Kiliii says, “Unfortunately due to both the rising costs and the effort involved in marketing our expeditions, we’ve decided it’s best to close down our public kayak adventure program. Both Canada and Mexico also began asking for additional permits which have made it cost-prohibitive for our trips to the BC coast and Baja. But my enthusiasm for kayaking certainly hasn’t ceased, rather I am refocusing energy on kayak design and a new kayak due next summer.”

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1725701030/full-circle-kayak-expedition

Seawolf is throwing a big (25% off) spring sale in your face with one caveat– Orders won’t be shipped until mid-April. We are not a high volume retailer and so we’ll only be placing a couple of larger orders. It’s a great opportunity to get a really nice drysuit (Level Six makes one of the best) or drytop. All Level Six gear is available, not just the ones listed below, you can see the 2011 Level Six catalog, and the Level Six Retail Prices (Note, prices are in Canadian dollars).

Here’s some gear that’s a fantastic deal– Level Six makes some of the best gear out there, I think of it as the starting point of high-level sea kayak gear (not quite to the level of Kokatat, but almost, and the gear is also much more reasonable in price). Sale ends March 24th.

Seawolf is not a sea kayak ecommerce store. We don’t have an online store and a huge inventory, because there’s no way we can compete with the likes of REI, but we are pretty heavy-duty traditional kayakers with specific recommendations for gear. If you want to know what works for us with skin-on-frame kayaks, long expeditions, or putting together the perfect budget gear setup, this is the place to get recommendations and ask questions (in the comments here). To order, just send us an email (kiliii@seawolfkayak.com) with what you want and quantities (check Level Six’s website for colors and sizes). Please don’t send us any sensitive info like credit cards over email. You’ll find a lot of expensive fluff out there, but the best and most important stuff you ought to be interested in is below!

The Barrier Drysuit $620 (not $840)

The drysuit is that amazing and essential piece of piece of equipment that is just so damn expensive it’s out of reach for many paddlers. But it means the difference between life and death on the sea or in the bay, and you will return from your regular day trips dry and comfortable compared to a wetsuit. For long-distance or multi-day trips, it’s a no-brainer. A drysuit can save your life, giving you an extra 60 minutes in 50 degree water (i.e. the Pacific Northwest). I personally am completely thankful I invested in my drysuit early on, it has saved my butt from hypothermia and makes my kayaking fun year-round. Level Six’s suit is one of the best, way better than the OS, Palm and Stohlquist suits, and comparable to the Kokatat line. With this sale it makes the sting of the cost a little bit less. Oh yes, it’s breathable. At this level it’d better be.

The Duke and Duchess drytops $170 (not $230)

The Duke and Duchess (men and women’s versions) have gotten lots of really good reviews and they’re right– the price to function ratio of these guys is great. One of my favorite combinations for kayak touring is the drytop/drypant setup, and it’s nice because you can slowly add to your setup instead of dumping it all into a drysuit at once. All that being said, the full drysuit is more protective. Drytops also go really well with a wetsuit, keeping the wind and water off you in even semi-rough conditions. For kayak surfers, this is the perfect combo, the surfer’s wetsuit/drytop combo, because swimming with a full drysuit on really sucks.

Reign Drypant $170 (not $230)

Gaspe Anorak Touring Jacket $230 (not $310)

A touring jacket is a great combo for both beginning kayakers in less challenging conditions and for veteran kayakers that simply won’t go over. The Gaspe happens to be a nice heavy-duty and breathable touring jacket that you can be in all day long and it’s comfy. Not much to say here except that because it’s kayaker-specific, it has all the right stuff– closed cuffs, a tight fitting hood, cinches around the waist etc… It’s a better jacket than an Arcteryx for stormy conditions, and much less expensive and better suited for us semi-acquatic creatures.

Riverboot $43 (not $57)

Okay skin-on-frame kayakers, footwear for us is a bigger deal than for most. We have internal ribs in our framing and wearing many types of shoe can result in you getting stuck in your boat if you capsize. A big no-no. This type of thin-soled, flexible boot is perfect– it won’t rip off your feet in the mud of a tidal flat and it won’t trap you in your kayak. It’s also warm. They’re a great combo to go on over drysuit booties. Aquasocks will also work for the same purpose but you can lose them more easily than you think, they like to get sucked off when you capsize and thrash about in your cockpit for a bit.

Sea Mantis Tow Belt $54 (not $72)

This is one of those things everyone overlooks. A tow belt is such an essential piece of safety gear, because few of us paddle solo all the time. We paddle with other folks, and as it is lots of things can happen– a leaking hatch (poor fiberglass boat guys), seasickness, a broken rudder, or just plain tiredness. With a tow belt you can help a friend out, keep two boats together in rough conditions, save an unconscious paddler, or even tie up your boat to keep it from going out with the tide. I’ve had to use it way more often than I’d suspect, because often folks will think they can go farther than they can, or they have directional control until a quartering wind starts to blow. The old ‘I-have-a-rope-somewhere-I’m-cool’ saying just doesn’t cut it– check out Sea Kayaker’s Deep Trouble book for examples of where people’s lives could have been saved with a proper 50′ tow line around the waist with a carabiner. A bit spendy but well worth it, and I never go out paddling without one attached to me.

Okay, that’s it for my recommendations. To order, just send us an email (kiliii@seawolfkayak.com) with what you want and quantities (check Level Six’s website for colors and sizes). Please don’t send us any sensitive info like credit cards over email. Please leave comments for any questions and see you on the water!

New and used kayaks for sale

I currently have three standard Steller Sea Kayaks for sale, with 11oz skins. Two have seen some use, and are discounted to $1900 each. They are the gold and red kayaks pictured here.

