brambor

I am looking to buy a boat this weekend. I have just spent 2 hours with a very knowledgeable kayaker talking about yaks and I had a chance to paddle NDK Explorer HV and NDK Romany Surf HV. Both fit me great. Regular explorer was too tight. The good part is that I love both of these boats for purchase. The bad part is that the guy for some reason did not commit to the sale right away and I will have to chase him a little bit to complete the sale this weekend. On the other hand I also have a chance to get my hands on a Valley Q-Boat for a decent price. I did not paddle the Q-boat but I did have a chance to sit in it and the fit was good too. From some threads I read that the Q-Boat was Valley's answer to offer something similar to the Explorer. It appears to me that the Q-Boat has harder chines than the Explorer. I should add that I am currently in Nordkapp H20 and my wife has a Seda Ikkuma 17. I thought that I would get a third boat for me or for my son (we are both of similar build. I thought the boat could be slightly different than our 2 boats to offer some variety. The Romany Surf seemed to fit the mold. The Explorer was great too. Both were noticeably slower than my Nordkapp. The Q-Boat is a mystery to me.

Cotton is a no-no to use for cleaning lens glass. It is best to use a microfiber cloth. You might have 'cleaned' the UV protective clothing right off.

Red on top over white.

I'm liking the bag of rice behind my back. In case I get stranded somewhere it will feed me for a while. I might make it puffed rice

Ok. Let's say that the seat is bearable but I'm still wondering about the backrest...do you think that filling the gap with foam or some inflatable bag is a way to go ?

I wonder if the surform tool can be bought somewhere local (in the Portland, ME vicinity) as opposed to getting it from Amazon with its $6 shipping and handling charge. ?

This is my second year kayaking. I started with a 'rocker' right away. My first kayak is a used Valley Nordkapp 18 footer. First season was unnerving but this year is much better. I am now focusing on whether I have the best configured seat. My seat has back support adjustable with straps. One thing that drives me crazy is when I get into the kayak, it is easy to drag the back support with me and end up sitting on it. Reaching back under and pulling it out is a formidable task in the tight fit of the Nordkapp (I'm 6' 240lbs). The other day I put my nalgene bottle behind the back support, in between the coaming and the backrest. Surprisingly it felt much better. It held me more upright. I started thinking whether I should consider upgrading my seat? Or should I forget it and just stuff some inflatable bag in the space where I had the nalgene bottle?

it happens often :-)

The concept of 'low tide / high tide' is suddenly becoming much clearer to some folks