Brian Nystrom
-
Posts
1,468 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Store
Downloads
Events
Forums
Gallery
Posts posted by Brian Nystrom
-
-
Several of us have taken both the Solo and Wilderness Med classes. The general consensus was that we preferred the latter, primarily because it was more focussed on kayaking. The certs are also good for three years, rather than two.
-
Due to the low turnout, we should have plenty of room for anyone who decides to show up at the last moment. If you have any questions, call me on my cell at 603-930-2600. I'll have it with me at the workshop.
-
Go buy one and we'll test it.
-
According to the specs, the only difference is that the M72 is ~3/16" shorter than the M1V. The literature mentions a short antenna, so perhaps there's a difference there, too.
-
I documented everything I learned about the flaws and vulnerabilities in the HX460-S - at the request of Standard Horizon - and sent it to them. You can seen how much effect it had...ZERO. The current radio is identical to the ones we experienced so many failures with.
While Ed is correct that every manufacturer screws up from time to time, I have no confidence in S-H and it will take some serious changes to convince me to buy or recommend one of their products again.
-
Well, you've touched on something that is definitely applicable to our use of radios. It seems pretty obvious from the number of failures that some of us have experienced with certain radios that IPX-7 (a.k.a. JIS-7*) radios do not necessarily meet IPX-6 standards.
IPX-6 is a dynamic test, in that the radio is forcefully sprayed with water, which causes transient, localized high pressures.
IPX-7 is a static test. The radio is immersed in calm water and left there undisturbed until it's removed 30 minutes later. It creates a uniform, sustained pressure.
Which is more important? It depends. If you're getting whacked by waves or wind-driven spray, it seems that IPX-6 is more applicable. Drop your radio into the water and IPX-7 would seem to be the standard you'd want to meet. If you capsize, both would seem to be important.
My gut instinct would be that IPX-8 is probably sufficient for all three scenarios above, but I haven't seen any comparative tests, so your guess is as good as mine.
The fact that Icom IPX-7 rated radios - specifically the M1V and M88 - have proven to be very reliable under real-world kayaking conditions leads me to believe that an IPX-8 rated model from them would be even more reliable and certainly sufficient for our needs. I would feel confident in buying one, based on that.
* At level 7, IPX and JIS standards are the same, but they differ at other levels. For example, JIS-8 is a more stringent, continuous immersion standard than IPX-8.
-
I've made the change.
-
Icom has come out with a new model called the M72. It's about the same size and shape as the M1V, but has some new features. Those of particular interest to kayakers are:
- Better waterproofing (IPX8 = 30 minutes at 1.5 meters)
- Higher volume audio
- "AquaQuake", which clears water from the speaker automatically.
- A "street" price of under $200.
I have no experience with this radio yet, but given its feature set and Icom's proven reliability, it has the potential to be the ideal kayaker's radio.
Here's a link to a PDF with more information:
-
-
I have plenty of pump mounts, so no problem there. You can do fiberglass work as long as you use epoxy. After discussing the location with Richard, I'm pretty well convinced that doing gelcoat work is not going to be possible. Not only is the location smaller, but there are neighboring businesses that we need to be considerate of.
-
-
-
Everything you want to do is possible at the workshop. For more info on seat R&R, see my Webshots albums at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg
The boat in the "Seat R&R" album is an Anas Acuta.
-
I would suggest picking up some Marine Goop or Lexel sealer to seal your bulkhead with. The actual amount of time to do the work would be a matter of 1-15 minutes of cleaning and application, but it will take several hours to dry. Deck rigging can take up to an hour, depending on how extensive the changes are.
-
I was tempted to put the tandem down as two boats...
As for gelcoat repair, until I see what kind of ventilation the facility has, I really can't say yes. My main concern has to be the safety and comfort of the participants. As you know from past workshops, the glue fumes alone can be pretty oppressive.
-
Once more, Richard Najarian has pulled some strings and found us a location for an outfitting workshop! We are again in his debt.
Date: February 25 & 26, 2006.
LOCATION:
Waltham, MA
--------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:
The location is in the rear and opposite end of the same building we've used in the past.
Address: Waverly Oaks Office Park
411 Waverly Oaks Rd. (Route 60), Waltham,
Unit #168
Our location is next to the Karate Studio located at the rear of the first long building running parallel to Waverly Oaks Rd. The warehouse door is marked #168.
There will be signs on the loading dock and door.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 9AM - 5PM both days.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR SAFETY GEAR. ORGANIC VAPOR RESPIRATORS ARE A MUST!
The new location is smaller than the old one, but can accommodate ~12 boats at a time AND it even has a working bathroom! Those interested in participating should post here. If anyone is interested in assisting, please let me know.
As with previous workshops, we will concentrate on deck rigging, foam padding installation, deck-mounted tow rig installations and similar operations. It will also be possible to do some repairs, such as skeg cables, removal/repair of seats, etc. Last year, we did some bulkhead removal and installations (epoxy and fiberglass) and some minor hull repair. As in previous years, I would prefer not to do gelcoat or polyester/vinylester work, due to the fumes.
If you're interested, please post here with:
- Your name
- How many boats you intend to bring
- What day(s) you would like to attend
- What type of work you would like to do
- Any supplies you will need.
- Any questions you have
I will have the following supplies available:
- Black and white deck line
- Black bungee cord
- Wooden balls for deck rigging
- Minicel pump blocks for under-deck mounting
- Minicel foam in various thicknesses
I'll also bring the "magic band saw", a drill press and the star of last year's workshop, the Fein Multimate. I'll have various other tools, too.
Feel free to bring anything else you need. The closest source for supplies is probably West Marine in Woburn. If you need something and can't find it, post it here and we'll see if we can find a source for you.
