“Goobers”?
How about we identify what makes them goobers, or whatever else you want to call them.
maybe he presumed you had a depth of
knowledge about his kayak, and overestimated you. Maybe he thought all of those characteristics should be apparent to you as an experienced kayaker.
I’m not sold. I know more than one sea kayaker who talks about how much he can fit into his boat.
Fair enough.
In my mind river dork and goober are interchangeable terms. He/she already knows everything, doesn’t “need” a PFD even after being rescued several times, drinks to rowdy excess, endangers others’ safety and adversely impacts their paddling enjoyment with their behavior, etc.
You’re Reachin’ Slush
By your logic I would also know how much his boat could hold. He was going on and on about capacity because that’s what he values. The guy was 95% camper and 5% boater. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not me. Some folks drive little sports cars and others drive vans.
I don’t doubt that you know experienced kayakers who also value load capacity but this guy wasn’t it.
I got it.
…and you were there, I wasn’t. Plus I imagine the boat was empty at the time!
Some people do tend to fixate on one attribute of their new purchase, whatever it may be.
I like river dork
I know people like that. River Dork sounds good.
I think the forum ought to come up with a definition so we can say what we mean and leave the truly “rec” kayaker alone.
River Dork it is! Henceforth
I’ll use RD. Not So Little Deuce (formerly Little Deuce) and I were paddling around last night and she pestered me for hints regarding her birthday present. I have a very hard time telling her no, but I managed to keep the hints vague enough that she didn’t ferret out the truth.
boat capacity
can be quite important if you like to go on multi-day trips–
The visual clues are blatant…
– Last Updated: Sep-06-13 11:35 PM EST –
Many seasoned paddlers can tell very quickly with just
a momentary glance what was built to perform versus
just float to provide a splashing fun time.
Performance
– Last Updated: Sep-08-13 5:09 AM EST –
There's that key word again.
Since they're all recreational, how about performance boats vs goober boats?
This thread could be misunderstood
– Last Updated: Sep-07-13 9:54 AM EST –
This is all in fun and not intended to be critical of others. But - someone reading this thread who is new to Kayaking might be offended. We should keep that in mind. A large percentage of the paddling.net readers are new and we want this forum to be welcoming and friendly. Looking back at my comments - and the comments of some others - I fear we may have crossed a line here and I wonder if the administrator of the forum might consider deleting this thread.
I guess my bottom line is that I see no reason to debate the definition of a recreational kayak. What the heck difference does it make anyway? We all sound pretty elitist and unwelcoming when you go back and read this one. I know it was not intended to be that way, but that is the definite impression you get when you read this thread. So for my part - apologies to all recreational paddlers out there - truth is 99.9% of us are just that - recreational paddlers and we all want to bring new people into this wonderful activity. We welcome you all with open arms. I for one am no expert and at my age I doubt I ever will be. The sport of paddling has enriched my life beyond my wildest imagination and I am thankful for the paddlers that helped bring me along into the sport.
Agree
In the bicycle world you have better description. Racing bikes; mountain bikes; beach cruisers; etc. Someone high up in the kayak industry came up with the awful catch-all word “recreational” and no one had the clout to knock it down.