You are talking about a sit-inside kayak. Yes those are rather dangerous when you roll and even worse when you come out of the hull with the skirt detached. The hulls flood and require very specialized techniques for re-entry. Sit-insides have their place, but have less appeal to the recreational market. They are especially good for experienced users in rough (river) moving water.
Our products are sit-on-top and are certainly capable of handling rough conditions. I surf my paddle sit-on-top... is this rough enough? I can brace well enough to stay in in these waves. I get dumped and climb in, no problem. They don't swamp like a sit-inside, so even if you don't get back in, they float.
Yes, my experience is with conventional kayaks. The water is too cold and the elements too harsh here for sit on tops during winter. In summer and during autumn it can be OK, but I still prefer to stay dry inside the **** with the skirt on. The inability to roll a sit on top kayak is still a serious flaw for any kayak in my opinion. You can argument that there is a risk for getting trapped inside a traditional kayak, but the risk is relatively small with proper training. Everybody should get proper instruction before going for a paddle anyway. I believe the recreational market, which IS the kayak market here, is 95% traditional kayaks. But we are quite traditional in this country, just look at multihull penetration..
It was a nice video. Not what I call rough, but a very nice surfspot. But you were using a pretty traditional paddle, not the Mirage drive which I wondered how you could brace with? Is the Mirage only installed in very wide and stable kayaks? For reference, some of the pictures from the Alter Cup is beginning to be rough in my opinion. Smallish waves tough. Have you tried reentry in conditions where the wind combined with chop or waves have thrown you over?
You are probably doing just the right thing with your kayak producs for building a healthy business. Question is how long the current kayak craze will last..
