Overnighter on the Chattooga 2010

     Its a trip I have done since I was a kid.  When I first started paddling down the Chattooga it was all about me and the experience I was having.  I was completely focused on the skills I was learning, the rapids I was running, and how much fun I was having.  Now 30 years later its all about the trip as a whole.  Sure I want to have a good time but seeing every body else have a great time is as important if not more so and in that experience I am having the time of my life.

  

     Except for a few folks having to miss the trip it went off without a hitch and that is an understatement.  Saturday morning it was a little drizzly, grey, and cool, but as soon as we rolled into South Carolina the skies began to clear.  We rolled down the windows to the LL van for some warm breezes.  It really started to feel like summer was just a day or two away.

    We had a very mixed crew ranging in age from 1 to nearly 50.  Paddling experiences from total beginner to grizzled veterans.   Now that Liquidlogic is turning 10 years old its cool to have so many different options of boats for people to paddle.   The beginner paddlers jumped in the Remixs and Coupe sit on tops.  The veterans piled their boats high with gear for the over night trip in the Remix XP, Deuce Coupe, and I played around with a Versa Board loaded down like a barge for the trip.  We also had a double duck to take the smallest kid in, and a raft for the floating imagination island of the young boys.

     Of course it was fun to watch the boys play "lord of the flies" on the raft but a really cool thing to watch develop over the two days was Vicky learning to paddle on the fly.  The two day trip starts with very easy whitewater and lots of flatwater which was perfect because she was able to learn her strokes very well and get a feel for how the Remix 59 turns and travels through the water.  Day two picks up quite a bit with more whitewater and faster moving current and she handled it all incredibly well.   In fact towards the end of day two is a section with a couple of really rapids and she walked back up to run Dicks Creek Ledge (a nice easy class 3 drop at this level) a second time just for fun.

The above shot is Vicky on her first day of kayaking on Big Shoals of Section 2 of the Chattooga.

These two shots are of Dicks Creek Ledge on Section 3.

Go Vicky!

We also had a great mix of gear boats.  Nick turned his raft into a floating imagination island with a mountain of gear in the middle.  Betsy loaded up a Deuce Coupe sit on top with gear for two, beers and chocolate milk for everybody else.  Polk loaded up his Ducky for the entire family.  Maria and Elsy took the Remix XPs down with loaded hatches and I piled a bunch of gear on top of the Versa Board to see how it would handle a load.

     

Oh and lets not forget food.  The only way to have a great overnighter or multi day trip is with good food.  Nick made an awesome Dahl Bhat dinner with Nan and we cooked up Blueberry pancakes and scrambles for breakfast.  Throw in some good lunches and beverages and you have the perfect trip topper.  I think next time we really need to make it three or four days.

Some day make it a priority to go spend the weekend out, with sand between your toes, and the sounds of the river putting you to sleep.

Here is a slide show of all the photos from the trip.
Enjoy
Shane

Mothers Day on the Coupes and Versa Boards

This past weekend I drove up to a friends house near Galax, Va. for a cool Mothers Day weekend with a couple families.  On one of the days we took boats out on the New River for some good family fun.  We had two first time Versa Board paddlers, a couple youngins in the Deuce Coupe with Mom, and an 8 year old out braving the river, rapids, and long horn cattle all on his own in the Coupe.  It was a great day.

I like being able to hand the Versa Board off to anyone knowing that they are going to have a great time.  Its a very confidence inspiring board.  Anyone can jump on, stand up, and take it for a spin without worrying about stability, tracking, or maneuverability.  The same is true of the Coupes and this weekend was a perfect test of that.  Maria jumped on the Deuce Coupe with her two chillins and was able to carry the whole posse easily.  At the same time Roman paddled where ever he wanted and controlled the Coupe easily all by him self.

Looking forward to another trip.

Shane

Kayak Sledding in the Liquidlogic Deuce Coupe.

We got 6- 8" of snow at the Liquidlogic factory and I was just thinking this thing would be fun out there in the snow. The Washington Park neighborhood of Winston Salem has lots of good sledding and Doune St. was the epicenter. The Deuce Coupe was the vehicle of choice.

Here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4n9DMgWpng

or

Check it out here.

Shane

The Liquidlogic Coupe Series: Sit On Top Kayaks

The Coupe 10 and The Deuce Coupe 13

Its been nearly a year since we started working on the Coupe Series, two all-around Sit On Top kayaks that are versatile enough to be paddled in the lake, on the river, and at the beach. We have done several prototypes of each and taken the Coupes to all different types of watery environments for play that we call beta testing. We have also put them in the hands of all types of paddlers. Everyone from complete paddling beginners to grizzled veterans have jumped in the Coupes, but probably the most fun thing to see was how kids just love to play around in these multi-talented cruisers.

The girls having a great afternoon in the Coupe 10


Woody and Andy hanging out at the Lake in the Deuce Coupe



Sarah taking it out on whitewater

The idea for the development of these boats was to use the success of the Remix XP concept,
and design a sit on top kayak with the same versatile features. The Coupe series has the same simple retractable skeg system as the XP, a similar hull design with stability and ease of use as the main features, and comfort as the thing that keeps you coming back to this kayak.

