My kayak Sofia is a very chatty boat. As she heads into any chop, she talks. I like that. I like how she talks to me, commenting on the conditions of swell and tide. As she moves through the water, particularly as she moves up and down, slapping and smacking, she talks and talks. I appreciate her voice and her beautiful shape in ways that other riders just wouldn't.
If you look up at her hull, you can see her "shoulders" or "hips". The full-bodied shape makes her very comfortable in rough water and reluctant to be rushed anywhere. (If my 180 pounds were in the kayak, you'd see how those shoulders and hips ride down in the water; hence, her deliberate pace as we move through the water.)
Sofia is named after another full-figured beauty: Sophia Loren. One of my earliest crushes.
You can see how she sits in the water here. Her "wings" are what give her that characteristic voice and way of riding and even sitting in the water. She's stable without being boring, and I can dive from her, sliding overboard to make my way underwater for a while, sliding back onboard, with a minimum of fuss and no anxiety or concern at all. With my fins on, I can practically vault onto her without any fear of upset. I think she's a beauty, though most kayakers look for sleeker models.
Now, occasionally when I consider claims that sharks, for example, are drawn to the sound of helicopter blades thudding, I wonder about how much my chatty girl is being eavesdropped by you-know-who/you-know-what, but any flash of concern disappears as I listen to her happy conversation. Sofia just loves being out in the water, and her cheery manner puts me right at ease.
