For those of you who are intrigued by the Hollowform kayak that’s been put on display at Mountain Gear, an article on the origins of the Willamette Kayak and Canoe Club offers some additional information on its place in the early days of whitewater kayaking in the northwest (http://www.wkcc.org/content/beginnings-willamette-kayak-and-canoe-club):
“Finding equipment was still very difficult because none of the river equipment outfitters we know today existed. One small fiberglass shop in Portland, that built fiberglass tanks, began making kayaks from molds pirated from two kayaks that some OKCC members had obtained from Europe – one Italian and one French design. Cost was $150 — not cheap but these became the most common kayaks in Oregon in the early ‘70s. About this time the superior Mark IV appeared from the east, and Easy Rider started making the German Augsburg kayak. The first roto-molded plastic boat, the Hollowform, appeared in the early 1970’s, but it’s poor performance and susceptibility to cracking soon gave it a bad reputation. It was nicknamed the “slug”. At first we had to make our own spray skirts — from coated nylon. Flotation we hadn’t heard about yet, but later when we did, we used old inner tubes and beach balls. Most paddles were of wood and were 86 to 92 inches long, although Clark Stanley and Scott Arighi were making shorter paddles with large flat fiberglass blades on aluminum shafts. Hot stuff. By 1975 Bob Collmer of the OKCC began making good quality paddles with fiberglass blades on aluminum shafts in his garage. The business became Lightning Paddles of today.”
And, to see the Hollowform in action, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MZFHPXQQTA