New Boat Day!

Dad gave me his 1997 Current Designs Solstice ST today.

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Looks sleek, enjoy!

Hope its because dad bought an upgrade.

Alas, it’s because he’s 87 and he doesn’t use it anymore. :cry:
We’ve gotten him out a couple times over the last couple of years, but he just doesn’t enjoy it anymore. He has offered it to me a few times, but I didn’t want to take it if he might use it. So it’s bittersweet.

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Looks sharp!! Do him a favor, take some cool trips and take lots of pics to show him!

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Well, D U N is dun. Good for him. When I hit 80, I’ll probably put one of those Beverly Hillbillie rockin chairs in my Penobscot and have my grandkids paddle me around. I can sit there like Lt. Dan and give directions . . . Go over there; do this, do that! What that on the beach. When we gonna eat? Watch them waves, this ain’t no office chair. Slow down!

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Wow! We love our two, we found used eight years ago in the PNW. Still dragging them all over the place.

I really really love mine. Recently I’m looking for something easier to roll but boy a Solstice tracks so fine.

for photography you can point the boat and hold it precisely right hands free with the pedals.

BTW, let me know what paddle you use. I had no idea what I was doing and still don’t.

I have a Werner and one Greenland paddle.

I bet mine is that old or older because I think it was made in Canada eh.

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Good on your father! Keep him moving somehow if you can. My dad passed recently at 92 and it was a chore to keep him moving around the last few years but is the key to a more comfortable life, no matter the age.

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You can tell by the HIN - the last three digits tell you the month it was made and the model year. And it looks like yours is a GTS, which I believe was after the ST/SS years.

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He still hunts and fishes as much as he possibly can. Cross country skiing a few times a week, weather permitting (he used to go out no matter what). My folks are both still extremely active compared to others their age. But it’s sad to see them slowing down.

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Where is that number located, in the cockpit?

I put a foam seat in mine, a guy in Port Townsend did it for me.

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I don’t have mine accessible right now to check, but mine is inside the cockpit, rh side, I believe behind the seat. On the inside of the hull, not the bulkhead. Possibly under the foam you have in there now, but probably not. Or they might have changed the location, so no promises.

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I went and looked but I think the seat might have covered it up. The other one: might be older

This one has more storage, a fatter belly.

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Here is a web page with links to a bunch of retired Current Designs models. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any dates listed. However, all the specs are listed for the Solstice SS, ST, GTS, etc. So that’s kind of helpful.

https://cdkayak.com/Retired/Default.aspx

PaddleDog52 is a wealth of CD-related experience and expertise. He might know what years the different Solstice versions came and went.

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Serial number tells year by last two digits in gelcoat in rear of hull. Also glassed inside in a couple of locations you can’t see readily.

I restored a Extreme and filled in serial number on hull . I photographed it but it is still inside on a tag in the resin.

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Yes smaller round hatch in front too.

I have one where one bulkhead is abs and front is glass. Probably just using up what they had left when transitioning to all glass. Some have different rudder designs but that is not consistent either seems to go back and forth even a year or two apart.

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Some are tagged under deck in the resin where you’d need a swan neck or mirror to see.

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