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Feathercraft Has Closed Permanently

Gary Jacek

Gary Jacek

Paddler
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
336
Location
Victoria, BC
:cry:

Feathercraft shuts down their packable kayak operation.

"Feathercraft Has Closed Permanently
December 2016

Feathercraft has now permanently stopped making folding kayaks and accessories. Due to a number of factors, including poor economic conditions, changing lifestyles, flight baggage restrictions and increasing costs, we have found that making our premium kayaks is no longer financially viable. We will miss the incredible feedback and adventure stories that we have received over the years. I personally will miss these customers, our many suppliers, and also my dedicated colleagues who have helped make our beautiful boats. Thank you all for your tremendous support over these past 40 years.
Sincerely Yours,

Doug Simpson

Founder and Principal Owner"
 
Wow, that's really sad. They were such a local success story, making the finest folding kayaks in the world right here on Granville Island.

I'm actually impressed they made it this long. We long ago reached "peak kayak", and the public's interests have turned toward short, cheap boats for afternoon outings, not long touring craft for extended trips. And if anyone wants to invest in a folding boat for international travel, an inflatable SUP is a fraction of the price. The niche was just too small.

So, what does that leave us in terms of Canadian-manufactured kayaks? Seaward is still in Chemainus, Delta is on the lower mainland. Impex was recently resurrected in Ontario. Not sure what the story is with Boreal Designs. Anyone else?

Cheers,
Andrew
 
Feathercraft set the standard for packable paddlecraft. No one else was even close. In today's recreational outdoor activity market, however, it is plain Feathercraft values and devotion to quality can not be matched.
 
That's about the worst news I've had in a long time. What a shame, though sadly, not unexpected given our current economy and forever changing priorities. Some really top notch people worked there and I'm sure they'll all go onto even better things. Damn shame none the less.
 
One sees lots of kayaks on the tops of cars in these parts. So I was surprised to see heads turn when when I drove down the street with my Big Kahuna on the rack and overheard a couple of guys say "hey there's a Feathercraft".
 
Agreed, a shame. It'll be sad not to see the factory down at Granville Is and their boats continuing to show up on the water.
Congratulations to Doug Simpson for what he put out, sad to see him folding it up. A great product and a great innovator in our back yard.
 
mick_allen said:
...sad to see him folding it up.
Click to expand...
I saw what you did there. :wink:

I agree that it's sad to see such an iconic boat go by the wayside but to their credit, Feathercraft had a great run for many years and produced a world-class product.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if they set up a small side business supplying parts to existing Feathercraft owners. That would give some comfort to future sales transactions.
 
So, as an owner of a few feathercrafts I have a few concerns. Parts, parts parts! Is their a sale? Are they, or somebody going to have a small shop to cater to all of us who paid "big" dollars to paddle these treasures (maintenance, etc). I ALWAYS had the greatest respect for their outstanding customer service. I hope they don't give up on us and someone has a small shop to get parts, repairs, etc.......
 
Drawings would be good for machined parts. Machining one-off parts is not cheap. Figure a minimum of USD 40 per hour, and at least two hours for simple stuff. The time to do the setup and/or program a CNC mill is the same for one as it is for fifty parts. In the family machine shop, we lost many orders for this reason. We could not justify failing to charge for setup time.

The cheapest route is to cultivate a friend who has a CNC mill, and arrange for programming from the source. Contacting Feathercraft would be a first step.
 
That's terrible news. I have an ancient Feathercraft but was hoping to get a new one one of these days. Guess I'll have to buy another used one! :(
 
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