Peregrine Satisfaction
When you get your dream boat from Peregrine...
A few things we want our customers to understand before they take delivery of a Peregrine kayak so there are no misunderstandings. Our goal is 100% paddler satisfaction which we can deliver, but there are several things unique about Peregrines:
- Our handmade kayaks are like organic fruits and vegetables; there is something unique to each and every kayak based on our process. We use a huge amount of hand labor and hand tools in building your kayak and your boat will show these touches in some areas. You may for example see some extra resin in an inside area where the craftsman felt the need for sealant around a coaming or hatch.
- Go ahead and squeeze the Charmin! You will for sure find areas of the deck or hull that are “softer” or flex more than others and this is by design-not a defect!! We carefully engineer the excess weight out of these areas and some of the stiffness for damn good reason-you don’t need it! We know that it’s better to have your kayak flex over a stump than have the hull crack. And of course, conversely some critical areas are beefed up!
- Gel coat is just a paint job for your kayak and don’t freak out when you scratch it. Gel coat isn’t durable by nature and if it was your kayak would weigh another 20 lbs!! It’s there to make you feel good about the color and to more or less cover the composite layup which would look pretty weird to you without gel-coat. If you look at any guide or instructor’s composite kayak you’ll for sure see scratches and gouges all over the hull in particular and the deck behind the seat and around the cockpit. These are the markings of FUN and adventure and people who obsess over every little scratch are likely not having any in our book. You can however easily touch up your kayak now and then with matching model paints from any hobby shop.
- Cracks in the gel-coat don’t mean cracks in the fabric! If you do something dumb (we have!) and tie your boat way too tight on the rack or sit on the wrong area of the deck and you hear some cracking and then later see little tiny spider cracks in your gel-coat you might break into tears and worry you’ve broken your precious Peregrine! Calm down…all you’ve done is flexed the gel-coat past what it can endure and the boat is going to be just fine.
- Whoa! What's going on in the inside! Checking out the inside of your Peregrine is a little like tearing off the drywall on your walls and seeing the studs and wiring laid bare. Some kayak builders literally paint the whole inside of their kayaks to hide their layup work but we don’t since a) it adds unnecessary weight b) it makes the floor slippery so you struggle getting in and out c) the paint wears off getting on your clothes over time. We figure we have nothing to hide so go ahead and see how we glassed in the seam and how we sealed in the hatch plates! You’ll sleep better at night.
- A word about skegs and rudders. We thought about having each Peregrine owner sign a binding life-long vow to properly maintain their control devices but a few simple words of advice should do it. A) if you have a skeg installed please check the skeg slot each and every time you head out and if you find small stones and sticks wedged in there dig em out so that you never have any problems with the skeg cable jamming. B) if you have a rudder please keep the foot-tracks clean and don’t let any gear press up against the rudder cables and you’ll solve 90% of all rudder problems! And if you do something really dumb and trash your skeg or rudder remember that they are simply replaceable parts that you can update or repair over time when you get around to it.
- And lastly, if you have questions, ask them! Shoot us an e-mail or give us a call. We will gladly help answer any question you have.