It's not a bad gig, designing and building kayaks, hybrids and accessories that get people out in the natural world. As busy and crowded as the world seems, there are still tranquil places to explore, wildlife to encounter, moments to photograph, fish to stalk, catch and release. These places often exist in our own back yards. And there's no better way to discover them than in a Native Watercraft.

Most of the company has been knocking around water and the outdoors, as a passion and a career, the better part of our lives. There are decades of boat-building knowledge behind your Native Watercraft, and a passion for paddling's history and its future.

The newest materials and techniques always get our attention. That's how we get to break-through ideas like First Class Seating, Adapt-A-Track, Propel Pedal Drive and Ultimate Tegris, ideas that elevate the experience, add performance and increase user comfort.

We feel just as fortunate that we get to do our thing in North Carolina. There's great white water in the mountains west, salt marshes and the Outer Banks east, and lots of good lakes in the middle. Better still, we get to work with amazing local talent and partner with domestic suppliers. While we love our global family, our first obligation is to our neighbors.

Of course, without a clean environment, paddling has no future. We are committed to taking our environmental impact as close to zero as we can get. The vast majority of components in our kayaks can be recycled at the end of their usefulness. The recycle-reuse-repurpose mantra extends throughout the manufacturing process as we sort virtually all waste materials and flow it to recyclers. We're not where we want to be yet, but we're going to keep trying to get there.

Getting you in a Native Watercraft means visiting a specialty retailer. We concentrate our distribution there to ensure that our customers get the benefit of a knowledgeable sales staff who can point you to the right boat and outfitting to maximize your enjoyment and success.

Speaking of enjoyment and success, please share yours with us. Photos, videos, travelogues, praise, criticism, it's all important to us. And your fellow Native paddlers will appreciate the experience-sharing, too. We're all in this together.