Old school boat seen at antique store

[Eric Esche]

I was coming back on HW16west from beyond Elkin yesterday when It was suggested to me to stop and look in a red building on the right just to see what they had. Went inside and after my eyes adjusted, happened to look up and see a Lettman Mk IV production boat, complete with the distributor's decal (Hi Performance Product's Arrow and HIPP logo, as well as the decals saying "designed by Lettman". Boat is sort of a faded green and has seen a rough life, based on the fractures and patches, but is relatively intact - it might even float.

Felt like seeing a child you had raised after having built so many of those boats from pirate moulds. If you have never seen one and are interested in what kayaking was like before plastic, stop in and admire the lines. Mary said it has been hanging up there a long time. I wondered if it had belonged to someone in the NW chapter once upon a time.

They also had a fishing lure about 18" x6" with two trebel hooks in the opposite corner for $15. I'm sure it was made as a joke, but then maybe it might tempt some of those gigantic Gar on the Buffalo.

Eric

[okieboater]

Eric, back at the North Avenue Trade School, when I made my GT Outdoor Club kayak, I was told (memory fails me) that the deck and hull were pulled off a Lettman Mk4 and a Toni Pjijon kayak.. Do not remember which went where as at that time I was mainly a canoe person and did the kayak thing on a challenge from a bud. not long after I made it, I remember taking that boat down the Nanty with several of my buds in solo shoe keel grumman canoes and they thought I was crazy. I did good on all of the river but at Lesser Wesser decided to go for the river left big eddy. A easy move now, but not for me at the time. I flipped on the eddy line, went over the falls struggling to get out and swam all the way down to the Esso station. After that adventure it took me a while to get back into the death boat. I ended up coming out here, hooked up with a few kayakers and ran that glass boat a lot even running the Tot a number of times.

That was the last time I remember see those two great designs. Unless that C2 hull that used to be hanging on the back wall of NOC rivers end food service was a lettman design.

I think John Jayco out in Colorado took over most of the hot slalom designs in glass for a lot of the racer heads.

brings back a lot of fun memories!!