Although we will have extension cords and some accessory lighting, feel free to bring your own. Also, if you want prefer to work off the floor, bring sawhorses or other stands. If you intend to work on the floor, a pad/carpet for under your boat is a good idea.
Safety equipment is required at these workshop. Safety glasses and an organic vapor respirator are highly recommended for ALL participants and they are MANDATORY If you're going to do any gluing. Both are available inexpensively at home centers, hardware stores and paint stores. Latex, nitrile or rubber gloves are also a good idea.
See you there!
Brian
___________
Participant list
.............................Saturday......Sunday
Kim & Mike Crouse----1 boat
Mary Bennett--------1 boat--------1 boat
Kevin B--------------1 boat-------1 boat
Deb Millar-------------------------1 boat
Bob Clarke------------------------1 boat
Jason Kates-----------------------1 boat
Judy Whipple----------------------1 Boat
-
These programs have very different focuses. The way I like to put it is that Trip Leader Training is not designed to produce great paddlers, it's designed to produce great trips.
The Trip Leader Training course was developed using several sources of information. It's tailored to the unique needs of the club and emphasizes leadership, teamwork, group management and hard skills specific to leading trips such as close-in maneuvering, rescues and tows, navigation, etc.
ACA and BCU programs are geared toward teaching strokes and other fundamental paddling skills at the lower levels and don't get into leadership skills until the higher levels. Their primary emphasis is on hard skills and individual achievement. Both organizations also offer training programs for coaches.
The NSPN and ACA/BCU programs are essentially complimentary. We offer lake/pool sessions where members can learn the basics and courses taught by professional instructors (ACA, BCU and other) for more advanced skills. We encourage members to improve their skills through courses offered by other organizations and businesses. The club is neither an outfitter nor a professional training organization and the free training we offer is not meant to supplant professional instruction.
-
In case you haven't heard about it, there is an outstanding online kayak building website sponsored by Guillemot Kayaks.
It's a tresure trove of information on kayak building in general, with an emphasis on strip building. There have been many discussions on the use of cove and bead strips vs. beveling the edges. There are pros and cons to both methods.
-
-
Cable material is available from West Marine, Hamilton Marine and other marine suppliers. They will also have thimbles, swedges, swedging tools and cable cutters. Be forewarned, the tools aren't cheap. If you have the exact dimensions, perhaps the store will cut and swedge the cables for you. If not, you may be able to have this done at a well-equipped archery shop, since they'll have cable swedging equipment for working on compound bows. My tools came from the shop I used to own.
For a rudder, you can use either 1x19 or the more flexible 7x19 cable, 1/16" or perhaps 3/32" in diameter. If your cables have to run over any pulleys or make any significant bends, 7x19 cable would be a better choice.
You can find polyethylene tubing in the plumbing departments of hardware stores and home centers. They will also have brass fittings for the tubing that may be useful, depending on the design of the rudder system.
-
You're may not be old enough to remember Mattel's "Vacuform" toy molding machine, but that's the way thermoformed boats are made. A sheet of plastic (most are derivatives of polycarbonate) is held in a frame and heated until it's pliable. It's then pulled down over a mold and the air is evacuated, pulling the plastic tight to the mold. After a few minutes of cooling, the newly formed hull or deck is popped off the mold. As with fiberglass boats, the molded pieces are then trimmed and then joined along the sheer seam to make a complete kayak. It's a pretty efficient process, as the molds are about the same size as those for fiberglass boats, the sheet plastic heats easily and quickly and the molded panels can be popped off the molds pretty quickly.
Polyethlylene boats are rotomolded. That entails pouring a predetermined amount of polyethylene powder or beads into a two-piece mold that's sealed. The mold is heated and rotated to distribute the plastic once it melts. I understand that the rotation speeds and patterns can be quite complex in order to achieve the desired result. Once the mold has cooled sufficiently, it's opened and the boat is popped out in one piece. When Walden was auctioning off their inventory and equipment, I had a chance to look at some of the boat molds. They're large and heavy and the ovens to heat them were pretty massive. It required gantries and such to move the molds around, ovens built into the floor to heat them and pretty large mechanisms to rotate the molds as they were heated. Apparently, the cooling process is also much longer than for thermomolding, which slows the production time.
Although thermomolded boats currently command a premium over the cost of similar rotomolded boats, I wouldn't be surprised to see that disappear in the future, at least for sea kayak sized boats.
-
From what I've seen Perception boats are very thin and as you say, single layer. They frequently mold stiffening grooves in their hulls to stiffen the flimsy material, then give them a misleading name such as "tracking grooves". On some models, they have to resort to bolting metal tubing to the keels to keep them from oil-canning. If a hull cannot maintain adequate stiffness without these "band aids", it's a bad sign. A friend of mine is a Perception/Dagger dealer and constantly bemoans their substandard construction. Since Dagger became part of the same company, he says they've done the same thing to their boats, made them thin and flimsy. Basically, they're "McKayaks".
The bottom line is that there are better boats for not a lot more money. A used Valley, P&H or Prijon would be a better boat than a new Perception.
-
Although it's not the primary consideration for a kayak, IIRC linear poly' can be recycled, but cross-linked cannot.
Bill's right about P&H and Valley. Prijon is also well-regarded and the Wilderness Systems Tempests seem to be made of good material. Perception and Dagger are sub-par and I haven't been particularly impressed with Necky's plastic, either. Old Town uses multi-layer construction, but their plastic is very soft and deforms rather easily. They probably don't make anything you'd be interested in, anyway.
-
I've heard nothing but good things about these guys. They're more expensive than Forward Air, but they have an excellent record of delivering boats damage-free.
Installing Brunton 70P
in General Message Board
Posted
In a plastic boat, just drill the holes undersize and the screws will fit tightly enough that you shouldn't even need to seal them. It's very easy.