The fibreglassing shop where the kayaks were moulded is the same as it always was – 120% operational. The kayak fitout and office areas are now converted for other use – but the fitout area will be set up in a smaller area shortly. Fully operational kayak factory – just locked up. Nothing has been sold.

The company named Sisson Kayaks Ltd is being wound up. The assets will then become the property of the shareholders. The retired ones!

Maybe my retirement will become too boring. Who knows what will happen in Methven. My current retirement hobbies include making things for myself from metal, timber and fibreglass. Keeping my skills up.

This Sisson Kayaks website will continue to exist. As a place to supply spare parts to old Sisson Kayaks owners. And who knows – it may even be expanded in slightly different directions.

Who knows what the future holds. The global banking industry looks bleak. The list of countries that may decide to default on their ‘bonds’ is huge. So many previously affluent ‘middle-class’ people have to now plan different routes to the future.

Kayaking always was the most affordable way to get afloat. That will continue. The market is glutted with commodity cheap plastic stuff. There will always be a need for real kayaks that perform and endure for decades.

This website will continue. And I will be more active in future. Because I will have more time available. Honestly – I will try to keep some topical stuff here.

After 38 years in business (36 making kayaks) we have rejoiced in the freedom to pursue many personal interests – some of which had been pushed to one side for too many years.

In addition the closing down of the kayak company – and all of its monthly overheads – has been a big job.

When we closed the business at the time Mt Hutt closed – the Methven office and the kayak fitout area were dismantled. All of the kayak parts were placed in storage. Until March 2012 the problem has been – where can these be stored in an accessible space? Space has now been made at our Anakiwa home – so when we next visit Methven a stock of spare parts will be located for easy dispatch.

From March 2012 spare parts will again be available.

Thus ends, for the company,  36 years of kayak production.

For the next few weeks the skiing takes first place. By clicking on the link below you can access my performance on Mt Hutt this last Friday. Make sure that you scroll down to witness my place on the Leader Board. Then proceed to read my message of thanks to the manager of Mt Hutt, David Wilson.

https://www.mypass.nzski.com/spring/public/home?execution=e3s1

I have enjoyed the past 36 years. Making kayaks was certainly not a dull vocation. At times very exciting.

Last December I built a huge batch of kayaks. The market looked good. I invested in some more time saving plant. Maybe kayaking will weather this recession as it had in the past – because of its simplicity and low entry costs? When compared with power boating.

But the kayak market died. Totally! No just Sisson Kayaks – Lots of other kayak businesses were rearranging their ‘deck-chairs’.

At 69 years of age I was certainly not interested in advertising and marketing – just to increase market share from a dead market. I know how it is done. The boom years 1987 through 1995 coincided with our nation-wide marketing efforts.

I chose to stay at home at Anakiwa. The Methven factory lawns grew knee high as I abandoned my usual summer trips South to build batches of kayaks. Instead I tried out the life of retirement. Yeah right! Never been so busy in years. It was nice to have the time to catch up on projects that had been stalled for 15 years – since the factory fire in 1996.

I am here in Methven casting an eye at Mt Hutt as I set about building that last batch of kayaks. All of these nine kayak orders were received just recently. I find it amusing that my last batch of kayaks is equal in number to the orders received on day one.

The Methven farmland now has a For Sale sign on it. Our Farm Clearance  auctioneer CRT, will move in October, at any cost, in a September Clearance Sale, all of the stuff associated with the kayak business, plus my 6 ton tip truck and JCB digger. Yeah – I admit – I like digging holes. Whew – says my wife Lynda – no more holes to fall into.

I still have time to make a few more kayaks in this last batch. So – if you want one of the last of a huge line – place your order now. I promise to make the last one the very best one. SORRY – NO MORE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED – WHEN THESE NINE KAYAKS ARE FINISHED I AM GOING SKIING

I must thank all of those thousands and thousands of nice customers who have made my lifestyle possible. Thank you.

The future? The Sisson Kayak company will likely trade on, but with a different name. It started as Sisson Industries Ltd. At home at Anakiwa I have the most amazing workshop and I will be developing some crafty alternate energy devices – the prototypes for ourselves. Maybe some of these may end up being sold by other companies by arrangement. I am not retiring. Just heading off in the new exciting growth direction.

Grahame Sisson

Some photos following

Who would start such rumours? My wife Lynda comes to mind. She thinks that after 36 years I deserve a change – or a rest. But sadly the trail of mis-information seems to lead back to certain kayak retailers who cannot access my products.

Thirty six years ago there was no such thing as a kayak retailer. Maybe the problem (lies) may be almost resolved. The current economic depression is causing kayak builders and retailers to close up and dissappear into the clouds.

So – just to confirm – I made the first real New Zealand sea kayak in 1977. I made the first real multisport kayak in 1987. I made the compact Gap 1 kayak in 1975 – which Anne Dwyer of Kiwi Kayaks took to the USA – and changed kayaking forever. If you do not believe me – click here    http://www.paddlinglife.net/article.php?id=394

Sadly I no longer make the Gap One kayak (but I still use one). The good news is that I still custom build all of the current kayak models listed here on this website. Just send me your orders.

Last November / December I built the largest batch of kayaks since 2007. Huge! But honestly – since mid November I have secured just one kayak order – for delivery in July 2011. This is the worst order taking in 36 years. A massive sort out is taking place. Other manufacturers are closing, or retrenching, or combining production. They all seem to be chasing the surf ski market. Yeah right!

