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The K2 - News and Reviews
We have yet to get any journalistic reviews of the K2 and would welcome the opportunity to put a K2 through its paces for a newspaper or periodical review; please contact Mark Walters on enquiries@stowawayboats.com. Below is an account of a four day trip on the Thames in the K2. |
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The Descent of the Upper ThamesWe had canoed the Wye during the previous dry summer, we had both sailed offshore in difficult conditions and we had tested Mark’s Stowaway K2 on the reservoir, so we knew it sailed well. The Thames offered no threats to us. We had forgotten nothing! Mark’s car swallowed three adults, camping kit for two and the boat and all its gear. We assembled the K2 at Lechlade in the car-park of the pub by the bridge, launched without damage or drama, and loaded up. Numerous waterproof bags took our wet weather gear, cold weather clothing, (well, it was October!), camping kit for two and, after a last minute decision, we added the oars. We looked a bit like the barges which go down the Thames estuary carrying London’s rubbish to the dump, but the K2 took it all and floated in good trim. Mark rigged the mast and sails and we poled out into the river, to meet the problem that we had forgotten! There was no wind. Even worse, the very occasional puff came from the east! We pottered about for an hour, hoping for miracles. None occurred. We paddled a bit and then decided that bringing the oars had been a masterful idea all along, not just a last minute brainwave—so we rowed to the next pub. After lunch we rowed along, taking turns, to the next pub where we intended to camp overnight. The camping was Spartan, but the pub was friendly enough, apart from its resident goose, which took a dislike to Mark and cornered him in the camper’s ablutions in the yard. Next day, there was still no wind, so we rowed on. With Mark, (about 70 kgs) on the rowing thwart and me (easily 90 kgs) in the stern, the K2 dragged her tail a little but tracked well. When the positions were reversed she rowed more easily but required a little more concentration or more tiller work to maintain a course. No surprises there, in a heavily laden small boat, but the general ease of rowing came as a pleasant surprise. We certainly weren’t going fast, even with the current, but the smooth glass-fibre skin seemed to make the boat slip easily through the water. None the less, after a day’s rowing we were glad to reach Newbridge, where the hotel kindly allowed us to camp in a quiet corner of their grounds. The next day there was still almost no wind. The Thames turned majestically to a south-to-north course, and the traces of a breeze turned with it and kept ahead of us. We rowed on. We made our last overnight stop at Eynsham Lock, which offers year-round Spartan camping. (Most locks don’t offer camping after the end of September.) A half mile walk led us to the fascinating old town, and to an Indian restaurant whose staff were sufficiently impressed by our story to add a free drink to a very good meal. The following morning we rowed on to The Trout at Godstow to meet the long-suffering wives for lunch. The boat was unloaded, dismantled and folded, preparatory to reloading it in Mark’s car. The nearest point where we could come ashore was 200 metres from the car park, so the little jockey wheel on the transom proved its worth to take the folded boat along the road to the car. Yes, we learnt some lessons, but overall it was a successful and enjoyable trip and the K2 proved its capability for serious use. John Cannell |
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