Damn, what separates badass from dumbass is the survival.
Bahh
The record for years was something like 174 feet ACCIDENTALLY. Done by 2 dads and 2 sons in rubber raft. In rural Canada none the less IIRC. The two boys had enough sense to jump to bank before the raft went over. The dads? Their beer bellies slowed em down to much I guess.
Nobody was serious hurt.
One of the dads said something to the effect of “the information from our road atlas was woefully inadequate” Ya think? 
I would love to take that third picture and photoshop it so that it looked like he was paddling upward really fast.
Where did the author get the idea that the kayak is made out of fiberglass?
Do you have any reason it was made of something else? Fiberglass is a common construction material for kayaks. I’m guessing the author asked the kayaker. I have no knowledge one way or the other.
Brian
From the picture it looks like the kayak is a Dagger made from rotomolded polyethylene, which is the most common type of whitewater/creeking boat. The reason is they are vitually unbreakable or unbendable - very very strong material. Not the lightest, but extremely tough.
Fiberglass is common for recreational and sea kayaks, but only a fool would do whitewater with fiberglass. The first rock you’d hit and crack, there goes your structural integrity! The reporter assumed from inadequate information.
:rolleyes:
Um, no.
No it isn’t. Just about the only whitewater kayaks made from fiberglass in the last 20 years are specialty boats constructed for people who compete. Darn near 100% of the boats produced for the consumer market are made of the aforementioned plastic.
Is going over in a kayak substantially different, safety-wise, than just sliding over the edge of the falls in appropriate safety gear.
I know nothing about kayaking. My guess is that the kayak makes it safer to go over the edge since you’re floating above any jutting rocks and can stay somewhat oriented forward. After that does the kayak provide any protection or offer any extra hazards?
While not a kayak EXPERT, I’d agree.
The “plastic” ones are so much better for everyday use. You’ll see “fiberglass” ones when someone wants a REALLY light boat, either for competition, or they just want something lighter to carry from the car to the water. A 20-30 ish pound boat is MUCH easier to load/unload and carry than a 40-50 ish pound boat, particularly is there is much of a walk or hill/cliff or you are trying to do it yourself.
Two asides. Modern “fiberglass” is so much better than the old stuff. The glass mat material is decently better. The resin, now referred to as epoxy is way better than your dad’s old fiberglass resin. If someone wants something pretty tough and light, it will be made out of kevlar mat rather than “glass” mat, and probably some carbon fiber here and there. It will be pricey too.
I know a guy who bought a one person kevlar canoe. It wieghs like 14 lbs (cost 2-3K$). If I hit it with a hammer it might “hold” together, but it would look like crap afterwards and probably leak water a bit. My 44 pound (400-600$) rotomolded plastic sit on top kayak I could probably beat with a sledge hammer all day long and all I’d get is some dents that would probably eventually just fade away as the plastic returned to its former shape. I’d just about have to take a saw or drill to it to make it leak.
Plastic has another advantage, because its slippery by nature, when you brush against rocks or logs/branches you can often just keep sliding by rather than getting hung up.
I was helping my brother move into his dorm a few years ago. When I accidentally smacked his plastic whitewater kayak into the cinder block wall, he said, “Don’t worry about it, the wall’s gonna break before the kayak does.” Probably an exaggeration, but the point is, those things literally made to slam into rocks, and are really tough.
The article in general seems ditzy. One of the pictures shows the kayaker plummeting down the falls, and the caption notes that “there’s no way back” at that point. Really? He can’t paddle the kayak up into the sky?
I can corroborate everything said here. RTA, fiberglass is better than it was 30 years ago, but a 100 mph impact is not something they are designed to take. Rotomolded plastic, OTOH, is a material that can survive that impact.
Kayaking has been my recreational sport of choice for 5 years now, ever since injuries banished me from the slopes.
Re: the OP: like the song says, if yer gonna be dumb, ya gotta be tough.