testimonial: Tom Linton
Imagine our shock, dismay even, when the beloved Patagonia “shop board” - a
spunky little 12 foot Stock we’d been lovingly putting our backs into since
the Cardiff store’s inception - took up with a burly Unlimited, 18 foot or more,
and bolted for Vegas. A runaway bride, gone. Why? Was it something we did,
something we said? The burly’s girthy tiller and foxy bow? Is the separation
only temporary while our little blue spunk takes time to “find itself?” Alas, we
may never know: it never calls, it never writes.
Oh the sorrow. The woe. (We can hear your heartstrings throb.)
Now imagine kindly gentleman and world class paddler, Brian Szymanski of NCP,
hearing of our plight, taking pity and mercifully stepping up w/ a charitable
loan: the very same carbon fiber 12 footer, a real sizzler of a stick, his
partner Matt used in last year’s Catalina Classic. Our new “shop board.”
Me, I approached the craft at first w/ considerable pause. My, what big
teeth it had. The hull lines, for one, seemed a sleek bit of departure,
scream(line)ing G - L - I - D - E ; certainly too fast for my mirror. Looked
trippy and tippy for all that speed. And the knee wells. Deep as a couple of
manholes. You could lose whole limbs, appendages down in there, never find them. And what about deck comfort for those of us who mostly paddle prone, those of us not quite up to living, dying (and winning) on our knees like Szymanski? In truth, the doubts really stemmed more from my ability than the board.
Brian was kind enough to take me out on a little “training” session. Gently as
possible he let me know I was, uh… flailing. Big time. He then set about
peeling back whole layers of errant stroke technique. A little less splash, a
lot less flash, some strong steady reach, thrust, and glide - not unlike good
sex I’m told - and I was good to go.
All of which made our NCP “shopboard” really come alive. Those deep knee troughs lower the body’s proximity to water level, making for deeper arm immersion, better leverage, and a more powerful stroke. I can feel the snap and sling - almost a catapult effect - w/ each pull of water owing to the carbon
laminate. And I’m here to tell you the comfort’s there paddling prone. Like
resting on the wings of angels while doing the devil’s dirty down there in the
kelp-slick trenches. My noontime Cardiff to Moonlight paddle, still an ordeal,
is smoother and faster than ever.
NCP’s are built for style and efficiency, very much a product of homegrown soul.
But mostly they’re built for speed. If this sounds at all like you, check them
out.
Tom Linton¼/p>