“I’ve come to peace with the fact that my addiction is designing new boats,” says the creative mastermind behind the sit-on-top kayak. In the late 1960s, Tim Niemier wanted a boat that didn’t exist.

Canoe surfing, particularly in an outrigger, is an ancient Polynesian tradition. The plastic, cookie-cutter kayaks you find at Costco and lining the beach at Sandals Resorts, those are not in ...