A new toy...

Probably one of the dumbest things I've done in a while... I mean if you are struggling to paddle a kayak because it is pretty edgy and maybe a bit too advanced for you, is buying a far more advanced playboat a good idea?? Apparently it is in Frase World.

The new boat - a 2007 Jackson All-star (on right in the pic) - turned up on Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend. After the obligatory sit-in-it-and-fiddle-with-bits routine, I took it out for a paddle on a local lake Wednesday evening. I couldn't have been more surprised.

I thought the boat would be particularly unfriendly to paddle, after all it is designed to be chucked around by someone who knows what he/she is doing, preferably in a hole or on a wave, not paddled by some novice idiot across a lake. However the boat was at least as easy to track straight as my RX, despite being a good six inches shorter. It was also easier to maneuver and carve turns, easier to paddle backwards and easier to roll. By the end of half an hour or so, I was in love.


Whether that is still the case after I put the little All-star in some moving water remains to be seen - the edges on the kayak really don't look like they'd forgive sloppiness! Only one way to find out...


F.