Demise of Riot Kayaks

Torpedoed Ship Representing the torpedoed dreams of all surf kayakers

It appears from the fact that the Team Riot website went dark as of yesterday, and Spencer Cooke’s post on boater talk proclaiming the indefinite hiatus of the surf lineup; Riot Kayaks and their parent company Voodoo are most likely belly up, insolvent, in the red, and not able to bring products to their customers.

My previous optimism about the future of the sport may have been lofty thinking in light of the current economy. So it looks like we are all back to the small fabrication shops. I guess we just need more of them and not just in England and the West Coast.

I waited for quite a while to post on this particular story to ensure that the news was solid. I had my Riot Ninja 7-6 on pre-order from Savannah Canoe and Kayak. Being first doesn’t always pay off does it! Hopefully this is not a bad lesson to Spencer and his compatriots who put their work into the molds. I hope someone gets to use them and make a few boats to paddle at least. Because Lord knows I need to go surfing.

Incidentally where is the paddle sports bailout plan?