Ian and I, on a lark, decided to buy one used Perception Contour 450 rotomoulded sit-in kayak each from Najib in KL when it became available; sight unseen! We were both wondering if we were fools to do that and when the kayaks arrived by sea cargo last week we were partly relieved when we found that the kayaks though well used (they were used on 2 expeditions going around peninsular Malaysia) were in reasonable condition. But how would it paddle and hold up in actual use? And so on April Fool’s Day we decided to find out if we were April Fool’s Day fools or not by taking the boats out for a maiden paddle from my house in the late afternoon at high tide and under a light drizzle. What's a little rain to kayaks-mad kayakers anyway?

I got in first followed by Ian who felt that the boat was a bit wobbly but this was as can be expected as it was his first time getting into a sit-in kayak. But for me the Contour 450’s primary stability was very high and I settled right in comfortably. The kayak tracked well and the rudder was not needed at all and I soon got into a relaxed touring pace while Ian was still trying to get used to the kayak with his bulky life jacket getting in the way. But before long we both found our pace and we soon reached Sg Kuap and paddled into Sg Merdang before turning round to head towards Sg Kuap Bridge. We had a look at where the new bridge construction, which had just started, over Sg Kuap alongside the current bridge and from there after about an hour’s paddling we decided to turn back home.

I found the Perception Contour 450 stable (great for photography) and easy to paddle and handle – in other words, a nice sweet boat to paddle for day trips. Ian and I are glad that we are not April Fool’s Fools in buying these used kayaks from Najib; definitely not! The only thing left that is worrying us is how to explain to our wives why we need another kayak anyway! Any ideas anyone for these 2 recalcitrant 'fools'? *sigh*

Labels: Kuching Kayaking

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