What was the first kayak you ever paddled?
The first polo boat was a Wombat and I very quickly moved onto a Wuka and then a maxi bat.

What kayak(s) do you own now?
Vampire 2001

What do the Australian team members paddle?
Everyone is using a Vampire of various sizes- 6 Vampire 2001, 10 Vampire 2001 S, 3 Vampire S and 1 Vampire 2.

Why buy your own polo kayak?
Your kayaks should be part of you- it moves with every movement you make whether that is turning or edging or whatever, you need to have your boat customised to allow this to happen.

How should people care for their kayak?
Bad question for polo because most don't! Repair any damage early tos top it spreading. Let your boat dry out whenever possible and use a boat bag to protect it from the elements and bumps and scrapes.

Why buy a kevlar kayak instead of a carbon fibre kayak? Why buy composite instead of plastic?
This comes down to weight choice and finances. A carbon boat will be lighter and stiffer but cost more and has a bit more natural bouyancy than a kevlar boat, but a full kevlar boat will generally last longer. We do not build full carbon boats- they all still have kevlar in them as full carbon is too brittle and get cracked too easily. Composite will always out perform plastic due to the weight fator and surface finish but plastic is great value for money and virtually indestuctable.

People always mention kayaks suitable for certain weights. How important is this, really?
Very important! It is like riding a bike the wrong size. Different weight paddlers need boats of different volumes and profiles to give them the same control. A 60kg person in a Vampire 2001 will sit very high in the water and have little nose control whereas a 100KG paddler in a Vampire S will sit too low in the water and have little forward speed.

Which is the lesser of two evils- heavy kayak, great design or lightweight construction, not so great design? Is it really "the hull" that matters?
Personally I would rather paddle the right deisgn no matter the weight compared to a lightweight boat which limits my performance. You can always get fitter, stronger or build a lighter boat, but a bad design will always be a bad design.

How did you learn to design a kayak?
Largely by trial and error and by the "feel" of the boat in the water.

What are the stages in constructing a new design?
Lots of cutting , filling, faring and sanding. We start with a boat, attack it with an angle grinder and then stick it back together until it works and feels right. This then gets filled and fared until it has a good finish and it is then sprayed with high gloss two pac paint. This is then further sanded and polished until it has a good finish and then the mould is made of the plug. All in all we avergae about 600 man hours- or about 10-14 weeks to do a new design from strat to completion.

If you couldn't paddle your own designs, what would you paddle and why?
Right now probaly the Revenge Nitro- it is most similar to the Vampire. But there is also a new boat in Germany which is apprently quite good.

Tell us about your products! What is the difference between a Vampire S and a Vampire 2001?
The Vampire 2001 has more voume in front of the seat and a slightly upturned nose to give greater speed in the choppy waters. We did this because the pool in Germany has high sides and is VERY choppy. The Vampire 2001 S is a lower volume version of the 2001. The Vampire S has more rocker in the hull but far less volume in the ends to allow the lightweight paddlers greater nose control and the ability to flat turn the kayak easier as they often do not have the strength to stern turn the bigger boats.

Would you ever make your designs locally in other countries?
Not from choice! Various versions of the Vampire are currently made illegally in at least 6 countries that I know of. Instead of setting up manufacturers in other countries we have set up agents and test pilots instead. Fergs Kayaks have just been appointed our agent in NZ. This gives us far greater control over the construction of our boats and helps prevent poor quality builders from spoiling our reputation.