I really had a great time this past week end!

There were a wide variety of kayak present for viewing and trying out:

- Most of Nick's designs:

Ex. Single (3x) Night Herron Guillemot Double Fast Double Great Auk Custom double built for Nick's parents with electric motor. Too cool!!

- 6 Outer Isands (Jay Babina et. al.)

- Laughing Loon (Can't recall models. Edgar or Judy??)

- George Roberts two kayaks

- Klepper with assembly demo (Edgar Kleindinst didn't expect the crowd!)

- CLC Cape Charles

- canvas kayak (my first boat. aka "the barge")

- a few others I can't really recall details of.

Jay Babina and his brother did a facinating rescue and rolling demo. Jay made rolling look rediculously easy. My wife was inspired to say that maybee she would like to try learning to roll but only next summer. Jay also waxed poetically about greenland paddles. Well done Jay!

Talking to fellow builders was great. One could not walk ten feet without starting a twenty minute conversation on building. The descussion was often very specific about various details and how they were over come. "I had trouble with this strip here, how did you get it to seat snugly against the form?"

The most fun was trying the various boats. Thanks to all the people who let others try their boats. There was more than once that I cringed at how my boat was being man handled by some one assuming that it was only a demo boat!

I got to paddle Nick's Night Herron for a couple of hours on Sunday morning. I appointed my self to bring up the rear guard on the paddle and hence had lots of time to fool around with the boat. This is a really great design! The boat is very manoeverable and yet tracks very well. I would say that it is slightly less stable than my Expedition Single but not by much. IMHO the Night Herron and the Expedition Single are Nick's best designs. This positive plug for Nick has absolutly nothing to do with the fact the he ended up in a canoe for this paddle and I in his own personal kayak!

It was good to meet George Roberts in person. He is as much the personality live as in writ. When I first introduced my self to George (0630 hrs on an impromptu misty early morning paddle) as having had some "exchanges" with him on this BB, he leaned over to me with a big grin on his face and asked "good or bad?". He does have a sense of humor! Hey George, you left on Sunday with say good bye!?

One thing that was perhaps not so clear was that anyone was welcome, even if you didn't have a boat. Its a great time to try different boats. I think that very soon the weekend will have to be split into two, kayaks only and canoes only. Then again what will all the canoe builders have to look foreward to?

Matthew