*notcot in playful , 19:59

San Juan Kayaks- 06.03.06

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Design inspiration shows up in the least expected places… It’s a kayak themed weekend - ended up at the Newport Paddlesports Expo today.

While there I expected the usual cliche of polyeurathane injection molded looking kayaks - and to my surprise, I discovered these beautiful fiberglasses pieces of art, in vibrant colors and incredibly sleek curves. These San Juan Kayaks are handmade in Arizona by Jay Turner, and he’s been perfecting his craft for over 20 years! The designs are so timeless, he hasn’t needed to change his molds since. Inspired by his passion for boats, fishing, and better design - not to mention a past in the navy - he found a niche in the kayak market and with over half a dozen companies showing, nothing compared aesthetically. (look carefully and you can probably see the resemblences between these kayaks and speed boats)

I tried so many different kayaks today, I think I’ve caught up on the options out there - and this was the most fun and versatile of all… Take a look at the foot holds and the seat - compared to the padded/foam seats (with adjustability one could compare to my car), I never expected the sleek subtle curve to be so comfortable and functional. [see more images below] There is definitely something to be said for simpliticty and ingenious design.

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This is the smaller model (i think it is 10’). Can you believe this beauty weighs in at about 30 pounds? Incredibly light, this was the best ride i had all day! Another angle of it directly below.

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This is the larger model (i think it is 13’) thats configured for fishing and has the “glass bottom boat”-esque center console. [you can also order this model without the window, and have a storage compartment like the shorter model]

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Don’t worry about scratching the window below - its indented so that you don’t scratch it whhen dragging it along the sand, etc.

Also Jay mentioned that average time it takes to build a kayak is only a week! And he has a range of vibrant colors (sky blue, forest green, dark red, etc), which you could possibly even customize if you’re nice. San Juan Kayaks

1 Notes

Ooh la love. This is going to be rather un-helpful as I can’t remember the name of the product, but have you seen these fiberglass kayaks that are clear? So simple, but so brilliant - obviously allows you to better enjoy the ocean and its gorgeousness.

----- KRiSTOPHER DUKES 05.06.06 18:45


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