Michael_Crouse

Topkayaker has the Ritchie F-50 listed, maybe give them a call and see if they’ll order Silva 70p? They are listed as a dealer and since they sell mail order maybe they will want some in stock.

Camped on Peddocks before the big renovations and after. The nice thing about Peddocks is it’s big, you’ll see wild turkey, deer, etc.. you won’t get that on Bumpkin. If you’re looking for exploring the island Peddocks is a great choice, you could also camp on a smaller island and paddle to George’s to explore the forts or over to Peddocks for a day. One bonus of Peddocks is it actually has fresh water at the campsites but the campsites are pretty far from the shore. Best trip I did might have been when we went to Bumpkin and the ferry wasn’t working. I think there were 3 groups on the island and we all had waterfront sites!

YES YES YES on the pouring some hot water in your gloves on a break. Obviously you dump it out and wait a minute, no one wants to treat burned hands on a winter paddle. also yes on the XXL gloves ?

TracRac on (of course) a truck, bars are almost 70” and it’s rated for 1250lbs. The original ad for this rack had a large truck with a small Toyota on the roof rack! ? I’ve had 4 kayaks on the rack and I could probably carry five.

As others have said a warmer sleeping bag will help, you could also add an overbag to your existing bag. I had one I used for a summer bag and then for a layering system in spring/fall. A better sleeping pad makes a huge difference, I love my Exped DAM (down air mattress) and they make a less expensive synthetic filled mattress. Be warned since it’s warm, packs small, and is light it’s not cheap. As they say strong, light, inexpensive.... you only get to pick two. As far as tents IMHO those really light weight all mesh tents should be called 1.5 season tents. Get something that has good ventilation but isn’t all mesh. My favorite all around tent is/was the Walrus Terromotto, 3/4 season convertible tent with big mesh panels on the inner tent that could be zipped closed in harsher weather. That said that REI tent sounds fine.

I still lurk from time to time, lol I've got to get out again soon, lately I've fallen into the role of "Dance/Theater Dad" drive Zoe to 8 million lessons/rehearsals. My first paddle back will be a rescue clinic because I'll be swimming a lot.

If you carry a foam paddle float something like this might be helpful. https://northwater.com/collections/paddle-floats-re-entry-aids/products/fourplay-multi-use-paddle-float

I wouldn't use a dry bag or paddle float on a rocky shore, too much of a puncture risk.

They are generally higher volume, A 17'9" Cetus MV is 88 gallons (all hatches and cockpit) a 17' 11" Mariner II is 105 - 111 gallons. "West coast" boats tend to be higher volume, look at old North West Kayaks, Pacafic Water Sports, etc..... They are not Greenland style boats. Having said that by most accounts they're nice boats. I would want to paddle one first. What is your friend paddling now?

A club member had a Coaster, but I’m drawing a blank on his name. I remember he loved that little boat. I’ve got an old Mariner 1 with the sliding seat hanging out in the barn. I liked it but for speed I preferred my Foster Shadow. The Mariner definitely had more initial stability. Definitely try to paddle it, higher volume boats can feel a bit like a cork sometimes, bobbing to the top of every wave.

Someone, maybe kayakfit.com, sold foam called thin skinz. It was thin and durable, perfect for glueing to the inside of your hull. btw. I've worn through the heel of booties that didn't have a rubber cap, so I feel your pain.

I would check out Kelty tents, they actually have a full rain fly unlike most car camping tents. I have an old Mantra 7 that is so large it's frightening, but it built really well.

Sears sells an inspection mirror that should give you a view of the nut. One one those and an extension ratchet should do it. It's important to get the sears inspection mirror because the mirror detaches and it turns into a magnetic pick up tool.

I've got one of those Thule roller/slider pad combo things that I've been meaning to sell. Not sure if that would work or not.

I was definitely taught the duffek or bow rudder for crossing Eddie lines and peeling out in white water classes. The high brace seems like a half commitment to the duffek (I mean no offense) since if the brace is placed forward it puts the blade in a similar position. This does put your arms/shoulders in a vulnerable position. If you keep the blade in its proper position it will work buts it's probably less effective then the duffek.

