Gcosloy

Great trip report and pictures. I was three days in the area in July (Swans, Marshall et al) and loved the area. Gary since I had my hips replaced I can now carry loaded boats. Now if I can only stop slipping on wet rocks?

Rob, A shorter paddle will reduce swing weight however paddle length is a personal issue. If your stroke is more relaxed and not a high angle a longer paddle may be preferable. Werner suggests a 210 for me but even though I paddle high angle I use a 215. Werner unfortunately does not ask for the length of arms which can make a difference or whether your height is distributed more towards your torso vs. legs. If you can comfortably bury the blade without much effort at the start of the stroke but not more than a smidgen of the shaft you're paddling with the right length.

Five of us last July left Marshall Is. to return to Brooklin, about 13 miles journey. The day began with NE winds and gusts between 10 and 15K. By the time we arrived near Buckle for a break and some nourishment the wind had picked up to 29k. Proceeding afterwards to Opechee we decided to camp out until 6pm when the wind would diminish. The last 3 miles to our destination would be in a strong beam sea with breaking waves, the last 1.5 miles directly into the wind where progress would have been uncertain against almost 30k. By 6PM the winds did die down to a manageable 10-15k and we finished the day at dusk safe and tired. Five well seasoned paddlers where the most significant skill demonstrated was caution and discretion.

Six left Il au Haute and five arrived at Marshall Il. Well that explains everything its very easy to confuse 5 with 6. Either that or no one in the group could count!

Kate, just as you were justifiable sorry when your trip had ended I was sorry when my reading of your report had ended. Your report is not just a beautiful personal document but an inspiration for others. Multi day camping by kayak is something that I have reservations about, particularly because of the amount of energy necessary to set up and take down camp each and everyday. However after finishing your report and viewing your awesome photos of a magical place I must paraphrase Shakespeare's Henry the fifth, that we who stayed in our beds the days that you paddled Fortune Bay, Newfoundland shall feel ourselves cursed that we did not join you.

Perhaps the confusion can be explained by the phrase "caught only one to surf". Technically speaking that was incorrect. We may have "caught a swell" in the sense that our paddle speed was fast enough to keep up with a swell for a time which is not really surfing. Swells have potential energy not kinetic-when the swell starts its break it releases energy which propels the kayak at swell speed with little help from the paddler-we did not enjoy this result at all-merely took advantage of a strong following sea.

Yes the breakers perhaps were much higher than the swells but I didn't mention that at all. Lisa took some dramatic photos of same.

Nice explanation Phil of stuff I thought I knew but didn't really. Thanks for the post. A couple of us were in Casco Bay this past week paddling in the Whitehead passage between Peaks and Cushing. The swells were big and breaking closer to Peaks but not breaking closer to Cushing. It was approximately 2:30PM-given the tide was high at noon the ocean depth where the breaks were happening were close to 18' (LL tide depth from the chart was 13') which means the swells were close to 14'. We rode them closer to Cushing but actually caught only one to surf. The explanation about the significance of period perhaps explains why 14'swells had so little energy-the period was only about 5 seconds!

Shari, Your sunrise picture is great-consider blowing it up and framing it.

As an aside to this story-the news of the shark attacking a kayak was reported on Maine Public Radio yesterday and the commentator after finishing the report declared that if they had purchased their kayak from LL Bean it would be replaced -no questions asked!

Judy, My speculation at this time is that the set screw may have stripped the plastic in the slider knob. Also my slider knob and sheath are different from yours. NDK has changed these parts over time. It may be that your slider knob is fixed in position over the hole-you could try some wd-40 or even penetrating oil and see if that helps sliding it. At this point if all else fails I'd send your original post and picture to Tom Berg at MIKco and perhaps he can suggest something else or provide you with replacement parts if you need them.

Judy, The slider knob screw needs to be inserted into an oval shaped hole in the metal sheath. The problem is that the sheath may have rotated a bit while you were trying to move the cable and when you tightened the screw it missed the hole and tightened against the metal sheath and not the cable inside. Here is what I would do: With the skeg fully retracted place a shim so it can't descend (a small stone or twig will do). Now loosen the slider knob set screw and holding the metal sheath in place with a pair of needle nose pliers slide the knob towards the stern so you may observe the location of the oval hole. If the hole has rotated upwards or downwards use the pliers to move the hole to a position that will accept the set screw. Now move the slider knob forward so the screw in right over the hole and tighten it. (This is not speculative-I recently replaced a skeg cable in my Explorer and had exactly the same problem you encountered.)

