Is wilderness gradually easing out of the fiberglass kayak world? I recently noticed that they are no longer producing the Tsunami 175 Pro model. Are they searching for a new place to produce it, or simply dropping it? (I recall a few mentions here on P-Net that they were having problems with quality. I’m searching for a 175 Tsunami. Should I be wary?) I was also told that they once produced a few Kevlar boats. Any ideas as to when that may have happened?
Many Thanks
David
Call Confluence Water Sports
in Mauldin, SC. They own WS.
They don’t list any…
…composite kayaks any longer… Maybe the demand isn’t there… Better grab a used one.
Oh wow!
Interesting! I got a used 170 (plastic) in April but before I bought it they were still selling the glass versions online. Just checked and you’re right - nothing anymore!
Yeah guess no demand.
no composites in 2016
The 2016 dealer book doesn’t list any composites in WS. They made Kevlar and glass boats back in the early through mid 2000s, but dropped Kevlar around 2006 (?), and went to a Chinese builder for composites for a few years, which was a disaster. They moved composite construction to …Estonia?..for a couple more years, and the build quality was better, but at this point, with kayak sales being down, there was probably little business sense in continuing to offer the product.
Estonia
Built solid and heavier than the poly kayaks! Confluence seems to always be in a struggle between getting market share, most features at a price point and quality control.
Agreed
My biggest complaint with the Chinese boats (aside from gelcoat that fell off anytime you sneezed near the hull) was that their prices weren’t commensurately lower. Current Designs’ Vision series is also Chinese built, but their pricing reflects that (versus their American built boats).
The Tempest and Zephyr series are both excellent designs, so it’s a shame there won’t be a higher performance material available for them any more.
Tempest Weights
Obviously glide in the water is one thing, but I remember one thing that really shocked me about the glass and plastic models of both the Tempest 165 and the 170 was that they weighed the same. I thought it was a typo when I was looking to purchase so contacted them directly and they confirmed the weights. If both a glass boat and a plastic boat were going to be 58 pounds in the case of the 170, I figured I’d just get the plastic and not have to worry about it.
Gotta say
The Estonian boats were built well. Oh well. No free lunch.
Thanks Y’all
This is why P-net remains such a great site! Often, it is very difficult to get information from manufacturers. (Their P.R. or customer service departments are not eager to provide factual, yet negative, information.) Any advice on spotting good, versus bad gel coat?
Thanks again…