It's going to be heavy and slow. It's a short(er) plastic kayak, the polylink 3 material was pretty durable and stiff but it was heavy. If you're paddling calm rivers and lakes it should be ok, I would guess around $300 would be a fair price. I think it's 16' long, 23" wide, it probably weighs around 55-60lbs

I think there's a difference between the trip Suz is describing and a weekend trip during on a mild winter weekend. On any longer trip things get more complicated, if you read about serious winter expeditions you'll find they use vapor barriers in their sleeping bags to stop them from absorbing water from your body. The big issue I see on a multiday trip is keeping your paddling gear dry and not being able to dry out gear that gets wet. A closed cell pad added to your summer sleeping will help a lot. Something like an Exped DAM will make you wonder how you ever used a thermarest. A tent that's not 2/3 season will make a huge difference, those all mosquito net tent bodies will not work. The coldest overnight I ever did was Mt Lafayette, it was -20 overnight. A four season tent, a zero degree bag, and a thermarest with a closed cell foam pad worked well. I was wearing proper winter gear, like koflach boots, gIant down jacket, etc...

Several years ago someone in the club bought NRS toaster mitts and he never used them because they were too warm. They might be exactly what you're looking for.

Can we get some volunteers to trim one wrist gasket and stretch the other one? That season is almost upon us. :-)

I think the market is down for several reasons 1) sea kayaking isn't as popular, I see a lot more people buying rec kayaks or SUP's these days 2) prices, with new sea kayaks selling for $4000+, then add the cost of the gear a lot of folks get turned away, they look at new kayaks not used 3) with people leaving or tapering back on the sport there are a lot of used sea kayaks out there and anything you sell is only worth what you can get for it 4) this darn internet, it brings us all together and it lets us easily compare prices and search several states away, any one remember the want advertiser and uncle henrys? 5) these things are heavy and I'm not getting any younger

So what are you willing to pay for a fiberglass kayak? i.e: if you saw a nicer kayak for $1200 would you grab it? $500 for a kayak you won't enjoy won't save you any money. There's a Valley Aquanaut for $1200 and a a Kajak Sport Millennium for $800 available used. I suspect the Aquanaut is more what you're looking for. The Millennium is not as good in the rough stuff, it's a straighter tracker and it's probably faster. I always tell people to make a list of the kayaks (or whatever) they want then keep searching and be patient.

If you're worried about stuff on the deck, in your pockets, etc.. making a rescue more difficult then you should practice with it. It's that simple, put the spare paddle on the boat, put that VHF on your PFD, keep the knife on the PFD too. It won't take too long before you realize how easy it is for that knife to come out of its sheath or to for you to get poked in the eye with that antenna. You'll figure it out and change things so that it works.... That's sort of why we're all here talking about this, yes? To answer the question nope, never had an issue with a foam float stored on the deck, a deck bag that filled with water is another story, but one that wasn't me.

OK I'm putting on my old guy hat..... Back in the day I recall skills sessions at lake Attitash where 1 or 2 people out of 20 could roll, if you were paddling alone it was paddle float or die, not roll or die. Having said that, no one would paddle solo to the Isle of Shoals if they couldn't roll, hell even if they could roll they wouldn't do that. All I'm saying is only having a paddle float reentry is not the end of the world. Should you learn to roll? Yes. Should you learn a paddle float rentry and roll? Yes. These things don't happen over night and if you use good judgement you'll be fine with just a paddle float rescue.

I was going to suggest never wet spray available in Home Depot but it says not to use on fabrics. This was the second hit on Google for "waterproofing a neoprene spray skirt" :-) http://www.nspn.org/forum/topic/3975-waterproofing-neoprene-sprayskirts/ I suppose you could try nikwax but I think a water proof coating on neoprene will be useless as soon as the neoprene stretches. You could use 303 or the 303 fabric/nylon treatment but I would be damn sure it doesn't make the skirt too slippery or too grippy.