Kayaks at the Boat Show

February-March 2005

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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When you’re looking for the latest and greatest in canoes and kayaks, look no further than the Vancouver International Boat Show running February 9–13 at BC Place Stadium and the False Creek Yacht Club. This year’s show features a number of canoe and kayak retailers and manufacturers, including BC Dive & Kayak, Ecomarine Ocean Kayak Centre, Extreme Interface, Middleton’s Specialty Boats, Skyview Camping & Surplus Ltd., and Western Canoeing & Kayaking. These companies will have some of the hottest accessories and the latest in kayak technology.

If you don’t live near Vancouver, perhaps a community near you will have a boat show which will include kayaks. But if you can take in the Vancouver show, you’ll find it impressive.

Extreme Interface brings two new products to the show: their Onda SailSki and the Enigma. The Onda (Spanish for ‘wave’) SailSki offers all of the fun and none of the hassles of a windsurfer. It comes with a dagger board and rudder controlled by foot pedals, and a sail that you can control with a boomstrap. The Enigma is a 9’ 7” thermoformed recreational kayak. Thermoforming is a process that creates a product that looks and weighs the same as fiberglass, but has more impact resistance and is 2/3 of the price. Extreme Interface is the first Canadian company to produce a thermoformed, full size touring kayak.

BC Dive and Kayak specializes in recreational and touring kayaks. You can check out Seaward and Wilderness Systems touring kayaks and Ocean Kayak sit-on-tops at the show.

Western Canoeing and Kayaking is the largest store of its kind in Western Canada. Western’s Clipper line of canoes will be at the show as well as a number of kayaks, lifejackets, paddles, and the latest in clothing and footwear. One of the kayaks to check out at the show uses a new material called ‘airalite’, a form of plastic lighter than the normal polyethelene. Western has been coming to the Vancouver International Boat Show for 28 years and always offers ‘show specials’. This year is no different, with discounts across the board on boats at the show.

Ecomarine Ocean Kayak Centre specializes in ocean kayaking and will celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2005. Ecomarine brings some very cool accessories to the show along with their recreational and touring kayaks, including Holey Soles, the hottest things in watersports footwear. They are lightweight, come in a variety of crazy (and not-so-crazy) colors, dry quickly for easy storage, and they float! Designed in Vancouver, they’re perfect for getting boats in and out of the water.

Skyview Camping & Surplus Ltd. will be clearing out last year’s Old Town kayaks so look for a great deal here. They will also have MinnKota electric motors, accessories, and some of the biggest names in kayaks: Current Designs, Seaward and Nimbus.

Middleton’s Specialty Boats specializes in whitewater canoeing and has been in business for 14 years on the North Shore. They will be bringing a wide variety of canoes, kayaks and accessories to the show. These include Hellman and Esquif canoes, Perception, Dagger and Impex/Formula kayaks, Salus Marine and Extrasport lifejackets as well as Navarro clothing, Brooks wetsuits and booties, and Aquabound paddles.

You can also check out Marlon Recreational Products, Steveston Marine & Hardware, Western Canadian Inflatable Boats, The Dinghy Shop, Zebec Inflatables, West Marine, and Nautic/The Boat & Board Shop at the show.

In addition to these great exhibitors, the 2005 Boat Show will be introducing a brand new feature—’Try Scuba Diving’. This is your chance to try scuba diving with state-of-the-art equipment in a tropically warm, 26,000 gallon pool staffed by local professional diving instructors. It’s free of charge and open to all Boat Show attendees from the age of 10 and up. There will be change rooms with hair dryers, mirrors and towels—just bring your bathing suit. Take your first underwater breath under the BC Place dome!

Be sure to visit the Georgia Strait Alliance booth for information on Green Boating and all the issues connected with marine conservation in Georgia Strait and its adjoining waters. Alan Wilson and Laurie MacBride will be in attendance on Saturday.

For more information, visit the Vancouver International Boat Show website at www.vancouverboatshow.ca.

© Debra Walley is with Curve Communications Group Ltd.