Kayak retailers are closing. Many were just opportunists who just pushed the latest fads. The Christchurch kayak retailer that I am friendly with – PaddlerZone are trading along nicely. We actually joke that soon – if this kayak business carnage continues – we will be the last-men-standing. Wow! Shades of 36 years ago. The ‘good-old-days.

An admission. Since mid December 2010 I have been fully retired. Which is why I can be open and honest about the market condition. The break from work has been nice. But also busy. Not really sure how I ever fitted work into my days. But a problem looms. Lynda has found that having me messing up the house decor 24/7 in not really too rosy. Lynda requests that you send me some kayak orders so that I am not under her feet in the house. Please help me!

Cheers Grahame

Lynda and I were in Rotorua with a trailer load of demo kayaks. These kayaks were later used to make our post-fire moulds.

The frost was hard. the pipes were frozen and the staff were working. Our alarm monitoring company in Wellington knew that the smoke detector had activated. Four minutes later the 111 call was lodged.

Up until then insurance was something that we bought – but hardly ever claimed on. We had never met an insurance assessor (AKA Loss Adjuster) until 20th June 1996. Wow – this is different!

Loss Adjusters are trained since birth to always make their adjustments in one direction. In favour only of the insurer.

Even though our insurance had been updated and everything was covered, our payout did not cover the total losses. Fortunately we had made a solid net profit the previous year, and our Loss of Profits policy made the rebuilding of the business worthwhile.

But none of the above happened automatically.

An insurance policy is a contract between the insured and the insurer. Initial meetings with the Loss Adjusters lead to early realisations that they were working only for the insurance company – not us. Things looked bleak.

This is what we did

1. Retired to our Anakiwa holiday home with all of our relevant insurance policies
2. Read each policy at least 5 times – every word
3. Using Post-it notes – littering the document with ‘this is what this means’ notes
4. re-read each policy 3 more times
5. Called a new meeting with the Loss Adjuster

What a difference! These people do not read your policy. They operate on certain assumptions – based on industry wording averages. They are surprised to learn that you can constantly make them look like – well – beginners.

Sisson Kayaks was paid every dollar that we were legally entitled to. Beyond that our insurers paid X-Gratia amounts beyond what we were entitled to. These extra payments were possible because in the end our insurers accepted that we were all unified and a part of the same team.

Have you ever heard of an insurance claimant ‘firing’ a Loss Adjuster? I did. The sub-human Auckland based moron that our insurer employed to administer our Loss of Profits payout thought that he would make his bonus easily. Instead he was heading back to Auckland on the next plane. And after that I demanded to only deal face-to-face with the local manager of this company.

Not all Loss Adjusters are bad. One showed human compassion. And 10 months after the fire, when all looked impossible, this man cleared the Nelson City Council paper-work log-jam. Paul Kinghorn made it possible for us to enter and trade from our newly re-built factory.

Christchurch people. Go grab some Post-it notes. Take a break away to somewhere peaceful. Read and re-read your insurance policies. Settle with insurance payments that are fair.

Firstly we celebrated Xmas and my 90 year old father-in-law’s birthday. Not always in that order of importance or timing.

Then we took a month holiday looking at parts of this land that we had previously missed.

Then we headed back home to Anakiwa and wham – received that text from our son Richard “chch leveled by eq”

I wish to say sorry to those people who have been waiting for me to respond to their kayak enquiries. This is the city where Lynda and I were raised. This is the city that still has a mysterious bond. This is the city wrecked.

For the following weeks we have tried to do our best to support family and friends. Then just as we seemed to be seeing things settling into some sort of normality – the Japanese triple disaster happened.

Those who have known our business since 1990 will remember when almost 50% of Sisson Kayak’s annual turnover was exported to Japan. Container after container of sea kayaks heading to Kleen-tex Japan Inc. The final shipment to Kleen-Tex was delivered in 1997.

About the same time I chose to become a one-man-band ‘hobby’ business. And Kleen-Tex closed their outdoors division. I am proud to say that, all these years later, I still remain in contact with the company President Fukuhara, Outdoors Division boss, Matsumura and the office administrator, Hisanori.

All are safe but I am concerned that should the wind turn to the East, Matsumura may be at risk at his Sado Island home.

Back to Canterbury. Our Methven factory is fine. Our son Richard has been living there at times in order to escape the aftershocks. He was working very close to the PGC building, and came within centimeters of being clobbered by a huge light fitting.

At times such as this family comes first. They are all visually OK. Friends are, as far as we know, OK. But many including Steve Gurney are homeless. We intend to ramp up our help after some sort of direction returns to their lives.

Only one positive item has happened lately. We have our multiple 2011 season SKI PASSES secured.

And today I am about to answer a lot of kayak enquiries that have hit my in-box in the past few weeks. I say “sorry” to all of those who have waited for my response. I admit to you that I could have found the time. But somehow my head was pulverized by the events.

The benefits of the Omega are covered in its Product Page. The Evolution Cutting Edge is history. I chopped up the plug. It was in my way. And that is that. The Cutting Edge would have replaced the original Edge. More room for wider bottoms – 30mm longer and faster. Gone for good. The Omega is the final kayak design that I will waste my time creating.

Why you may ask. The multisport market, which I helped to build (at our peak we sponsored 27 athletes and 7 events) in the late eighties and early nineties is too small to be bothered with. On top of that there is a perception, fostered by morons, that the Evolution Omega is a fraud. I do have other business interests apart from my kayak making retirement hobby. I will follow those other business interests whilst still making existing models as the orders flow in.

New models – the answer is no!