Willowleaf , Well said! I have a wife and 2 daughters and could have written the same thing but it is more effective from a woman.
The John Holmes comment is great but you have to have been around a while to relate. I primarily remember his demise.
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Originally kayaks were made so that a paddler sat with their legs straight. {Inuit} When the kayak was adapted for European’s, the thought was that Europeans could not sit this way and needed their leg/knees bent like sitting on a couch or chair. This made the narrow indigenous kayak way too prone to tip for the intended audience.
So then the kayak was made wider so as to be less likely to feel like it would go over.
Now the kayak was to wide to be responsive for edging etc…so the seat was raised some more to aid with edging.
Maybe this has something to do with your seat height…perceived needs for body weight and or center of gravity or more need for help with edging for body structure and how weight is distributed. {so they didn’t need to change a hull much to achieve their goal of design parameters}
I’m just guessing as to why they said it was designed for women…The seat height thing I mentioned above is however what did happen for the general public so it might follow that it had some to do with the seat height on your kayak.
I would suspect that Ocean Kayak was more targeting women with the pink color than any real accommodation to different body metrics. They do mention that “low profile” was a factor in making it female specific: low gunwales and a raised seat may be an adjustment for women’s usual lower center of gravity and to enable paddle clearance on what is a pretty wide kayak (28"+). And perhaps them figuring women (presuming less upper body strength than men on average – though that is not necessarily the norm) would have a harder time re-entering a kayak on the water without making it low profile.
Truth is on Florida summer paddles we often have a wet seat. It is sweat. Dosent matter sex.
The boats Ocean Kayak, sot squirts water up the scuppers on my paddle strokes because it is too small for my size/weight. It has a narrow aspect ratio, smooth hull sand low sides. Paddles well but sits low. You can put the scuppers plugs in the seat scuppers.
when you look for clearance gear and clothing lots of times it is small or xs woman sizes. The men’s xl gear is rarely on clearance so I’m just SOL. Petite ladies enjoy those discount prices!
But narby has this right too. There is clothing that is available in all those sizes, hydroskin and neo layers. But as you get into more technical layers the calibre of what is available in the smallest sizes, if it is, may not be equivalent.
That’s my problem with the Maryland weather. You sit in a puddle of perspiration.
Which is why the Florida kayak and canoe season is really just starting, Oct - Mar.
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Yep, I gave up wearing a full spray skirt in the summer here several years ago after I overheated a few times. I use a Seals splash deck unless I know I’m paddling in rough water or it is expected to rain. I’ll switch back in a few weeks. The splash deck does a remarkably adequate job of keeping errant waves out of the cockpit while allowing some airflow.
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Agree Overstreet. The day before leaving to visit my wife’s nephew in Jupiter, FL. we had 18 inches of snow in MD around 15 March one year. We got there and it was in the high 60s/low 70s. It hit the high 80s two weeks later on he day we left to go home. Paradise.
I was considering either the Tetra 10 or 12 or the Venus 11. What are the reasons that you’d prefer the Tetra over the Venus 11 that you own? Thanks.
@Photoyaker Thank you – that is good information. I am concerned about the fit of the molded foot pegs on the Venus 11; the adjustable foot pegs are really what caused me to look into the Tetras. You make a good point about the additional weight & width of the Tetra 10 vs the Venus. I agree the Tetra 12 sounds the best of the three, but I’m not sure that I have enough room to store its additional length. Plus I have to be able to car top it myself so the low weight is an attractive feature of the Venus 11. There are always trade-offs…