Wayne S. Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Jeez, another place to purchase real kayaks falls by the wayside. I get the rec boat and SUP thing of late but I'm surprised they thought the way forward is canoes. Don't get me wrong, I really like those guys (purchased my Prana from them) and they certainly know the business better than me. I guess I'm just getting a little nervous about what places we'll ultimately be left with to go 'shopping' at. Are Charles River and Osprey hanging in there (didn't Carl Ladd retire)? Supply issues make the whole sea kayak world look weird at the moment, I know. Not sure what the vibe is at Kayal Center (RI) is of late. I certainly hope MIKCO, the 2 places in CT, and Nanuq hold on and do well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhabich Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 For those who didn't get the message, Newbury is open through August, closed in September, and reopening in October specializing in canoes and also carrying Stellar surf skis and kayaks. They have committed to support their past kayak customers. Details on their site. Carl did sell Osprey. They're still in business, and their new manager, Brandon Gunderson, is a great guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 There's a continuing decrease of interest in touring sea kayaks. I used to see groups almost every weekend around the Elizaeths; saw one last year, nd none so far this year. Theere's a thread somewhere here on the decrease in sea kayaker numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetL Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 8 hours ago, josko said: There's a continuing decrease of interest in touring sea kayaks. I used to see groups almost every weekend around the Elizaeths; saw one last year, nd none so far this year. Theere's a thread somewhere here on the decrease in sea kayaker numbers. But yet I can't find a sprayskirt that fits both me and boat in stock anywhere! Who is buying them all?? ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Maybe nobody is bothering to stock them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Sylvester Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Did you try Kayakwavology in CT? Greg ships products all the time. Can't speak to any particular item but you should check in with him. Plug::: Greg and Paula have one of the best rough water training areas in New England. From mild to wild you can do it all under their watchful eyes. The drive is less than downeast Maine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Tait Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Well that stinks! Just got my Fathom from them. What about the kayak launch - will that still be available? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Canoes don't belong in the ocean. If you launch a canoe from their store just make sure you go upstream on the Parker River and not down toward Plum Island Sound. It's a funny location to be focusing on canoes. We'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Pretty sure that here there are few places we kayak to that have not already been visited by canoe, long before kayaks became popular. The Mic Mac (spelled in differently many times) perhaps further north in particular come to mind for their ocean canoeing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailss Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Lincoln is actively manufacturing kayaks in Peabody, MA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Millar Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 1 hour ago, spider said: Pretty sure that here there are few places we kayak to that have not already been visited by canoe, long before kayaks became popular. The Mic Mac (spelled in differently many times) perhaps further north in particular come to mind for their ocean canoeing.. Exactly. The Polynesians crossed the Pacific in outrigger canoes. According to Tim Severin in "The Brendan Voyage", Irish monks crossed the North Atlantic to North America in curraghs, which are open canoe-type boats made from leather and wood. Other oceanic cultures had open canoes and traveled in the South Pacific. The playwright Eugene O'Neill regularly paddled a canoe out of Provincetown and then down along the coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdrayer Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 19 hours ago, midtempo said: Canoes don't belong in the ocean. Wat? Tell that to Scott Ide and Jerry Madore who tackled this years Blackburn Challenge with a C-2 in 4:13:39. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Somehow I don't think outrigger canoes or sprint canoes will become a popular sport in the ocean, although I might want to check out what the new store carries this fall. I still maintain that your average touring canoe where you sit on a bench doesn't belong in the ocean, and I just about never see canoes in the ocean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I'd love to show you what a canoe can do in a place like Woods Hole passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I bought me Cetus at Newbury in spring of 2020. I was planning on adding a keelstrip after I used it for a season or two. I was going to bring it back to Newbury. I was thinking of doing it at the end of this season. Do you think they'll still have people that know how to do good work on glass boats? -Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne S. Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 Well, here you go: https://www.paddlinglight.com/articles/sea-kayaking-on-the-decline-and-canoeing-bounces/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 Bryan from the article Wayne linked. "I wrote about sea kayaking marketing back in 2012, and how it has tended to show sea kayaking as an extreme sport with surf, big waves and big conditions. This isn’t what most people want from the outdoors. It doesn’t surprise me that after years of being depicted like this that the sport is in serious decline." Interesting comment and something to ponder along with cost of participating in seakayaking beyond in a trivial way. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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