I just purchased another used kayak, an older (7-8 years) Aquaterra Sea Lion 17'. The boat's in great shape, has been stored in protected area on its side, and this one, as opposed to the Necky Alsek that I posted about earlier, I'm planning on taking into open water. Does anyone have any comments about the Sea Lion? Any thoughts or advice? Also, I'm assuming that storage on its side is preferable? Thanks!

The Sea Lion is a great boat but is likely much older than 7-8 years. They were a precursor to the Perception nameplate. They haven't been made in quite a while. If the hatches are rubber, treat them (and the whole boat) with "303" protectant to restore pliability. Inspect the bulkheads for leaks. You depend totally upon these for basic flotation. If they are foam, you can reseal them with Lexel made for "poly" (about $12 for 10 oz.) Alway carry the basic safety gear (check any club website for this). Try to hook up with a club. You can almost ALWAYS find someone to paddle with. Good luck.

Thanks very much!

This is a good timetested design... actually goes back to 1988 - see the link below.

Sealutions are for the bigger paddler. They emphasize stability and tracking. Their cockpits are large and deep so they are more work to edge, brace and roll. It's now a dated design but with proper skills and handling it's seaworthy.

Pls. don't take that as a diss to your boat! All designs have a life cycle and one that is over 20 years old can be improved upon.

Copy and paste the link below.

Scroll down a handful of pages, you'll come to a shot of Dutch designer Harry Tieken w. one of the first Sealutions in 1988:


http://timothyshuff.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/sea-kayaking-history.pdf

Lot of good historical reading there w. many names that are close to legendary in seakayaking - Ken Fink, Matt & Cameron Broze (Mariner Kayaks) Brian Henry (Current Designs_ Werner Furrer (Werner Paddles), Mike Neckar (Necky Kayaks), Tom and Lisa Derrer of Eddyline kayaks.

Some good reading on the history of modern kayaking, thanks.

Katabatic, thanks for posting the Shuff history; I intend to read it thoroughly. But skimming it, it appears to be a selective history of sea kayaking, leaving out a big chunk of very important discussion about cold-water issues that the Sea Kayaking Industry (SKIN) chose to turn a blind eye toward for a long, long time. I may post more about this at some future time.

I would like to see what they did years ago for gear and discuss it more here for the present time. I popped up one thread and ask but it didn't get much response as to how cold before what gear and the likes.

the article's focus in on North American designers and North American design, so naturally a big chunk of history is left out, in this case intentionally so.

SM I'm not sure what you mean by leaving out cold water issues, as they are talking about boat design not paddler skills and paddler clothing. The latter has come a long long way since the 70's and the former is another article entirely.

Also, boats w. two bulkheads (now commonly found in the vast majority of seakayaks) were virtually unknown in 70s models and didn't begin to show up until the British boats of the early 80s. So that's one safety related design feature that again would not be within the scope of the article.

Think of it as a time capsule.

If I'm misunderstanding your meaning let me know.

You're correct; the article's focus is on how sea kayaking in North America went from interest ("hobby") to business, but one finds this out (it dawns on one) as one reads the article. For a very brief while, the title The Early Years led me to believe that it was going to be a history of sea kayaking, at least in its modern manifestation. But it is clearly not--you mention the lack of material on what the British were doing (in boat construction and everything else); I missed any discussion of where cold water concerns impinged on decisions on how to "sell" sea kayaking to a wider public. I'll definitely have more to say about this later.

Thanks for all the input. The past couple days, I've had it out in the Boston Harbor in some 18-20 knot winds with 2' and sometimes 3' chop, and it's done beautifully. Yeah, it's a little heavy and every once in a while you get the impression that she's a little old, but everything works, nothing leaks, and ultimately, I'm having a great time with the waves! My next step is definitely to install deck lines and stern webbing.

Jim, do you carry an anemometer to determine wind velocity?

No I don't. I do my wind estimations based off USMC tactical shooting guidelines using mainly flags for estimation. So no, it's not terribly exact, but my estimations usually run close to the forecast winds. How much do anemometers run?

I carry the Kestrel 1000 in a pocket of my PFD--costs around $75; I've had it for many years. It'll give intantaneous, maximum, and average wind velocities in knots, mph, meters per second, all kinds of units. If you go back into the Sea Kayaking forum on this Message Board, you'll find a long thread on measuring the wind; I'll give it a bump.

JimBoston, is this Sea Lion the kayak that you were paddling when you spilled in Boston Harbor? You mention(ed) your plan to equip it with decklines; Were those in place when you spilled? Whether so or not, let us know either way to what extent having or not having decklines helped/hurt your ability to hang onto your boat. This info will be very helpful.