December 18, 2005

The 'New' Sirocco

I needed to drop off some books to Nelson for the club library, so him and Carolyn met me at Mason Neck to make the exchange. The prior day I had picked up a brand new Sirocco from Atlantic Kayak, which was an RMA from Current Designs.

CD has been a great company to work with on warranty issues. I bought the Sirocco in Japan a few years back - a first year model - and it had problems with the bulkheads leaking right away. The bulkheads were plastic and on getting back to the states they shipped me everything I needed to replace the bulkheads myself.

Back in early spring I had been out with Joan rolling the Sirocco when I felt the seat give. When we got back to the launch I noticed a tear in the plastic where the cheek plate became part of the coaming. I emailed Wenona/CD asking if they had a repair kit I could buy and was told it may be a warranty issue. So working through AK I ended up hear today sitting in a brand new Sirocco.

As the three of us paddled from shore I enjoyed the Sirocco's responsiveness. It was like seeing an old friend after a long period of absence. Of course, she still needed the skeg for any wind, but for playing in tight spots and turning this kayak is just so much fun.

We made the rounds though Belmont Bay, with me also taking my new Olympus WPi out for its maiden voyage. The results were very disappointing - focus of objects in the same plane being an issue. I'll need to experiment more with this camera. I'm an 'instamatic' kind of guy, so I wasn't something that doesn't take any more than turning on and clicking away.

Pictures

Woody