Demoing Tampico and Tracer

In the search for a new boat for Kathleen, we drove into Charlotte, Great Outdoor Provision Company, today hoping to demo two boats from Hurricane Kayaks. We were able take out a Tampico 140S and a Tracer 165. I had looked for nearby spots to paddle and picked a launch point at McDowell Park which borders Lake Wylie/Catawba River. We arrived at 1pm when the store opened, loaded up the two boats and headed out. Here they are - all pretty in their trylon plastic colors.

Now, actually, I should have known that Sunday afternoons on a big lake were not ideal kayaking conditions. Well, I did, but I thought we'd be able to scoot up to one of the feeder creeks or rivers without much trouble. Unfortunately, the wind and waves proved to be a limiting factor so we didn't end up getting far upstream. All in all though, we weren't there to see the scenary so much as to try out the kayaks. Two demo lessons learned in the process:

1. It's better to paddle someplace you already know.
2. If you're trying a stretch boat, pick someplace calm.
   

I'd been kinda psyched that the Tampico would be a good replacement boat for Kathleen. I was real curious about the Tracer for whenever we decide to get second pair of kayaks. I'm still happy with my Necky Manitou. We may even keep it as a newbie boat in case we ever have guests. Here is Kathleen in each boat. Note the shape differences here and in the picture above.


Net-net: both of us liked the Tampico, even if we could not figure out the back band adjustment. Kathleen felt smooth in it and powerful. I had the foot pegs in as far as I dared and it still wasn't enough for Kathleen to brace properly. It's looking like we'll be asking for a specialized foot peg track placement with our next purchase (of whatever boat) for her. While the Tracer was tippier, I didn't notice it too much. What I did notice was it's tendency to keep turning once I started the turn. It looks like there are some techniques that we would need to learn to use this high-rocker boat effortlessly.

As we were puttering about in the cove area, we came across this unusual heron. It's rather small in the middle of the frame - my picture using the digitizal zoom on the camera didn't come out very well. The coloring looks like a Little Blue Heron, but the shape and legs are like a Green Heron. My bird books say the Little Blue stays on the coast. I look forward to a proper identification.