Fluid Kayaks, the South Africa-based kayak manufacturer, plans to start producing a sit-on-top whitewater kayak for beginning boaters next year. Dubbed the “Do It Now,” the boat will be made of the same pastic used in Fluid’s skirt-enclosed boats. The founder of Fluid, Celliers Kruger, says the boat will be in production in the United States beginning in February.
“It is unique, it is innovative, and it will change the way would-be paddlers are introduced to the sport of whitewater kayaking,” Kruger said in an email.
The big idea behind the boat is to remove the fear factor of being trapped inside a kayak, a big obstacle to keeping new paddlers in the sport. Presumably, the boat will feel more like a real kayak than “duckies,” the inflatable single-person rafts that many a would-be kayaker has paddled in whitewater.
According to Fluid, the boat also feels more like a normal kayak than previous sit-on-top whitewater boats. “This was achieved by raising the knee area of the sit-on-top high enough for the knees to push against, with short thigh straps to keep the knees in position,” Fluid writes in a press release on the boat. “This allows the paddler to control the kayak properly by edging the boat accurately when needed, and it also allows the paddler to roll the boat.”
I’ve paddled my do it now a couple of times since I got her a couple of days ago… Superb. I’ve got a number of boats including a Jackson Villain, Esquif Raven OC1 whitewater canoe and a decked Alpacka packraft.
I paddle grade 2 and 3 whitewater regularly, but I’m not an expert. My problem is that I, like many who are honest, suffer from mild “kayakers vertigo” (an irrational fear of heights, lower than the surface of the water). The do it now solves this problem brilliantly!
She goes from edge to edge very quickly… the knee straps work at least as well as the thigh braces in a decked kayak. The boat has VERY HIGH secondary stability, giving extra time to brace. She also side slips, ferries and snaps in and out of eddies much like my Villain.
Some other thoughts… No more soggy dry bags (the hatch is great and the boot cavernous), no more emptying heavy boats and no more hassle extricating long legs at the dock!
Disadvantages? She’s not quite as fast as the Villain and maybe a tad heavier… However I’ve quickly learnt that the thigh straps make a handy shoulder carry strap when loosened!
In short, great boat Fluid well done for combining a surf ski cockpit with a creek boat hull!
I think this is a great idea, and I am buying one. Most of us outdoor types, do more than one thing. I am an amateur rock climber, kayaker, scuba diver, geo cacher, etc. I work full time, still trying to finish a degree, and raising a family. Not everybody has the time to commit every minute to one thing. I don’t have the time to take rolling lessons, I wanta jump in a boat and play, and this idea has got me sold.
I think ” Do it now” is an awsome concept I,m wondering are they already for sale in the states. I have alot of non boating friends who have often ask to go with me in whitewater but I hesitate to take them due to lack of experience or roll or even a wet exit. mostly due to teaching time constraints.With a boat like this drawing new paddlers would be much easier. I was taught early on by vet boaters to be careful not to do something that would ruin someones first ww experience and ive been very careful not to do that. my first ww run was not so great swim/ wet exit and a seriously torn obleque muscle Good thing boating is in my blood I love it and want to share it with others