Feathercaraft
 

"back40" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 20:18:08 -0600, "Dave"
wrote:

The GII is a great boat. Get the solo kit and you should be fine. Check
out
the solo sprayskirt mods on http://www.folbot.com/forum.html for sturdier
options.

Dave


Red Greenland II
http://webkatz.net/kayak/gII.html

Thanks for the input! You say, "go for it!", and Mike H. says,
"Don't!", but my mind is pretty much made up. Spent much time reading
the messages on the Folbot Forum, and everything I read there said,
"Yes!"
If I find it is a handful when paddling solo, I can always place an ad
in the personals - "Wife wanted, must have own paddle."


More like "it depends", please... The GII is a great boat, as others have
said. One thing I can say, it will keep you dry and right-side up. We've had
occasion to be hit by some pretty daunting boat wakes (including one
double-decker tour boat who apparently wanted to teach me some sort of
lesson) and it rode them with not the slightest worry of capsizing.

Mike

Feathercaraft
 

Ditto. I think it must have been a real bad winter out East. ;-) I think the
Back40 has a case of cabin fever.

Springs, just around the corner!

Oh yeah, and black fly season, West Nile, the local, "Kent Brockman" talking
about, "The dangers of DEET", and for Southern Ontario, humidex readings in
the mid 40's. ; - )


"Ulli" wrote in message
...
I still trying to figure out what the fuzz is all about.
How's the bad guy? Feathercraft, MEC, or somebodyelse?

So MEC had one left in stock for mail order, (or was it Feathercraft)?
It's the last one, so what? If it is OK? MEC often buys stuff once a year
on bulk to
get good pricing (but I guess boats are not in that category -just to
expensive to
stock them).

The local MEC store had none in stock, that's easy to understand given the
price and
demand in such a product.

So why not mail-order, since their price seems OK and competitive to the
Feathercraft
price. It's not unusual that dealers are able to sell below manufacturers
direct
pricing. Makes sense, than manufacturers don't want to compete with their
dealers,
otherwise they would not have them for long.

Based on language and attitude in the first message I don't want to know
how the
conversation in the store went. I found MEC staff so far very cooperative
and
helpful, in the store and on the phone.

My 0..02 $

Ulli

Feathercaraft
 

I have a Klepper Arius II which is nearly identicle in size to the
Greenland II. It does not weathercock so long as the seat is in the
center position, or the front is weighted. But it feels like an awful
lot of excess boat when I solo paddle it. I normally just paddle it from
the rear seat when I take it out solo. If there is not a lot of wind or
latteral wave action, it handles just fine.

You might also look at the Folbot Yukon. I was very impressed when I
test paddled one in Charleston. It is very nimble and has lots of room
for a single, and has a large cockpit opening. It is also reasonably
priced.

The Klepper Arius II and Longhaul Mark II are similar to the Greenland
II. They both have durable beautifully fashoned varnished wood frames
that have a very solid feel. The Klepper is a bit more pricey because it
is a legendary boat with a colorful history. Still the only stock boat
to cross the Atlantic ocean. The Longhaul Mark II is a new boat designed
from the Klepper, but with several improvements like feathercraft style
hatches. It also costs much less.

I have both a Wood framed Klepper and a composite framed Feathercraft
and like them both for differing reasons. I enjoy the smell, beauty and
solid workmanship of the wood frame. They assemble easier, but should
not be left togeather for long periods of time since standing water in
the hull can wear the varnish and rot the wood. Composite frames can be
left togeather for up to a couple of months if the joints are properly
lubricated. But, they assemble a bit harder, and do not have that
classic look and feel.

http://www.longhaulfoldingkayaks.com/
http://www.klepper.com/


back40 wrote:
On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 20:18:08 -0600, "Dave"
wrote:


The GII is a great boat. Get the solo kit and you should be fine. Check out
the solo sprayskirt mods on http://www.folbot.com/forum.html for sturdier
options.

Dave


Red Greenland II
http://webkatz.net/kayak/gII.html


Thanks for the input! You say, "go for it!", and Mike H. says,
"Don't!", but my mind is pretty much made up. Spent much time reading
the messages on the Folbot Forum, and everything I read there said,
"Yes!"
If I find it is a handful when paddling solo, I can always place an ad
in the personals - "Wife wanted, must have own paddle."

Feathercaraft
 

More like "it depends", please... The GII is a great boat, as others have
said. One thing I can say, it will keep you dry and right-side up. We've had
occasion to be hit by some pretty daunting boat wakes (including one
double-decker tour boat who apparently wanted to teach me some sort of
lesson) and it rode them with not the slightest worry of capsizing.

