Inseparable

Last time I wrote about the difficulty of getting on the water, now here I am fresh off the water, my last post ended with a comment on how it is no longer possible to really separate time on the water from business. This is the one small downside to making your passion your business, while you may get to be part of it on a day to day basis you can never  leave it behind entirely; when  I can I paddle our new boat models they don’t always fit me so this is not always possible, this year it is. 

The things that happen when I am on the water are all the things that happen to everyone a sense of getting away, of freedom, peacefulness, enjoyment of the outdoors.  The other things that happen are not necessarily the normal ones that happen to people when they are out enjoying a day on the water. When the boats are first being used I want to see what can be improved, what will be changed between the prototype stage and the stage when the plans and kits are ready. This starts right at the beginning whether getting in and out of the boat or where the foot braces are placed many of these things are similar from boat to boat so the question is how these parts come together as far as being comfortable in the boat. Part of the process is watching and feeling how the boat moves through the water, how easily is it paddled, does it meet the goals that where set during the design stage?  How does the boat interact with the waves how does it respond to the increase of wind that comes with the waves? I also spend time watching the water flow around the hull; this is naturally true more of the boats that I can see than of the one I am in. On the water I also watch to see what you are paddling and what you are asking the boat that you are paddling to do, and how you use the boats that you have.

Reading this you may think that there can’t be any joy to be had out on the water that is far from the truth; hey I’m still out on the water. Yes I may miss the odd bit of wildlife because I was watching the water flow around your hull, remember it’s my passion for being out here and the boats used to get here that led to this and the business, in the end they are simply two inseparable parts of the same experience.