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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Keyhole cockpit
Posted By: Andy In Response To: Re: Prijon Barracuda? (Tim Mattson)
Date: Sunday, 25 May 2003, at 6:59 a.m.
: Overall, I
: finished the day with a whole new appreciation for Prijon kayaks ...My first experience with a Prijon kayak was the T-Slalom. Already an "old" design (though still current) when I bought it used in 1987, I was quite impressed with it (my 1st intro to WW). While I relied on the ocean cockpit of my Nordkapp (when SK-ing), I much more enjoyed the feel of the keyhole cockpit of the T-Slalom (other ww boats at the time all had the small (read - leg entrapment) cockpits).
A couple of years later, I traded my Nordkapp in for a large cockpit Nordkapp (footnote: my need for a large cockpit is because I spend long hours on the water - and need to bend the knees occasionally), even with the "flange" kit they sold, and plenty of padding, I never felt as comfortable (in a safety sense) as I did with the smaller cockpit.
At a Bean symposium in '93 when I saw Nigels new boat, the "Romany", I knew I'd eventually have to get one - based on a number of factors - but a major one was the "real" keyhole design (real in the sense of part of the kayak/cockpit design, not just a little built in flange).
Anyway, relating this back to the thread, while I'm not a particular fan of their current SK line, as an "innovator", I think they have a real place in history (at least in making the keyhole design pretty much a standard in WW boats).
I also happen to be a big fan of the versatile, now discontinued Wildwasser (Prijon) spraydeck - the "Solstice" (for reasons best left to another thread).
Andy
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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board is maintained by Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks with WebBBS 5.12.
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