Another kind of classic plastic boat
Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 9:07 pm
Not a sailboat, but a pretty boat, and one with a pedigree, and I figure there are probably some kayakers on the board too.
This is my Anas Acuta sea kayak, built by Valley Sea Kayaks in Nottingham England. (Anas acuta is the scientific name for the pintail duck, a reference to the shape of the boat's stern). The Anas was the first production sea kayak, originally introduced in 1973, and still in production today. (My boat was built in 2004). The design is a near-direct copy of an East Greenland skin on frame kayak built in the early 70s by one of the last remaining traditional kayak builders, the design was modified primarily on deck to accommodate the size of the boat's original production builder. It is a low volume, hard chined kayak with a lot of rocker, extremely seaworthy and at home in very rough water - the rougher it gets the more stable the boat feels. Dimensions are 17'2" by 20.5", 45 lbs. When I was looking for a kayak I tried this one and immediately knew this was "my boat", it just fit me very well, looks gorgeous (important as we all know!) and is very fun to paddle. Because of the hard chines the boat responds to a lean by turning very easily, almost like carving turns on skis. I can turn the boat around 180 degrees in it's own length with 2-3 strokes, not something you can do with most 17' kayaks. I also appreciated the fact that any boat that had been in continuous production for 30+ years with essentially no changes had to be a very good boat. I got lucky with the colors of this boat; this is the boat that the Kayak Centre in Wickford, RI (where I work now!) had in stock when I came to buy one; I was expecting to have to special order something besides the usual red or yellow deck with black trim. The colors were chosen to look like the Blue Angels. The boat definitely gets a lot of attention wherever I take it!
This is my Anas Acuta sea kayak, built by Valley Sea Kayaks in Nottingham England. (Anas acuta is the scientific name for the pintail duck, a reference to the shape of the boat's stern). The Anas was the first production sea kayak, originally introduced in 1973, and still in production today. (My boat was built in 2004). The design is a near-direct copy of an East Greenland skin on frame kayak built in the early 70s by one of the last remaining traditional kayak builders, the design was modified primarily on deck to accommodate the size of the boat's original production builder. It is a low volume, hard chined kayak with a lot of rocker, extremely seaworthy and at home in very rough water - the rougher it gets the more stable the boat feels. Dimensions are 17'2" by 20.5", 45 lbs. When I was looking for a kayak I tried this one and immediately knew this was "my boat", it just fit me very well, looks gorgeous (important as we all know!) and is very fun to paddle. Because of the hard chines the boat responds to a lean by turning very easily, almost like carving turns on skis. I can turn the boat around 180 degrees in it's own length with 2-3 strokes, not something you can do with most 17' kayaks. I also appreciated the fact that any boat that had been in continuous production for 30+ years with essentially no changes had to be a very good boat. I got lucky with the colors of this boat; this is the boat that the Kayak Centre in Wickford, RI (where I work now!) had in stock when I came to buy one; I was expecting to have to special order something besides the usual red or yellow deck with black trim. The colors were chosen to look like the Blue Angels. The boat definitely gets a lot of attention wherever I take it!