Rob Hazard Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 One difficulty of kayak navigation is not having a place to note down departure times, bearings, fixes, etc. A grease pencil on the deck works to a degree, but it's too clumsy to write much before you run out of deck room. Then today I discovered that if you wet-sand a patch of deck with #600 sandpaper, it makes a surface that takes ordinary #2 pencil beautifully, even sopping wet, and it erases with equal ease. It might not work too well on a black deck, but any light to medium shade should show up the notations just fine. So this afternoon I masked and sanded a couple patches of deck either side of my cockpit coaming, so now all I have to do is remember to bring a pencil! Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 Sounds like a good idea! I never would have thought of doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin B (RPS Coach) Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 Sounds like a good idea! I never would have thought of doing that. Cool idea Rob. I've also used a permanent marker in dry/wet conditions and it comes off nicely with alcohol wipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thief Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 i bit the bullet and got the Konydart Deck Slate shipping was quick and was a little less than a pound....good deal... but they were a bugger to put on! lost one due to installer (me) errors....tried to work the big bubbles out and tore then darn thing....so...i only have a right hand deck slate....which is fine...if i were going out and needed lots of notes i would bring a chart and have notes in there...so the deck slate is good for a couple notes.... but i like the idea of a light sanding and a pencil...better than a grease pencil whose daft tip keeps breaking of... r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatbossbsb Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 "Wet Notes" caught my eye at Jackson Marine in Kittery last week. Has anyone ever tried them? I guess the down side is having to tether or stow a note book and pencil. Probably like my headlamp and c-light they will both eventually end up in the drink. http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/Navi..._WET_NOTES.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Millar Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 "Wet Notes" caught my eye at Jackson Marine in Kittery last week. Has anyone ever tried them? I guess the down side is having to tether or stow a note book and pencil. Probably like my headlamp and c-light they will both eventually end up in the drink. http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/Navi..._WET_NOTES.html Hi Betty Ann, I use Wet Notes only as a trip log -- I fill out the relevant info before we go -- and if I'm in a class and want to write down any helpful info. I keep the notebook in my chart case along with a pencil or in a dry bag in my day hatch. For need-NOW stuff like tides, current speed, wind direction, bearings, I write on my deck. Rob's idea is a very good one, although I'm also partial to the Knoydart system. We were just in Ireland and wanted to bring some deck pads back with us, but it turned out to be easier to order them from the UK than track them down as the particular city we were staying in is devoted more to WW than sea kayaking. We will not discuss how much stuff I've lost overboard. Deb M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 We will not discuss how much stuff I've lost overboard. Deb M Why not? Seems it would be a good measure of how often you and boat have been in fun places. On second thought I recall too many times...sitting still on placid waters...ooops there goes another pair of sunglasses. Nevermind. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Why not? Seems it would be a good measure of how often you and boat have been in fun places. On second thought I recall too many times...sitting still on placid waters...ooops there goes another pair of sunglasses. Nevermind. Ed Lawson The tried -and true- grease pencil seems okay to me. The line isn’t too thick. Pencil points often break & require resharpening; not a great thing to do while in a boat. Construction pencils won’t break, but they make a blunt line too , so no big advantage over grease pencils . I got a box of mechanical grease pencils : 12 for about 14$. www.mcmaster.com, page 1885; or search “grease pencils†also: http://www.stonetooldepot.com/index.asp?Pa...&ProdID=277 I have some cut- out squares of sintra/pvc sheets (1/8†thick) for writing from the cockpit, Almost any sort of plastic sheet, like the cut-out side of a milk container, would work as well. If you notice that seasoned kayakers have little stuff on their decks, maybe they lost it all over the years, got tired of replacing it, and found out they were still getting from here to there without it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsoj2 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Simple works for me. I've got pads but found I rarely used them while in the boat at sea. Writing with a grease pencil on the deck works best for me.... I still have some notes on deck from an outing in my Nordkapp this summer on Muscongus Bay that I have to copy off to something less than 17.5 feet long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Simple works for me. I've got pads but found I rarely used them while in the boat at sea. Writing with a grease pencil on the deck works best for me.... I still have some notes on deck from an outing in my Nordkapp this summer on Muscongus Bay that I have to copy off to something less than 17.5 feet long I use a Weems & Plath 'WetLog'. The spiral binding is on the side so you can slip your pencil down the binding. I tether it to the deck with a short piece of line and a Black Diamond 'Jiv Wire' biner. This is a plastic biner w/ a SS wire gate, it doesn't scratch the deck. It's been flushed out from under the bungees in the surf, during rescues, and in the washing machine. I just grab it & stick it back under the bungees. I Know someone who went over to Wales for 5* training. She carefully wrote all of the info she would need for a night paddle on her deck w/ a grease pencil. After several senarios & rescues she looked @ the deck & the info was all rubbed off. Well theirs my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NPSheehan Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 A dive Slate is a good option and you can fasten it on your deck bunjies see link below Dive slate Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hazard Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 Having drunk a few frosty pints of BCU kool-aid, I prefer to have as little gear on my deck as possible. Spare paddle, chart, and short tow on the foredeck, nothing at all on the afterdeck. A couple short pencils can live in a PFD pocket next to my compass and energy-bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Having drunk a few frosty pints of BCU kool-aid, I have not, but could not agree more about clean decks. Basically, I don't want anything to interfere with paddling, rolling, rescues, and getting spare in my hands promptly. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 "...in a PFD pocket next to my compass and energy-bar" Careful that that energy bar doesn't compromise your compass, young man! Some of them are pretty powerful stuff, I hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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