Our goal is to turn people on to paddling and help them become self-sufficient with the equipment and knowledge to pursue their own adventures. The “heart and soul” of California Canoe & Kayak will always be our instructional program. We have 3 on-water store locations and a seasonal camp on the South Fork American River in the Sierra Nevada foot hills for our whitewater school. We want our customers to buy a boat that is right for them so we strongly encourage demos and instruction prior to the purchase. Our Demo Program allows people to try before they buy. As a specialty paddlesports retailer our staff has a deep knowledge and passion for the sport and often hit the water on their days off. The instructional programs and retail operations compliment each other; it’s hard for us to see doing one without the other. In 2003 we created our own on-line real-time reservation system allowing people to sign up for classes and trips 24/7 from our website and receive immediate confirmation. Anticipating the shape of things to come we launched an on-line retail store Purepaddlesports.com in 2006. Internet sales can augment our “bricks and mortar” stores but hopefully the need for customers to actually touch and demo paddle gear – not just view it in a virtual world - will remain an essential part of our business. 

 

Another huge component of California Canoe & Kayak (although we are sometimes a bit humble about it) is our commitment to community causes and the environment. We actively support Friends of the River the Sierra Club American Whitewater Save San Francisco Bay and others in their efforts to preserve wild rivers clean oceans and pristine coastlines. Our special events and fundraisers enhance the sport build community and raise money to support local youth and non-profit organizations. In 2001 we launched a memorial paddle as a tribute to a friend and paddler who died of breast cancer. Six years later our Annual Support Strokes Paddle raised over $40 000 for breast cancer advocacy research and treatment.

 

 

 

Working with our customers is the best. We’re dealing with something fun here - not selling widgets! It’s a satisfying and rewarding experience to see people get into an activity that is healthy for them. Kayaking is good for the soul too! We are all about getting people on the water and we get to see a lot of happy smiling faces because of that.

 

 

The industry is at a crossroads. Specialty shops like California Canoe & Kayak are an endangered species. Numerous manufacturers that used to create exciting and quality kayaks have merged into bigger companies that now sell a lower-quality product to “big box” retailers with minimal service and little knowledge or interest in kayaking. While this business practice may provide consumers with cheap and easy plastic boats the consumer often ends up with something that is inappropriate for his needs not sea worthy and very poor in performance. It also hurts a business like CC&K that tries to do the right thing for its customers. We want to work with manufacturers like Epic where the founders are part of the company and care about the boats and paddles they make. As long as companies like Epic are still around we should be able to serve our customers in a sustainable way. The success of our business models are linked in many ways.

 

A trend that we hope will continue is the growing interest in “fitness paddling” among kayakers. Epic’s touring kayaks and surfskis have broken new ground in this area by incorporating features formerly only seen in racing – such as ultra-light boats and paddles ergonomic cockpits and integral rudders – and making them accessible to the recreational paddler. Epic’s crusade to educate the somewhat old-fashioned and tradition-bound sea kayak community about more efficient modern kayak design is exciting and refreshing to watch!

 

 

 

There should be a vigorous effort among dealers and manufacturers to produce greener products. We have an impact on the environment on and off the water. CC&K will recycle old plastic boats free of charge for anyone that wants to get rid of them. The industry also needs to support efforts to keep water access open to the public as well as keeping our waterways clean. We hope to see more young paddlers picking up the sport and enjoying it before they reach middle age!

 

 

 

Epic products are sought after by our customers. The paddles are in huge demand. The boats are especially popular at our Sacramento store where fitness paddling has a long tradition. CC&K is a keen supporter of kayak racing; that makes Epic surfskis a perfect fit for our stores. We are the only retailer in northern California stocking surfskis. Our staff work closely with Epic during the US Surfski Championships in San Francisco each September to provide a fleet of Epic surfskis to elite Team Epic racers as well as other competitors from out of town needing rental skis for the big race. Kenny Howell, Sea Kayak Program Director at CC&K, is also the northern California Epic Expert; Kenny attends most of the regional surfski and kayak races and has a fleet of Epic demos surfskis available for prospective racers and fitness paddlers to test drive.

 

 

Epic is a unique player in the niche market of high-performance touring kayaks. They are obviously committed to designing innovative state-of-the-art boats and paddles and have the wherewithal to pull it off. As a bonus they have the star power of Greg and Oscar knocking on the doors of kayak shops across the land! With their vast experience and knowledge of kayaking behind the company it seems the sky is the limit. We wish them greatest success and CC&K is proud to be an Epic Dealer.