{"id":1370,"date":"2013-02-06T17:21:52","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T17:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phpaddlers.com\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2013-02-06T17:21:52","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T17:21:52","slug":"a-first-look-at-the-new-hammer-from-ph-at-the-5th-annual-golden-gate-sea-kayak-symposium-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/a-first-look-at-the-new-hammer-from-ph-at-the-5th-annual-golden-gate-sea-kayak-symposium-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A first look at the NEW Hammer from P&H at the 5th Annual Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Bill Vonnegut Paddler: Bryant Burkhardt<\/p><\/div>\n

The Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium<\/a> organized by Matt Palmariello and Sean Morley continues to be one of my absolute favorite events to attend.\u00a0 It, along with other recent rough water instructional based symposiums, are continuing to grow and shape the sport in exciting ways.\u00a0 The students and coaches these events draw always make for a high energy and enthusiastic atmosphere that is intoxicating and contagious as hell.\u00a0 Safety and FUN is the name of the game and it shows.\u00a0 What a BLAST!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fellow team boater Matt Nelson, 8 sea kayaks perched high atop the P&H rig, and I all managed to make the trip down to San Fran. from the Pacific NW for the event\u2019s 5th<\/sup> year!\u00a0 Matt and I have both been going to \u201cGolden Gate\u201d since the beginning, but this year we had something extra special to look forward to.\u00a0 We were both eager to get our hands on the latest proto-type \u201cconcept boat\u201d introduced at The Outdoor Retailer show late last year. We couldn\u2019t wait to \u201cput the Hammer down!\u201d\u00a0 It was definitely time\u2026<\/p>\n

Leading the charge, P&H Custom Sea Kayaks has stepped up and is introducing a boat that is proving to be what I think is the first true Play \/ Freestyle boat built for the sea!\u00a0 It\u2019s due out soon, but is still being tweaked and updated as the team gets to paddle it and offers their feedback.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Bryant Burkhardt Paddler: Paul Kuthe<\/p><\/div>\n

We put \u201cbusiness before pleasure,\u201d as we both take coaching the courses seriously, but still managed to have our cake and eat it too!\u00a0 I had first crack at it while leading a Rock Gardening 101 course on Friday and Matt had it during Long Boat Surfing.\u00a0 After the symposium we headed North to the Mendocino Coast to REALLY put the Hammer through it\u2019s paces!<\/p>\n

The boat’s shorter length, unique volume distribution, carving edges and flat planing hull gave it solid stability, speed on the wave and spin on a dime maneuverability; While the drop skeg, 3 bulkheads, and proper sea kayak rigging and outfitting including a day hatch and convenient 4th hatch up front, made this boat sea worthy ready for some serious salt water action!<\/p>\n

The fit was just OK for me at 5\u201910\u201d and 175 lbs, but some seat alterations are being considered to allow more knee and thigh space.\u00a0 The \u201cConnect 30\u201d whitewater style outfitting offered a familiar, comfortable and adjustable fit maximizing contact and control without getting in the way. \u00a0The Hammer’s precision performance and open water range came together beautifully to allow for a super enjoyable paddling experience.<\/p>\n

This is not just a park a play machine. \u00a0It was able to cruise right along with most standard sea kayaks for short journeys and felt quick and snappy on the water. \u00a0It only took a few strokes to match wave speed and start shredding. \u00a0The boat surged forward on even subtle waves making it capable of paddling longer distances using swell energy assuming a following sea. \u00a0I could tell it wanted to surf.\u00a0 Paddling into wind chop I noticed waves were slapping at the bow a bit, but this disappeared once surfing down wind.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Bryant Burkhardt Paddler: Paul Kuthe<\/p><\/div>\n

Set flat on the wave, the Hammer was loose as a goose and willing to go almost anywhere I liked. \u00a0Once on edge, it drove the line and was capable of cranking wicked bottom turns with major thrust and speed. \u00a0Amongst the rocks, it felt cushy and confidence inspiring. \u00a0Never feeling locked into any certain boat angle made it possible to commit to bigger waves, tougher slots, and more massive pour-overs.\u00a0 It was predictable and easy to manage in turbulent tidal races and was manageable in the wind with use of the drop skeg.<\/p>\n

The Hammer has the volume, safety features, and capabilities of a sea boat in a shape that could change the way we all think of sea kayaking and open up new possibilities for our sport as a whole.\u00a0 I have a feeling there will be a waiting list to try it at Baja Fest<\/a>, Fundy Bay,<\/a> Lumpy Waters<\/a>, and the UK Storm Gathering<\/a> all happening later this year! Be sure to check out The Hammer at these upcoming events and at your local retailer starting this Spring!!<\/p>\n

Thanks again to Sean and Matt for another great GGSKS!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium organized by Matt Palmariello and Sean Morley continues to be one of my absolute favorite events to attend.\u00a0 It, along with other recent rough water instructional based symposiums, are continuing to grow and shape the sport in exciting ways.\u00a0 The students and coaches these events draw always make for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trip-reports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1370"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1381,"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370\/revisions\/1381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phseakayaks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}