"back40" wrote in message
...

It would seem logical to either sell factory direct, OR through
dealers, but not both, since your own dealers wind up competing with
you, (and situtations like I encountered happen).

Yeah, not a great situation, I have to think this is sort of a transition
period they are in. One thing I'm wondering is if they finally do become
direct-sales only, will they drop their prices to more like a wholesale
price.



You have a Greenland II! That is the boat I am now considering,with
the sail rig, and if I could ask your advice...I would primarily be
paddling solo. More than a few people have said they regretted buying
a double for solo use, because the added height and beam makes
paddling in the solo position awkward, and the greater windage when
only loaded with one paddler makes it a handful in crosswinds or rough
water.
Have you found this to be the case? Would I be making a mistake buying
this for solo use?
It is, after all, only a few inches longer than my current rotomold,
2 inches more height, but there is ten inches more beam, although that
should provide considerably more stability, and being a large paddler
myself, I didn't think it should be a problem.
The Kodiak model is also more roomy than my Dimension Nomad, and has a
larger cockpit opening, AND is considerably cheaper than the
Greenland, BUT is the only model for which Folbot does not offer
aluminum crossframes. Given my bulk, I'd rather have the metal, and
the ability to carry another paddler occasionally, or a lot of camping
gear would be a plus.
The closest paddle for me is Lake Ontario, hence added freeboard and
stability would provide more peace of mind.


I'm a bad person to ask about solo paddling. I thought I would be doing that
sometimes, and did buy the solo seat kit, but, have never taken it out by
myself. I get relatively few chances to go paddling and so far they've all
been joint ventures, the three seasons I've had it. Frankly, I'd consider it
a bit of a barge to paddle solo, which is why I keep liking to imagine
there's a Kahuna in my future. I'm sure it works, and of course the
potential payload would be tremendous. But at this point I have little
interest going out in it by myself, because I'd always be thinking how far
from an optimal single-person craft it would be. My paddling location is the
Hudson River so I'm usually wanting to cover some distance, even more so if
I were by myself.

Unless you really want the two-person capability, sailing, or payload, I'd
think a Kodiak or Yukon would be a better choice. The plastic crossframes
would not concern me at all, they are plenty strong enough for their
intended purpose. I think the main advantages of the new aluminum tube
versions are some minor weight savings and a bit larger inside perimeter.

Mike