One thing I absolutely cannot abide in any touring kayak is poorly thought out storage solutions. This presents a significant challenge for skin on frame kayak builders due to the texture of the frame and the space it takes up inside the skin. The only way that I’ve found to get satisfactory results is to literally design my kayaks around the float/gear bags that I use.
This is yet another place where sometimes the smallest of changes can make all the difference. For example on the last model of this particular boat the float/gear bag was just ever so slightly too tight in the bow and stopped far enough back that it would’ve bothered anyone with an inseam over 32 inches. By just slightly increasing the overall volume and length, and shifting a deck beam we now have a perfect press fit into both ends.
I love obsessing over details like this and trying to fix every little thing that annoys me. The tweaks are often small but spread across every aspect of the boat the net effect on the overall experience can be pretty big. I think of it a lot like a well fitted bicycle, what you’re aiming for isn’t a bike that you notice is great it’s a bike that you don’t notice at all.
We had a close call some years ago when my preferred brand stopped being made but fortunately Trak Kayaks has filled the niche with their own float bags which are almost perfectly compatible with our kayaks.
___
This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed.
See the original post and discussion here.
