What difference would worrying make anyway ?
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I hear it all the time! If you donât own a free standing home youâve got very few options, although I do know one person who threads their âyak up the stairs to their second floor condo and hangs it from the ceiling. True devotion!
@sing Well said! I love Joey so much, a true craftsman who did a good job reburbing my 2002 Necky.
But I have to wonder if his anger is more about business being tough. There will always be sea kayakers just as there have always been. Unless you have disposable income though, paddlers arenât buying multiple $4-5000 kayaks for the stable. Without a steady flow of enthusiastic paddlers, how many boats can you sell?
CLC is certainly having what seems like non-stop sales now, not something they used to do. The buyer John Lockwood found for Pygmy kayaks fell through when the pandemic hit and the company, as far as I know, is no more. Sorry I missed the auction. I would have bought up some of the proprietary hardware so Iâd have spares!
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I am optimistic for the future of our sport.
Thousands, probably tens of thousands of people got their first taste of kayaking during COVID, more than weâve ever seen in such a short period of time. Although most will go back to their pre-pandemic habits, a percentage now has the bug. Theyâll kayak when and where they can, and theyâll buy what they can afford. Some, perhaps many, will wait until another stage of life to pickup a paddle again. But they have the bug so they will pick it up, and theyâll want to sharpen their skills and paddle new places. As they do, some of these new enthusiasts will be drawn to the beauty of adventure touring, others to the thrills of whitewater, and others to the physical challenges of racing. And yes, still others will discover the natural high of being out on the sea or an inland lake in a small, human powered craft not unlike those made by the Inuit and Aleut hundreds and thousands of years ago.
In the mean time, letâs do what we can to preserve and defend the resources we so much enjoy. The real threat to our sport tomorrow is apathy today.
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I agree I think his high end kayaking customer base has been filled or slowed drastically. Spare cash for 4 to 7 thousand hulls has dried up for many.
Somebody was.
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Yes exactly. Thats how i get out of the office and on to the creek. I have five inflatable kayaks now. Dont worry, I wont be wasting anyones time here with any more of my skill-less posts.
I wouldnât base this whole group on just one, or a fewđ, of the individuals. @ppine is just one of the âcharactersâ.
Oh, and opinions are strong here, donât take them personal. 
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Iâm seeing an overall decline in all outdoor activities. Fewer people on the water everywhere, fewer hikers, etc. So many more electronic distractions have been served up to the younger generation. I havenât heard the phrase, âGo outside and find something to doâ since my childhood.
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Many, maybe most, parents believe itâs unsafe to send kids outside unsupervised today.
I donât know if the risks have truly increased or if it just seems that way because of instant Internet communication and 24 hr news hype, but the result is the same.
The other day I noticed an entire shelf of Vitamin D supplements in a âhealth foodâ store - some of them specifically for kids. For cryinâ out loud, go outside!
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There do seem to be fewer people sea kayaking. Iâve stopped doing on-water support for the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim because I do not feel that they have enough kayakers to safely support the swimmers. Where there used to be 50+ kayaks now they are lucky to get around 20 for the 4.5 mile open water swim and one mile swim. That plus theyâve run the swim with gale warnings and predicted thunderstorms.
Younger people seem to have gravitated to SUPs and cheap rec boats due to cost and ease of use, transport and storage. Younger paddlers also tend to be more involved with whitewater, although not being around whitewater, I donât really have first hand knowledge of this segment.
Sea kayak manufacturers and dealers have gone out of business or moved away from sea kayaks. The Necky Arluk 1.9 and QCC 600X boats that my wife and I own, both companies have been bought out and shut down. Older sea kayakers are aging out and seemingly not being replaced by younger people.
Sea kayaking will always be around, but it will occupy a smaller segment of the people looking for getting on the water in small craft.