Mike

I had a similar experience. My wife & I were in our Greenland II and a
high speed ferry to Catalina Island got way too close to us. I thought we
were dead or at least we were in for a swim. I got the boat turned toward
the wake and it broke completely over my wife and half way up my body in
the rear position. The GII came through with absolutely no trauma (not
like my heartbeat) Just cut through the wave like a fishing trip on a calm
bay. The somewhat weak appearing spraydeck held up just fine. It occured
to me that some people actually search out waves like that for adventure,
(except for the close ferry part). That being said, the GII is a better
double than single. I have the solo setup and you will still want the
rudder if there is a lot of wind out. But if you have some bags of weight
(even water bags) you can trim the boat for good operation and keep it
from blowing around. The upside of the GII is you can carry two or quite a
bit of stuff if you are camping, fishing or snorkeling. I also have an
Aleut and prefer it as a single. My wife tried and liked the Feathercraf
K1 and I like the Klepper Alulite but they are very different boats. The
Folbots are particularly comfortable to me and I like the open style
copckit for comfort and convenience. I also have a wood/fiberglass Pygmy
Osprey kayak but that is a different story....

--
delete "X" for correct email address

Feathercaraft
 

back40 wrote in
:

On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:16:43 -0400, Ulli wrote:

I still trying to figure out what the fuzz is all about.
How's the bad guy? Feathercraft, MEC, or somebodyelse?

Both.
So MEC had one left in stock for mail order, (or was it Feathercraft)?

It would be interesting to hear MEC's or Feathercraft's side of the story on
this. This reminds me a bit of an incident that happened several years ago.
I was reading a local newsgroup an apparent very unhappy customer came on
and wrote all kinds of things about a small shop (actually about it's
proprietor) that did audio/tv repairs. Some of the remarks could have
easily been consider slander. Presumably, he assumed that Usenet was a
"safe" forum to spread some bad press, and assumed that the proprietor of
the store would never see it (and, thus, not respond to the allegations).
As it turned out, though, the show was just across from where I lived and I
had been in it many times visiting with the proprietor and checking out his
used gear. I printed off a copy of the article that the unhappy customer
and offered to let him use my computer to respond to the allegations. He
ended up signing up with an ISP and I showed him how to post to the group.
His response was far more rational than the name calling and allegations
that the original poster made, and the "bad press" ended up backfiring
because, now, several people became aware of the shop and a couple of other
people chimed in to offer their own testimony about the business they had
done with the shop.


Gee, is it that unclear in my earlier posting? MEC have one website,
(AFAIK) which covers their stores AND "mail order" or should we say,
phone/Internet order?

Phone/Internet order sites are a dime a dozen these days. In fact, there
are many places where one can put their business online that requires little
more than filling out a web form.

Since their "mail order" (as I explained in earlier posting)had an
ADDITIONAL CHARGE for shipping,

It is very rare to find a source for buying a kayak that *doesn't" charge
for shipping. Granted, shipping a folding kayak is cheaper that a hard
shell boat, but one way or another the cost of shipping has to be absorbed
somewhere, either by an additional charge, or a high "base" price.


However, the salesdroid I spoke to at the store
claimed:
He had never hear of Feathercraft
They had NEVER sold or dealt with Feathercraft Kayaks
They had NEVER advertised the Airline Java Kayak.

That's all possible. A lot of the chain outdoor stores hire young kids that
may or may not know much about their stock. It's likely that the person
that you talked to hasn't even been in a kayak. That's why if you're
looking to buy a kayak, you're likely going to get better service it you go
to a shop that only, or primarily sells kayaks and canoes.

In view of the Internet ad I was staring at during the phone
conversation, this all sounded mighty strange,

Was the Internet ad for the specific store you called, or as it appears from
the web site, more likely for the conglomerate as a whole.

and, given current
economic climate, I asked if the supplier was going under, which only
got evasion as a reply.

If someone said that they had never heard of Feathercraft, it's pretty
likely that they wouldn't know anything about the companies financial
status.


Realizing I was dealing with an idiot, I decided to hell with MEC,
I'll order direct from the Manufacturer. However, when I called them,
the surly individual I spoke with quoted a price much HIGHER than that
which I had earlier seen on their website, and I said, "thank you" and
hung up.

Much HIGHER? You wrote earlier that it was a $100 higher. That's not much
for a $2000 boat. It doesn't indicate it on the MEC site but the discounted
price is likely an attempt to elminate stock that probably only exists at
one or two stores (and not your local store). It's also very likely that
MEC wasn't going to make much money at that discounted rate. I know from
personal experience with a friend that owns a kayak shop that he's taken
losses on boats and sold them for less than he paid for them just so that he
could make room for new models.

That's when I decided it would be prudent to look at OTHER suppliers
who might be more honest/forthright in their telephone transactions.

I haven't seen anything that indicated that either MEC or Feathercraft was
dishonest.

[rest of emotional tirade snipped]