Shopping with my Sister

Now most people go shopping in a mall. But my two sisters are jocks with a capital J (so I should have written in that way I guess)....I, of course, represent the couch potato contingent.

So after an exicited phone call from sister #2 (aka Lisa) I joined her in NH to shop for a kayak.

And all the stuff you need to venture out in one....life jacket, paddle, harness, safety light, whistle, dry bag, compass, sponge, paddle float, sprayskirt, spare paddle, rescue sling.

I'm starting to notice a scary theme in the add ons.....hey, I'm just planning on floating down the river! Doesn't all this stuff sound like something bad could happen? Well, lets get the kayak first and worry about the reality stuff later!

That should be easy. Pick out a color and I'm good, right? Hear a buzzer sound here?

Pick one from each section of the following limited list and design my kayak:

1. single or double: single

2. fiberglass or plastic: (I loved the salepersons explanation when I asked which was better...."well if you hit a bridge abutment, the plastic will bounce back better"). Am I setting myself up here? Plastic it is. (and really that is my interpretive listening making it simple...its really composite and a host of alternatives and polyethylene aka plastic which was my choice)

3. How long? the number of absurd answers that pop into my head suggest I ask for suggestions and guidance. I'm sorry I ask....there are 2 kinds of length: length overall and length at waterline (LWL...laugh with lunacy). Why do I care?

"kayaks with longer waterline lengths will track better and be potentially faster or more efficient as they move through the water" from "the Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook" by Shelley Johnson.

Can I have the one that won't fall over and drown me? Short with a flat bottom hull.

4. hatches and bulkheads? ok, sure, why not...how many does it sleep? (one in the front, one in the back, my sister instructs the owner and rolls her eyes at me.) For my edification she notes that I will be storing my dry bag and spare paddle in these compartments.

SIDE NOTE ON SISTER: I shop this way....need item A...hate to shop....find first close replica of item A...buy it....return home to good book or doggies.

Sister shops this way....need item A...research endless variations of item A....compare products....stability curves and hydrostatic measurements understood and analyzed...educate self in all aspects of product....compare prices...buy it...return home and continue reading on subject.

Do we really have the same parents??

5. Take each final option out on water in harbor and make final decision. ok, this is the fun part. I paddle 6 boats (yes, my sister insisted) and pick the blue version of the red one she's already ordered.

Hey she did the research!