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@rstevens15, right as usual. One good thing is that current equipment and assesories are becoming more valuable as we speak. I learned when Jimmy C. Implemented his two-cent theory of leadership incompetence, that the front end of runaway inflation is a good time to stock up, if you can. Youâre money is systematically and intentionally devalued to benefit some fat cat donor. Prices are rising, so buy now rather than wait until later when your savings have less buying power and the price of manufactured goods climbs.
Personally, I sympathizes with the OP, but I canât change the direction of the sport. What I can do is support producers now. Iâm buying anything I need, NOW, before I need a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy bread. When digital currency begins, some czar (or is it spelled Tzar) will tell us that there is a glut of left shoes an oligarch canât move so we should buy them instead of a kayak paddle. Maybe thatâs an exaggeration, I hope, but you never know . . .
Thatâs true, but not all will stay with SUPs and rec boats for their entire lives. Some will want to expand their interests and skills and try other kayaking options, including sea kayaking. After all, Iâll bet way more of us chose an inexpensive rec kayak as our first boat than an 18â x 21" sea kayak. It takes time to develop skills, expand interests, and justify large expenditures. And as Iâve noted elsewhere, itâs these new customers who are keeping most of our remaining independent kayak shops in business, not those of us who already have what we need.
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things are starting to turn down in pricing offers for 0% 5 year from Ford in mail and 4 grand off 48 grand truck.
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Sometime it be that way. Sometimes that happens to clear inventory that isnât moving. Hope that doesnt mean they slow production and ay off workers to increase demand. Then jack the price. If that is happening, buy, buy, buy. Thatâs what Iâm doing.
Random thoughts:
The market for composite long boats in the US has been shrinking for years, in direct proportion to the increase in range of nicely designed (and affordable) 14 foot boats Are those boats designed for two-week expeditions in the harshest conditions? No. Do most people who are interested in kayaks want that kind of paddling experience? Also no. So Iâm not sure I see a problem, if it means a greater overall number of paddlers on the water. Do cyclists get mad when someone buys a gravel bike instead of a road cycle? Hope not.
All that said, at The Paddlesports Show in France last month, there were long boats on display from Valley, Melker, P&H, Norse, Rebel, Boreal, Lettmann, Stellar, & Zegul, and Iâm sure there are several others Iâm forgetting. Some of them have North American presence now, the others are all looking for it, so thereâll be a good range of product out there for those looking for sea kayaks rather than day tourers (and with the range in manufacturing locations, prices will have a much wider spread than we are used to). The outfitting and fits are catching up to what production poly builders like Wilderness Systems have been doing well for years, which will make it easier for those wanting âmore boatâ to get there without feeling that they just sentenced themselves to hard labor.
Losing CD as the major US builder of production touring boats was sad, but it was hardly a surprise. They stopped innovating many years ago, and same old same old doesnât cut it in any field. The market spoke (both the consumer market, and, Iâm guessing, the real estate market in Winona, where the CD factory will likely fetch a nice price).
Re SUP, no one doesnât buy a $5000 touring kayak because they decided to buy a $499 inflatable SUP instead. Doesnât happen. Different customers (and in the grand scheme, most shops sell a fraction of SUPs vs kayaks, even with the cheap prices).
The $199 Walmart sit on top kayak is a problem, but mostly from a safety and user experience standpoint. My fear is that people who donât know any better discover that flimsy 8 foot SOTs donât support 230 pound paddlers well, and decide that kayaking isnât for them the first time they dump. The rest of us will have to step up our messaging on that front without shaming the person who went that route.
Internationally, kayak sales are holding their own, but not growing (outside of fishing kayaks) The Covid boom was great in terms of adding participants, but it stressed out the manufacturing system to the point where they werenât able to right size in time for the inevitable cool off. Another year or so, and we should be in some sort of equilibrium where US dealers are less saturated and more open to adding new lines, at which point the international brands are ready to play. Long term, thereâs a lot to be optimistic about.
Exactly. Thatâs why we should be happy to answer their questions, no matter how elementary, thoughtfully and with a bit of empathy. When they begin to understand why a well-designed and properly fitted boat is so much more fun (and safe) than a big box cheapo, perhaps theyâll upgrade and begin writing their own kayaking story.
