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Having no kayaking experience, it felt a little unstable even in such sheltered water and my thigh muscles were protesting after only a few minutes pedalling. However the concept of a car-toppable boat that I could keep in the garage definitely appealed to me and I began researching the different models and available options, eventually deciding that the 16 ft / 62 lbs Mirage Adventure seemed the most suitable for my purposes. A 1.9 m2 sail kit is available from Hobie for this model but I also considered other third party options, such as from Spirit Sails and Pacific Action. While searching online, I came across a San Francisco Chronicle article on the Hobie Mirage Adventure kayak and the Hydrovisions Raptor 16 outrigger canoe was mentioned on the same web page, the first I'd heard about this novel craft. After browsing through the Hydrovisions website and reading their FAQ, I thought the 16 ft 9 in / 108 lbs Raptor 16 Expedition with 8 m2 roller furling sail sounded intriguing, so on 14 June sent an email to JohnS, the Hydrovisions President, CEO and lead designer, asking if he would be able to ship a Raptor to the UK or if he had any European sales agents. DaveH, cofounder and Vice President of Hydrovisions, replied the same day and he, rather than JohnS, would be my principal Hydrovisions contact over the next 14 months. He turned out to be a great guy to deal with, going out of his way to answer all of my many questions and to provide support when I had early teething problems with my Raptor.
DaveH told me that the Raptor's market introduction had been in April 2006 at the Oakland, California Boat Show and that its US East Coast introduction would be at the forthcoming Annapolis Boat Show in October 2006. At that time (June 2006), Hydrovisions had shipped Raptors to Norway (RobertB's) and to Greece (I'm not sure who was first), and were shortly to ship one to Western Australia, but they were keen to introduce their boat into the UK market also, so DaveH told me that they would expedite delivery to me. I asked about the blue hull/deck option, although their web site said that this would entail an extra 4 - 6 weeks delay in shipping compared to a boat with white hull and deck. DaveH sent me a couple of photos, which I believe were of EddieVB's boat, and I thought it was beautiful and was immediately 'sold'. So on 15 June I gave Hydrovisions the green light to start construction of my boat and DaveH and I started talking options and prices. Hydrovisions honoured their promise to expedite delivery and my Raptor was shipped 5 weeks later, rather than the stated 6 - 8 weeks waiting time from date of order.
In June 2006 the prices were:
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