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...<snip> My wife has an out-of-production McNulty Huntsman. She wanted a responsive British boat that didn't feel tippy despite its width.... <snip>

Wow, I used to paddle a McNulty Huntsman: great little kayak, but eventually I found it was too small for longish trips (skeg housing took up a lot of hatch space). Sold it to a friend of mine who still uses it (it's some 16 years old now).

I live and do much of my paddling along the coast of the North West Highlands of Scotland. A few years ago I was paddling my Huntsman along the West coast of Sutherland with a few friends. As we came into a broad beach for lunch, we caught sight of this extraordinary figure hurtling down the dunes toward us. He looked just like Ben Gunn from Treasure Island: long grey flowing beard and hair, dressed only in a pair of ragged shorts, and gesticulating wildly. He looked crazed but we needed a break!

As we landed he ran up to me and shouted "that's a Huntsman, that's a Huntsman!"

It transpired that this guy had actually designed the boat many years previously when he worked for McNulty down in the North East of England. He had retired to a beach shack up in the NW Highlands. He'd recognised the boat while we were still a good mile offshore.

By the way, McNulty mainly made equipment for the North Sea oil industry - kayaks were a side-line because the owner was an enthusiast. Maybe that's why they were so strongly built: mine weighed a ton!

Well, that was a bit off-thread. I now paddle a Feathecraft K1 which I love- managed to take it up to the high arctic last July, so portability is one adantage, but I also love the feel of a skin on frame construction.