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Consider this: People need storage room and safe transportation methods for long kayaks. Itâs gotten harder and more expensive to either rent OR buy a home since the heyday of sea kayak popularity in the US. Vehicle roof rack systems cost a ridiculous amount.
SUPs are easier to move, store, and get back onto after someone falls in the water.
SK has more watersports market competition now than it did 20 to 30 years ago.
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That must vary a lot by region. Here, trails are crowded most of the year, what with hikers, mtbers (soooo many), ATVers, dog walkers, equestrians. The few reservoirs see plenty of âoutdoor sportsâ but most are powerboaters, though SUPers swarm some places.
Kayakers and canoeists, not many. The lack of good venues does have some relation to how popular a sport becomes. We are rich in land-based rec areas, poor in waters.
Sun exposure is another controversial topic and
I donât know if you saw the (old news by now) article in Outside magazine âis sunscreen the new margarine?â
but it makes an important argument for skin-sun exposure being cancer protective.
I think they cite the studies IFIR.
Like any risk, you have to risk stratify to know what you should be covering up vs a black / white approach. I supplement Vitamin D but believe that the natural vitamin D likely has important unknown co factors or superior qualities so covering my arms and legs is not followed 90% of my time at the latitudes where I live.
âTrue, the sun worshippers had a higher incidence of [melanoma]âbut they were eight times less likely to die from it.â
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@Offshore, agree because I approach kayaking as âmy passtimeâ. It doesnât matter who else takes up kayaking. The best I can do is help and encourage those who share my enthusiasm.
Long ago, I stopped trying to expand the kayaking base by outfitting people who thought kayaking seemed like it would be fun. They would typically paddle about a mile and sit, have no desire to improve paddling efficiency, resist wearing a PFD and were generally more interested in just changing the perspective (wondering how the land looks from the water).
I respect a personâs desire to dawdle, skylark, admire the view and look at the wildlife, but I simply do it at a different pace. Neither perspective is superior to the other, but rather it shows different goals. I have enough issues loading one boat; loading 4 boats then waiting for the casual paddlers who arrive late is a waste of water time.
An affinity for kayaking doesnât endure based on the thrill of taking out that first rental. It only persist after you accept the loading and unloading, dealing with issues of storage and transportation, dry and clean the pond scum off the boat, lather up with lotions and repellents, then get home where you need to wash and dry your shoes, PFD and other equipment, then finally shower off the accumulated mix of sweat, salt and oils. Only then can you sit and relax to allow blistered skin and sore muscle to heal, rehydrate, deal with muscle cramps and think about what you want to eat. Thatâs kayaking for me. I canât find many people who want to do that. Go figure - most want to just have fun. After that test joy ride and 1st kayaking outfit, the fun tends to wear thin. Thatâs the source of quite a few like-new kayaks.
Bicyclists arenât so much concerned that a rider switches from road bikes to mountain bike to cross bikes to fat sand-tire bikes. The issue becomes that a biker who prefers mountain cycling finds that retail sales no longer stocks products for the mountain bike or road bike, and the traditional equipment changes to consolidate stock on hand. Thatâs a part of life. Adapt or die.
Most consumers donât realize they could be contributing to the evolution and decline of how equipment is marketed. Everybody looks for quality but pinches pennies when buying. We may inadvertantly bolster lower end recreational kayak sales, by introducing people to the sport who are just looking for something to do rather than evolving and learning; by thecway, there is nothing wrong with that. Many of the members have evolved through multiple boats and different styles.
All manufacturers and retailers can do is cater to the demands of a fickle public. A common complain is a lack of stores offering demo models. Consumers might balk at paying a $10 fee to test paddle a product, then save hundreds by making an on-line purchace rather than supporting the retail store. What goes around come around. Producers and sales can only cater to public demand. If you donât support them, they simply fail. When the supply line is a job, they can only provide the service if its profitable.
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