Thursday, October 15, 2009

1 Introduction

At the age of 10 years I built my first "canoe". The sheet of corrugated iron, with the ends folded over and hammered flat, leaked like a sieve and floated for about 30 seconds before it was sucked down a mild whirlpool in the Orange River which bordered our farm.

"Why build another one?" she asked a few days ago. I looked at my wife. Sometimes she asks these seemingly simple questions for which there are no simple answers.
It's true that I have built three kayaks already (with varying levels of success)
It's true that we already have a Stealth Supalite each. In fact, there's four presently in the family.
And it's true that the list of house maintenance to-do's on the fridge door is growing.

So why build another kayak? I guess the answer is : Why do people climb mountains?

Some months ago I visited Stealth Performance Products to pick a fishing ski. The moment I saw the Stealth Evolution, I got goose bumps. The sleek looking Evolution begs to be hugged, stroked and launched. Reality is that I intend to do offshore fishing and at my age (59) one needs maximum stability. I then settled for a Stealth Supalite - with no regrets.

On a subsequent visit to Stealth Performance Products and mindfull on copyright and ethical issues, I asked Bruce if he would sell me the bottom half of the hull of the Evolution so that I can fit it out with my own decorated wooden deck. Much to my surprise he said:" Why not build the complete Evolution in wood?" When I mentioned this to Mick Clarke (http://www.kayakfishingsa.co.za) his encouraging reaction really got me going.

With the support of my wife there's no stopping me now

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