This past week has been what I would call "the start" of good things with this project. Last week I met with NOC, the Nantahala Outdoor Center based in Bryson City, NC, about sponsorship and in particular help with getting a boat. After a great meeting talking about the project, NOC has committed to helping me with this project and help in getting a boat that meets the needs of the trip. For some, a boat... is a boat... is a boat. For others, a boats design is everything. Over the last 10 years or so, it seems like to paddle you need a quiver of boats. Specific boats to do specific types of paddling. Everything from whitewater creek paddling to calmwater seakayaking to whitewater freestyle to marathon flatwater paddling all have their unique boat designs available to do very specific things. I have many boats that are designed for lots of different purposes, but for this trip, I need a boat to carry lots of gear...30 days worth. It also has to be comfortable over lots of miles of sitting, offer some protection from the elements and finally, be fast enough to cover distances efficiently. Verlen Kruger couldn't find one to fit his needs so he built what he needed to cover the 28,000 miles he paddled criss-crossing North America in the 80's. I looked at what he used when I started to look for a boat design. I looked at Kruger Canoe's Seawind and the Clipper Canoe's Sea-1 and found those to be the best choices available to meet all my needs. The Sea-1 is lighter and looked like it was more readily available since there wasn't a wait-list a mile long.
After getting the support of NOC, I wrote Clipper an email and explained the project and my needs/preferences. Clipper is based out of Washington state and makes absolutely some of the best boats on the market including the Sea-1. Take a look at their video of a guy in their shop hitting the hull of a new boat with a hammer. Not a scratch, or dent, or crack showed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMnus9nZ34E
Today, I received a reply for the great folks at Clipper. They are going to sponsor my trip through the use of a Kevlar Sea-1 for this project!
Many thanks to NOC and Clipper Canoe for the help. Now, I just have to get the boat from Washington to NC.
Also, a huge thanks to my first on-line contributor. He knows who he is...it meant a lot to see that. THANKS
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2 comments:
Glat to hear organizations are still willing to support. I'll be helping get the word out on your paddling trip and hopefully this will help increase
Thank you very much. It's great to have another Louisiana paddler on board to help spread the word!
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