Another Maiden Voyage

On my upcoming trip to Maine it is likely that a majority of the kayakers will be paddling Wilderness Systems Tempests - certainly it will be a plurality. It's just a nice, well-balanced do-it-all boat. It's the Honda Accord of kayaks*. Not the fastest, not the most maneuverable, not the roomiest, not the easiest to roll or the most playful in surf, but just a good balance of every characteristic. The other nice thing is that it comes in three sizes, so it can fit just about any paddler: there's a sixteen inch height range among the Tempest paddlers in my circle.

Test Drive at PoG

I own a Tempest 165 (the "Baby Bear" size) in plastic. Great boat, but being plastic it's heavy, slow, and has developed a serious "oil can" dent in the bottom. I always keep my eye out for good deals on fiberglass 165's, but they don't come on the market too often. More often you see the "Mama Bear" 170 size, which is tooooo big for me.

So, when I recently spotted a fiberglass Tempest 165 for sale in New Jersey I pounced on it. After a little head-scratching over how to do the deal without having to drive ten hours I discovered that by serendipity my son David was heading for New Jersey - just 30 minutes away from the seller - to attend an event. I made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and he agreed to go get the boat for me. He got home with it late on a Sunday night. We took it off the car, I put it in the backyard with a cockpit cover on it, and then really didn't look at it for a couple of days. It was only when I opened it up to adjust the thigh braces and seat that I realized that (I'm pretty sure) it's actually the kevlar layup. Certainly the feel when I pick it up seems to say kevlar. So I think I got an even better deal than I was expecting.

Anyway, I took it out for its maiden paddle last night and it was wonderful. Just like my other Tempest, but even more Tempestuous! Rolled it and the hatches stayed dry. All is good.

It is, in addition, the twin of Tall Tom's kayak, except that he has the "Poppa Bear" Tempest 180 size. Same red color. Same layup. So we look like twins when we paddle now. I expected to get some "mini-Me" jokes, but Tom came up with a better one: I am his "Skinny me".

*Reggie calls it the Toyota Camry of kayaks but he is wrong.