10
www.rapidmag.com
Brendan Mark on Kahuna, Ottawa River, ON.
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