Tuesday, January 05, 2010

The Liquidlogic Coupe Series: Sit On Top Kayaks

The Coupe 10 and The Deuce Coupe 13

Its been nearly a year since we started working on the Coupe Series, two all-around Sit On Top kayaks that are versatile enough to be paddled in the lake, on the river, and at the beach. We have done several prototypes of each and taken the Coupes to all different types of watery environments for play that we call beta testing. We have also put them in the hands of all types of paddlers. Everyone from complete paddling beginners to grizzled veterans have jumped in the Coupes, but probably the most fun thing to see was how kids just love to play around in these multi-talented cruisers.

The girls having a great afternoon in the Coupe 10


Woody and Andy hanging out at the Lake in the Deuce Coupe



Sarah taking it out on whitewater

The idea for the development of these boats was to use the success of the Remix XP concept,
and design a sit on top kayak with the same versatile features. The Coupe series has the same simple retractable skeg system as the XP, a similar hull design with stability and ease of use as the main features, and comfort as the thing that keeps you coming back to this kayak.

The hull design on the Coupes is one that allows anyone to handle the boat easily on the water.
It has a fairly flat hull that gives it the ability to turn easily and it makes for a very stable boat. We set two channels deeply into the hull to alleviate stress on the scuppers, help with tracking, and create a stiffer hull. With the skeg up it spins on a dime so that you can maneuver in tight areas or spin quickly to catch a wave. If you drop the skeg down it tracks easily. Even an absolute beginner can paddle the Coupe straight. The bow sweeps up for climbing over swells in the ocean, or running rapids in the river and the soft rounded sidewalls give the Coupe Series an easy-to-paddle, stable, confident ride.
It surfs river waves!

You can't tip the thing over!

It surfs ocean waves!




After spending so much time working on, paddling, and watching others paddle this boat I was able to see many of the things that make a good sit on top or not. We put a lot of time and creative energy into the features of the Coupes.

  • The molded in seat offers comfort even without using one of the three other seating options we offer.
  • The skeg is simple, easy-to-use, and bomber.
  • The molded-in footbraces are comfortable for all size paddlers.
  • There is ample storage in the back of the boat as well as personal dry storage for each paddler.
  • The molded-in handle in the back and luggage handle in the front provide strong comfortable grips to handle the boat.
  • The Coupes come with a paddle holder that hold the paddle solidly in place.
  • There are lots of good cup holders for any type of beverage you would like to take.
  • (these were tested thoroughly by our R&D team)
  • The Coupes stack perfectly for storage in the Garage or in the Store.
  • We put in extra large scuppers for a couple reasons, they are much stronger, and drain the water very quickly.
  • You can also use the large scuppers and molded-in handle as an easy lock up point.
We have also developed a few accessories to go with the Coupes.
  • Three different seat accessory options including Bad Ass Outfitting.
  • Thigh straps for added control.
  • Storage areas are designed to work with several of our Water Trail cooler and storage bags.
  • And my personal favorite accessory: a wheel for the back of the boat for easy one-person transport even on the Deuce Coupe.


It'll go where ever you want to go

The Coupes have been shipping the last month and are shipping all over the world so check'em out!


Here's a bunch of shots from the past year in the Coupes


For more info go to the Coupe pages on the Liquidlogic website.
Here are the links.
Click Here For The Coupe 10
Click Here For The Deuce Coupe

Cheers
Shane

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