Kayaks built-to-order take anywhere from 1 week to 1 month to be ready, dependent on time the season. Summer orders take longer and winter orders can be fulfilled immediately.

Steller Sea Kayak, standard model

Length Overall: 16′ 6″
Waterline Length: 15″6′

Beam Overall: 24″
Waterline Beam: 20.5″ (for a 150lb paddler)

Target Displacement: 240 lbs
Maximum ‘Safe’ Displacement: 350 lbs

Weight: 8.5 oz Skin (28 lbs)
11 oz Skin (32 lbs), Add $100

Cost: $2200

For larger paddlers or those looking for additional cargo capacity, we offer a high volume version of the Steller that still features the Steller’s super-efficient hull for sale.

Steller Sea Kayak, high-volume (not pictured)
Target Displacement: 320 lbs
Maximum ‘Safe’ Displacement: 450 lbs

Weight: 8.5 oz Skin (30 lbs)
11 oz Skin (34 lbs), Add $100

Cost: $2500

]]> http://www.seawolfkayak.com/completed-kayaks-for-sale/feed 1 http://www.seawolfkayak.com/wintercount-kayak-building-in-tucson http://www.seawolfkayak.com/wintercount-kayak-building-in-tucson#comments Sun, 03 Oct 2010 05:35:45 +0000 kiliii http://www.seawolfkayak.com/?p=958 February is for kayak-builders…in the desert! Kiliii will lead a skin-on-frame kayak workshop in Tucson, AZ, hosted by Raven’s Way wilderness school.

DATES: February 20th -27th (8 days – Sunday to Sunday)
COST: $1300 (includes a 17ft. “Skin”-on-Frame Kayak, Traditional Paddle, camping, and all instruction)
LOCATION: At our 42-acre Nature Sanctuary, Raven’s Nest (only minutes from Patagonia Lake State Park) where you will have access to: our 2000 sq. ft. Nature & Science Discovery Center, solar showers, miles of hiking trails, clean incinerator toilets, and our Stone-age Village!

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn the ancient art of Kayak building from an incredible craftsman and artist. Your instructor, Kiliii, hails from the Pacific Northwest, where he has designed, built, & tested your exact Kayak design (Stellar Sea Kayak) over the course of 3 years w/ over 500 miles of paddling in all conditions.

Your beautiful, hand-made Kayak will:
-carry enough cargo for a several days or a weeklong camping trip
-be stable enough to paddle in rough water (incl. oceans)
-roll upright & recover from a capsize easily
-maintain 4.5 m.p.h., w/ sprints of 6 m.p.h.
-weigh only 28 pounds!

In this amazing workshop you will also: learn about Kayak history/Native
history/paddling adventures, learn & use hand tools, make a Greenland or
Alaskan style paddle, practice various Stone-age Skills (Fire by Friction,
Stone-age Tools, Rope-making, & Hide Preparations)

]]> http://www.seawolfkayak.com/wintercount-kayak-building-in-tucson/feed 0 http://www.seawolfkayak.com/baja-dreamin http://www.seawolfkayak.com/baja-dreamin#comments Sun, 03 Oct 2010 05:23:39 +0000 kiliii http://www.seawolfkayak.com/?p=952 Seawolf is leading an expedition down to Baja, Mexico for March 2011. We will be working with longtime Baja guide Santiago Berreuta and skin-on-frame expeditioner Daniel of LongBoat ShortBoat.

Paddle with us for eight days in the Sea of Cortez, in some of the most beautiful protected waters in the world, from Puerto Escondido to Agua Verde.

March is a fantastic time of year to kayak in Baja– the winds are low, the temperatures mild and tropical, and the water clear. We will hop from sandy beach to sandy beach and spend several days at nice base camps to explore rich regions for their beauty and fish.

Dates: March 3-March 11th, 2011
Where: Puerto Escondido, Mexico
Cost: $1300, includes kayaks, gear and food for eight days

]]> http://www.seawolfkayak.com/baja-dreamin/feed 0 http://www.seawolfkayak.com/kiliii-presents-at-greenland-week http://www.seawolfkayak.com/kiliii-presents-at-greenland-week#comments Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:57:16 +0000 kiliii http://www.seawolfkayak.com/?p=943

Join Seawolf and Kayak Academy for a traditional Greenland kayak skills competition in Seattle. Kiliii will give a slideshow presentation on his 30 day solo journey along the Outside Passage, and talk about the use of skin-on-frame kayaks in subsistence and other ancestral ways of living. Dates are November 5th to 7th, more information at www.kayakacademy.com.

Join the Kayak Academy for a week of traditional Greenland-style lessons, demonstrations, competition and social activities during our annual Greenland Week. Spectators are welcome at the competition, and the park admission is free and open to the public. The competition begins with Ropes Gymnastics Friday evening, NW canoe ceremonies, Kayak Race and Harpoon Throwing Saturday, and Competition Rolling Sunday. We are honored to have Maligiaq Padilla, Dubside, Helen Wilson, George Gronseth and other expert instructors share their knowledge and skills for this full week.

Come try out a Skin-On-Frame Kayak! Kiliii will be at the Willamette River from 11am to 1pm on Saturdays doing kayak demos, as well as on request. He will be helping people take ‘test drives’ of the boats and giving some basic Greenland paddling instruction. There’s no better way to find out if a kayak is the one for you without getting in one, making sure it’s comfortable, stable, fast and, well, everything you dream of in a kayak…! Please RSVP by emailing kiliii@seawolfkayak.com or calling 503.877.2SEA (2732) so we know to expect you!

Where: Under the Hawthorne Bridge (East) at the OMSI RiverEast parking lot
When: Check our calendar. Available most Saturdays in the summer, from 11am to 1pm, and upon request from two or more paddlers.