The hull design on the Coupes is one that allows anyone to handle the boat easily on the water.
It has a fairly flat hull that gives it the ability to turn easily and it makes for a very stable boat. We set two channels deeply into the hull to alleviate stress on the scuppers, help with tracking, and create a stiffer hull. With the skeg up it spins on a dime so that you can maneuver in tight areas or spin quickly to catch a wave. If you drop the skeg down it tracks easily. Even an absolute beginner can paddle the Coupe straight. The bow sweeps up for climbing over swells in the ocean, or running rapids in the river and the soft rounded sidewalls give the Coupe Series an easy-to-paddle, stable, confident ride.
It surfs river waves!

You can't tip the thing over!

It surfs ocean waves!




After spending so much time working on, paddling, and watching others paddle this boat I was able to see many of the things that make a good sit on top or not. We put a lot of time and creative energy into the features of the Coupes.

• The molded in seat offers comfort even without using one of the three other seating options we offer.
• The skeg is simple, easy-to-use, and bomber.
• The molded-in footbraces are comfortable for all size paddlers.
• There is ample storage in the back of the boat as well as personal dry storage for each paddler.
• The molded-in handle in the back and luggage handle in the front provide strong comfortable grips to handle the boat.
• The Coupes come with a paddle holder that hold the paddle solidly in place.
• There are lots of good cup holders for any type of beverage you would like to take.
• (these were tested thoroughly by our R&D team)
• The Coupes stack perfectly for storage in the Garage or in the Store.
• We put in extra large scuppers for a couple reasons, they are much stronger, and drain the water very quickly.
• You can also use the large scuppers and molded-in handle as an easy lock up point.

We have also developed a few accessories to go with the Coupes.

• Three different seat accessory options including Bad Ass Outfitting.
• Thigh straps for added control.
• Storage areas are designed to work with several of our Water Trail cooler and storage bags.
• And my personal favorite accessory: a wheel for the back of the boat for easy one-person transport even on the Deuce Coupe.

It'll go where ever you want to go

The Coupes have been shipping the last month and are shipping all over the world so check'em out!


Here's a bunch of shots from the past year in the Coupes


For more info go to the Coupe pages on the Liquidlogic website.
Here are the links.
Click Here For The Coupe 10
Click Here For The Deuce Coupe

Cheers
Shane

Liquidlogic Kayaks and the Outdoor Retail Show 2009

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

The Outdoor Retail show is the biggest week of my year as far as work goes.  Its this week that all my projects from the year need to be ready for all our dealers to see.  This year I was busy.  I noticed I hadn't posted in several months and its this show that has kept me as busy as I could possibly be.

This year I did three new designs, which isn't a huge number.  All three designs were boats I had never done on my own before.  I designed two sit on top kayaks, a stand up paddle board design, and we developed all the accesories for those boats as well as a new throw rope that is really cool. 

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the stand up paddle board called the Versa Board.  Its a cross between a sit on top and a stand up board.  Its so stable anyone can jump on it and go and it is a great platform for all kinds of fun.  The fishermen are stoked on it because you can trick it out for fishing.  Including a swivel seat that rotates 360 degrees.  I am stoked because I am going to go out and paddle with a dog or two on it with me.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the sit on top called the Coupe.  Its a 10 foot sit on top with handling characteristics of the Remix XP.  So its just as at home on the lake as it is in class 2 whitewater.  It has a drop down skeg that tracks it out nicely and a Remix XP hull to deal with a little whitewater.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the tandem version of the Coupe 10.  Its called the Deuce Coupe.  Again its based on the Remix XP but in a tandem version.  Its a very easy tandem to paddle.  Most tandems are tough to turn or handle in tighter spots but this one is very maneuverable with the skeg up.  Then all you have to do is drop the skeg and it tracks like a dream for longer flat water travel.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is a really nice touring boat that Native designs came out with.  Its called the Inuit.  There are three sizes fitting a wide range of paddler sizes and skill levels.  The 12.5 is great as an entry level light touring boat and the 13.5 and 14.5 are sized models of a slightly higher performance light touring boat.

The way the show works is the first day is a demo on the beach so all the different retail shops can try out all the new product or familiarize themselves with a line they may pick up.  It is total chaos.  At the demo there were something like 30 or more different boat or board companies.  The beach was packed and the water was covered with people trying everything out.  Its actually pretty hilarious.  Not everyone came away dry I will just leave it at that.  With that many people on the water at the same time someone was bound to crash.

The next four days is full of meetings and presentations of new and existing product to current dealers and future hopeful dealers.  Its a cool show for me because this is the one chance I get to meet all the dealers that sell our stuff.  They all come through to check it out and I get to talk with them about the concepts and ideas behind all the designs.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

Here is the entrance to our room.  Kind of fancy.  Especially after I have been spending most of the last couple months in the shop completely covered in dust.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

Folks checking out the new Liquidlogic Stuff.  Including the new Liquidlogic throw bag.  We are calling it the speed loader.  Its the first throw bag that opens up like this to make it super easy to load.  Then it compresses down to a small packing size that still throws while compressed.  Simple design but it works and makes it all sooo much easier to deal with.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

This is the Mariner series.  Its a sit on top that can actually be paddled, peddled, motored or sailed.

Not recommended for running waterfalls though.  If you goose the motor or peddle too hard you may land flat off of tall drops.

From 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show

The new Inuit series was a big hit with the dealers.  They had been looking for us to do a day touring  boat for a while and I think we nailed it on this one.  We also fitted it out with outfitting like the whitewater boats so they are all day comfortable.

We had an awesome show with lots of excitement for the coming year.  We don't have any more info up on the new product yet on our webpage but we will.  I will try to fill you in more as well.

Keep your eyes open at http://liquidlogickayaks.com for news on all our stuff.

Cheers

Shane