The good news… is that we’re still hard at it trying to get the physical shop space completed in time for our “Official” opening day of May 4th.
The bad news…is that the drywall is slowly coming along. Too slowly, which is slowing every other facet of finishing the shop space.
The good news… is that we’ve gotten our large order of Tiderace Sea Kayaks and the ice completely left our lake during the weekend I drove to Florida to pick up the boats (April 4-7).
The bad news… is that shortly after getting back from Florida, I nearly cut off my left index finger with a circular saw while installing our recycled pallet board accent wall in the shop. So, I’ve been unable to paddle any of the new boats. They’re just sitting on the racks, BEGGING to be paddled. I just can’t afford to blow out my stitches.
The good news… is that my finger is healing much faster than I anticipated and I should be on the water by the end of the weekend…Which boat to paddle first? The Tiderace Pace 18 or the Tiderace Xceed X? Or perhaps that Xtra with it’s hard chine and up-swept bow profile? Hopefully, I can find the time to paddle them all.
More good news…is that we have been getting product shipments to be ready for our opening. PeakUK and Salamander Paddle Gear to name just two. We’ve been selling a lot of the Gram Kajak Greenland Paddles. We’ve restocked all models and have yet another order in for more of the 9000D carbon fiber two piece paddles, which sold out in one day after we restocked. We are waiting on our first order of Redtail canoe paddles, which are awesome and economical handmade Canadian canoe paddles. Umingmaq Paddle Touring Center will be the sole US dealer for Redtail Paddles!
The only piece of our product puzzle that is still up in the air is our euro-style kayak paddles. I wanted to have our paddle lines finalized by our shop opening this spring, but it is clear that major manufacturing changes to the products that I have used and loved are prompting me to slow down and re-evaluate which manufacturers and models we want to offer our customers.
I have always been extremely fussy about my paddles and am finding myself even more so now. I stepped away from the industry for several years and now, upon my return, find that blade shapes by certain manufacturers that performed poorly before I left the industry are some of the best selling blades on the market today; how does that happen? I will not settle for mediocrity. There is too much outstanding gear out there to settle.
I was able to paddle the Streamlyte Visage Crank Shaft paddle we have in stock before I injured my hand. The Visage is a, solid, powerful paddle, but I fear that this blade has a little too much power and stiffness for average-sized paddlers. If you’re a strong paddler that likes a blade with a rock solid catch and NO flutter, the Visage should definitely be on your radar.
Stay tuned for a series of new posts as I set out on a search for the best euro-style kayak paddles in the world…and I do mean, literally, the world…