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kayak · Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 11 Location: leigh

i have just been given a kayak fibreglass , not a new one like most of yours at the club as i dont have any money to buy a fancy one just yet ... i have sanded it and repainted it will marine paint in red , it looks ok for now and want to join the club but wil i be the odd one out because i have not got all the modern equipment just yet ! or does anyone else turn up with there rubbish craft / or have u all got brand new good looking ones lol ...

Steve T · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:29 pm Post subject:

Hi (and thanks for your email, assuming that you are Lee from Leigh!)

There is nothing wrong with fibreglass boats, it's what we all used years ago to run rivers of all grades. Without seeing it, it's hard to comment but there are lots of good reasons why designs changed to plastic, although even today composite boats are used for competition as they are generally lighter.

Glass boats tend to leak and back in the day we all had sponges on bits of string to mop them out. They also damage easily and a few sessions through the rocks at Burrs in low water will see you buying Halfords out of glass mat and resin and getting high as you spend half an hour with your head inside the boat breathing in fumes. Wearing shorts also gives you all sorts of interesting rashes. Modern boats have larger cockpits, better footrests and are generally far safer. You might find some club coaches unwilling to take you onto moving water with it.

I would hazard a guess that your boat is about 4m long and really fast in a straight line. Our plastic boats tend to be much shorter (3m is a LONG boat), and more manouevrable.

If what you want is a cheap way to muck about on canals or flat water it's probably ideal, and you'll find it just the job for that - probably better than our whitewater boats as it will be faster on flat water and easier to keep in a straight line. If you're doing this on your own I would stress the importance of basic safety equipment such as a bouyancy aid, and although from your email I know you have one-star, this is a basic award and you will learn a lot from paddling witha club such as ours. In any case, paddling is much more fun with like-minded company and we pride ourselves on having a laugh and not taking things too seriously as you can probably see from this forum. We have a few members dotted around Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley and Lowton.

Once you get into the sport and want to challenge yourself on something more interesting then you will want to move on to a modern boat, and if you were to join a club then you would be able to use their boats and gear until you figure out what you want.

Keep in touch Lee, and if you want to come along one Wednesday let us know and we'll make arrangements. It will be easier after the school holidays when everyone is back around.

As for your other post about paddling the canals round Leigh, if you post on here then it's possible someone will join you. Most of us are up for anything which involves a paddle, as someone round here once said.

All the best,
Steve
_________________
Steve Thomas
Secretary & Website Editor

www.westhoughtoncanoeclub.org.uk
website@westhoughtoncanoeclub.org.uk

kayak · Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 11 Location: leigh

ok i will just use my boat for the canal , will not bring it to burrs as might end up in bits , i am looking to get a better boat of the ebay asap and when i do , i will bring it down ... can i pay and use one of the clubs modern boats if so how much is it and how do i book a space ? thanks .

Steve T · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 10:28 pm Post subject:

Hi Lee

I'd recommend that you get in touch by email and arrange to come along and try it before you buy anything. We currently charge £5.00/session (members and non-members) to cover the hire of a boat and all the gear. If you have your own gear there is no charge for coaching but after three sessions we will ask you to join, currently £20/year. It might be best to wait a couple of weeks though, as at the moment lots of us are on holiday so we can't guarantee having coaches around or anyone to take a boat along for you. In the winter we go to the swimming pool for indoor technique practice.

Don't buy anything yet before taking advice, especially off ebay as there is some real junk going for silly money on there. Not all plastic boats are suitable, some are just as dated as your glass boat. When you're ready you should be looking to pay about £200 - £250 for a good used modern boat, the club has bought some recently for that sort of price. You could easily pay that on ebay for some outdated tank if you weren't aware of what you want.

Hope to see you soon

Steve

_________________
Steve Thomas
Secretary & Website Editor

www.westhoughtoncanoeclub.org.uk
website@westhoughtoncanoeclub.org.uk