Happy Birthday Katherine-I'm so glad you're still with us and thanks for sharing-that event you went through has to rank as one of the scariest. The rest of your sea kayaking career has got to be a piece of cake in comparison.

Congrats to you all. I'm impressed.

Here is a picture showing the side loops: http://www.sealsskirts.com/prod_detect.php?i=13 I've never had a problem grabbing these loops. However the review you quote needs to be qualified: Was the recommended size being used for his cockpit. I use a 1.4 for both a Romany and Explorer which Seals however lists as a custom-so maybe if I tried their custom for those boats I too might find it tight. Anyway good discussion-now everyone who reads this will want to practice getting their skirt off from the sides as well as the front. Leon-you've done a mitzvah!

I like my Seals sprayskirt which has small loops two on each side sewn into the neoprene so you can remove the skirt from the sides without having to get your fingers under the bungee.

Good for you Warren!

Ed, There was a SMSKN day trip to Damariscove Island this Saturday. I couldn't make it but would like to go in the Autumn.

Brian, Thanks for the tips. The most significant is probably how to keep the lead end from fraying. !/8" and 3/32" cable are available at many Marine supply houses. I'm wondering if 3mm is more difficult to obtain. !/8" = 3.1750mm. That's about 7 thousands of an inch larger or 0.0068898" I can't imagine how that could make a difference in this application. But if you have noticed a difference I'll concede to your experience. If I kink in the future I'll try your theory about less friction from 3/32".

Warren, thanks so much for sharing what must have been a life changing adventure. Your pictures gave us all a flavor of what it must have been like. I found myself feeling sad looking at the last picture of the "take out". You and David experienced something very special indeed.

I wanted a bit more down skeg for big conditions and managed to let the cable slide back thru the slider tube. I pulled the cable out from the skeg box and since both ends were frayed could not thread it back thru again. I obtained a new cable 1/8" D which is what I had and thought briefly of getting a 3/32" to make installation easier but fearing kinking under compression I reserved that idea for "when all else fails". Tom Berg said that threading a new cable from the front slider was easier than going the stern route. My new cable was cut neatly on both ends thru some tape so the ends were compact and shouldn't prove much of a problem. I removed the tape on one side carefully and candle waxed the end to help against fraying. While I did succeed I ran into three snags: An inch from the front of the slider tube is a side hole where the set screw from the slider knob goes to secure the cable inside the tube. Moving the slider knob away the cable when meeting this sideways exit tried desperately to climb into the hole ceasing forward progress. The end of a needle nose pliers inserted into the side hole prodded the cable on its way for about a foot where it now hung up inside the slider mechanism inside the boat. Gentle twisting and backing and forward eventually moved forward again. After satisfying progress of seven feet of cable I encountered the last obstacle- rising upwards over the tight curve in the rear skeg box. It just wouldn't move and I felt defeated but continued onward coaxing with twists and gentle pushing and voila the naked cable emerged on the outside! Most tasks can be easily accomplished with the right tools and step wise patience. Replacing a skeg cable however is one of those more daunting tasks that requires in addition a leap of faith-keep trying and it will all come out in the end! I avoided a trip back to Peak's Island which I'm sure would have been more fun!

I agree with Pru about the weirdness of the sea in this area. Yesterday was not especially unusual. After paddling mostly on the Massachusetts seacoast from the Cape to Gloucester I never much needed to be aware of tides, currents, rocks, ledges, shoals or reefs. The seacoast from York harbor Maine south to Hampton, NH is rife with all of the above and one needs to be more aware-I think paddling here makes you a better paddler. Yesterday was a relaxed wonderful paddle with great companions. Lunch by the Lobster shacks at Rye Marina was a real treat. Here is a link to a few pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107836626784396161725/OdiorneJuly2014?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMbOhKLC7bPymQE&feat=directlink

Eh-thats 50 nautical but for moi I'll accept the superman moniker!

My favorite also Pru. If I can make it I will-curently recovering from camping on the Marshall Island and 50k miles in three days.

Bill- "How about July 8th (tomorrow) we launch from the Odiorne boat ramp? Warning, no porta-potties. " If you continue East on Pioneer Road past the boat ramp about 1/2 mile you will come to the Science Center which has facilities. I don't know what time they close however.