Valley's Discontinuing A Lot of Boats

Deadline- August 31st

– Last Updated: Aug-30-12 11:23 PM EST –

Well, I hope everyone who wants one of the discontinued boats gets their orders in by close-of-biz Friday (tomorrow).

Valley doesn't seem to be doing a particularly good job of publicizing the paring-down of their product line, so more than a few ppl are likely in for a surprise when they try to buy certain boats this fall. =\

At least there's always eBay or Craigslist (or demo boats). But not everyone wants to buy used, and you'd have to think prices on the used EOL'd boats will probably rise.

Ka Ching
my Pintail (and yours), just got a little more valuable…

Yes… Competing Products
I understand the Avocet is supposed to be a less squirrely, somewhat trackier Pintail. Is that a fair assessment? I have only paddled an Avocet LV.

Surprised…
Wow, a lot of ppl mourning the passing of the Pintail.



I had thought the majority of the comments would be about the knifing of the Aquanaut. Guess not.



And nary a mention of the passing of the Nordkap Classic boats.

I guess because the newer versions of it are still going strong, and most ppl prefer them?




Pintail v Avocet
The Avocet is a great kayak–basically a Pintail made palatable for the masses. The Pintail on the other hand is a delight in the hands of someone who knows how to work it and it does need to be worked. Plus, how can anyone not love the upswept ends modeled on the Pintail duck–they are worth the price of admission. Hmmm, maybe am talking myself into hanging on to mine . Back when I had two kayaks–an NDK Explorer and the Pintail–the latter was my go to the surf zone and teaching kayak. Super maneuverable, it made getting around in teaching and reverse figure eights ridiculously easy. Did I say fun to surf and fun to play in clapotis? I don’t think that there’s anything out there that is quite like it though there are many “better” kayaks. For me the big downside to the Pintail is the low top end. At about 4 knots the bow wave begins to enlarge and after that it is all effort–not a problem in rough stuff but not what you want for point A to B paddles. The Avocet solves this problem (sort of) but at the expense of the fun aspect of the Pintail.

Naut mourning
The Aquanaut will definitely be missed, but for some reason it never became as popular as it should have been. Maybe it was because it’s competing against the Explorer and there are a lot of them available used?

The used market seems to have plenty of Pintails, I wonder how many new Pintails Valley was selling.

Hopefully sea kayak companies aren’t shifting to a white water mentality of a new boat/design every few years.

I suspect the next company to organize thier product line will be Current Designs. Lots of different models and a website that’s a bit scattered. Also Valley is discontinuing the Naut but CD is making the Infinity? I’ve never seen one of them on the water!

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End of an era
English boats are like British sports cars and motorcycles

Beautiful to look at, but outdated with spotty workmanship



Why do the English drink warm beer?

Because they have Lucus refrigerators

May be true about motorcycles …
… and cars … and many other British made items. But where can you find better made or designed sea kayaks?

Many Years Ago
I was bumped off a flight (jet) and had to fly on some old puddle jumper prop plane over the Appalachians. I was comforted to see “Rolls Royce” printed on the engines.

End of an era? How so?
How is it the ‘end of an era’? (unless we’re just talking about the specific boats being discontinued)



If you mean it in the broader sense, which you seem to, Valley doesn’t seem to be going out of business, though it is possible that they’ve hit a bump in the road. Or they may simply be trying to be more efficient/focused. It’s hard to say.



Even if Valley were somehow eventually to go under/get bought out, that would hardly spell the end of the Brit boats. P&H, Rockpool, Tiderace, North Shore, NDK, etc. all seem to be doing reasonably well.



It’s far too early to write an epitaph for the Brits, if that’s what you meant.


I know NDK had issues with QC
as did Valley for a short time. But there is serious garbage coming out of Confluence these days, leaky hatches, blown bulkheads. Glad I have my 11 year old 'Kapp, 20 year old NW Sportee and 22 year old Mariner Express. Hopefully, Eddyline, Feathercraft, Folbot, Impex and some other small companies survive a bit longer

Lots of places, of course
Or were you joking.

Might have been a
Short Brothers - made in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Brothers

Better made?
Have you ever looked closely at their fiberglass and Kevlar work?

I can name a dozen companies in the US, eastern Europe and china which the Brits can’t match

Sorry

Really?
Don’t hold your breath

Well, yes …
… Just got back from paddling my Nordlow. And compared to the 5 other boats I’ve owned, 4 made in the US, one in China, I’d say the workmanship and quality of construction surpasses any boat I’ve ever owned.



Same can be said for the other Brit made boats I demo’s before buying the Valley.



I’m not saying no one else makes great boats, but Brit boats have been the gold standard for many years, and from what I’ve seen, there is no decline in that regard. So just saying I don’t get where you come up with such a statement.

Said “maybe” …
… Did not agree. You may want to respond up the thread to any perceived slam on Brit made products.


Gold Standard?
Nonsense. There are certainly boats made in Great Britain that are good quality and there are good designs. But there are a wide variety of boats not made in Great Britain and/or not Brit designed that are as good if not better in design and construction quality. You need a wider experience.

Such as?
Not saying their are not boats as well made or designed as the classic Brit boats, but curious what you consider to be better?

Matter of opinion, but …
I have a QCC700x that is both design-wise and quality-wise at least the equal of any Brit competitor. The boats now being built in Thailand are probably the best quality boats ever in terms of build. I don’t mean to be snarky but there are so many boats out there that compete well against traditional Brit boats that it seems a no-brainer to recognize that.