Hi all.
Just received our SOF kayak kits from 21st Century Kayaks. They are a new company. The two owners/designers have been building and testing their version of SOF kayaks for a couple years now and officially selling kits for about a year.
The SO and I went down to Naples,FL where these guys are to check out their boats/kits and to do some paddling down that way. Saw some neat stuff paddling, but holy moly, take my word for it, DO NOT go down there in late August to paddle unless you plan to paddle before sunrise and take out at about 10 to 11 am. The HEAT, the unholy soul sucking HEAT....
Anyhow, we liked what we saw and how their boats paddled. So, we have two kits now. The SO got the 14 footer. I opted for the 15' 6" model (for possible camping purposes). Lots of bits and pieces, but after personally molesting all the parts and watching some of the how to video I am pleased with the quality, engineering/design, and work these guys have put into the kits. I am cautiously optimistic that this will be more fun and less misery and frustration than many DIY projects.
It appears to me that their kit kind of fills the niche between "here's detailed plans, go buy everything yourself and start working" and "supper precision (and expensive) kit where (if you are good at this kind of thing) you end up with floating museum piece".
I know this kind of sounds like a sales plug, but besides being an early customer, I have no vested interest in the company. If folks here are interested, I wouldnt mind asking questions and posting some pics and thoughts as the build goes along. If the moderators feel this post is inappropriate please remove it and accept my apologies. If not, the build should be starting early next week.
Just received our SOF kayak kits from 21st Century Kayaks. They are a new company. The two owners/designers have been building and testing their version of SOF kayaks for a couple years now and officially selling kits for about a year.
The SO and I went down to Naples,FL where these guys are to check out their boats/kits and to do some paddling down that way. Saw some neat stuff paddling, but holy moly, take my word for it, DO NOT go down there in late August to paddle unless you plan to paddle before sunrise and take out at about 10 to 11 am. The HEAT, the unholy soul sucking HEAT....
Anyhow, we liked what we saw and how their boats paddled. So, we have two kits now. The SO got the 14 footer. I opted for the 15' 6" model (for possible camping purposes). Lots of bits and pieces, but after personally molesting all the parts and watching some of the how to video I am pleased with the quality, engineering/design, and work these guys have put into the kits. I am cautiously optimistic that this will be more fun and less misery and frustration than many DIY projects.
It appears to me that their kit kind of fills the niche between "here's detailed plans, go buy everything yourself and start working" and "supper precision (and expensive) kit where (if you are good at this kind of thing) you end up with floating museum piece".
I know this kind of sounds like a sales plug, but besides being an early customer, I have no vested interest in the company. If folks here are interested, I wouldnt mind asking questions and posting some pics and thoughts as the build goes along. If the moderators feel this post is inappropriate please remove it and accept my apologies. If not, the build should be starting early next week.
