Guest _rick Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 I did make it to the north end of Plum Island Saturday. Much later than I wanted. It's a shame I could have used some help with form. Take off was fine after of course broaching repeatedly in the chopby the old coast guard station. I really should mark the sprayskirts to get the right sized one first!!! A trek back to the truck. Paddling into the waves fine. Made the turn down to the charterboats ok. Then the wind picks up. Bow goes into the wind. Tides coming in. Boat cant figure out if it wants to broadside the current or nose into the wind. Get to the western side of the island and see lots of kayaks reflecting by the AYC. Realized I was much too late. Now the current is masked by the island and the wind keeps trying to turn me 90' of my intended course. lean back nothing lean foward nothing. I round the island and Im heading back to the charter boats on plum island. Neat current now!! Flooding the Plum Island river and the Merrimac and the wind is blowing out to sea. Helicopter arms all the way back to the old coast guard station. What on earth was sooo relaxing about that. I have come to the conclusion that I as big as I am 225lbs am not heavy enough to ballast correctly. The question is how much weight and were do I need to put it? I am thinking the back hatch with about 10lbs. Easkey 15 without rudder or skeg. It was a heck of a workout but I want to be able to do the longer paddles. At this rate I'd be lucky to make the first 5 miles. Any ideas???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Nystrom Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 The Easkey is not a big enough boat to require ballast for someone your weight. What you experienced is not unusual handling given the conditions. Adding the optional skeg to your boat would probably be useful, as it would allow you to trim the handling somewhat. However, there is no "magic bullet" solution for tricky wind/wave/current situations. Typically, it takes a combination of strokes, edging and skeg to deal with them, and it will take some experimentation to determine the optimum combination for the prevailing conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scamlin Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Rick: While there are many outfitting and paddling things to try, there is a simple way to control windcocking (bow turns into the wind when paddling): trim the boat. If the boat is really windcocking, moving or adding a bit of weight to the rear hatch will help neutralize the effects of the wind, much like a skeg. You have to experiment a bit to figure how much weight to use, and it will vary with the strength of the wind. Start with just a few pounds and add more to the rear hatch. As Brian says, total weight (ballast) is not the issue; it is the balance (trim) between the front and back (fore and aft) of the boat. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted October 24, 2006 Share Posted October 24, 2006 >Typically, it takes a combination of strokes, edging and >skeg to deal with them, and it will take some >experimentation to determine the optimum combination for the >prevailing conditions. Which is why just going out and playing around with a boat to see how it works and what will work and not in terms of paddler/blade input is ultimately so very important. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest _rick Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Ed I learned alot while being eyeballed last Sunday from all. The frustration was why it appeared I was working so hard. Considering PI river and Merrimack on flood or ebb was where I had the most trouble. Yes I need lots of work on everything.. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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