Suz

Can't figure out how to add the picture... Oh - meant to mention that it is sometimes useful to have good quality freeze dried products to add to your foods that you put together. I have bought onions, peppers - red and green, corn and probably other things from these guys: http://www.northbaytrading.com/dried-vegetables/freeze-dried-vegetables/ Oh - the fruit is really nice freeze dried too!

I see you have decided on the Food Saver so won't bother pulling mine out of the closet to see. The costco one currently online looks like what I have though... Sure if it is a new one, it will be fine. My first one didn't do well with liquid things but the more recent one seems to handle better and has a way to clean out if it sucks up the liquids. Here is my trick for 'wet' foods, I put the stuff in the food saver bag without sealing it and freeze it until solid. After frozen I then seal the bag. That works for things you are taking on a short trip but not for the 16 day trip. Personally I don't like tofu dehydrated. It gets too chewy and takes forever to rehydrate, longer than dried beans! I take dried beans for each day and rehydrate them the night before. I tried rehydrating in a hard nalgene bottle. Found that was a bit of an issue as my beans sucked up the water and filled the space. Now I use a platypus big zip bag that is really water proof. I add the beans the night before, add water and then put behind your seat in the boat. That allows you to manage them the next day adding water as necessary. By the next dinner time, they cook very quickly. I MUCH prefer dried beans over canned as they have no sodium and are much tastier and so worth the 'time' to manage them. Feeds large groups in very small volume of dried beans. My favorite protein to dehydrate is Seitan. I make my own Seitan but sure you can buy it. Cube it small, dehydrate it and then run it through the food processor until it is tiny crumbles sorta like ground meat. It is only as good as the seitan you start with though... I like to take a combination of dried foods and foods that transport easily. I think it is important to take foods that have some life in them still - things that travel well are hard veggies: potatoes, carrots, parsnip, turnip, hard squashes, onion, garlic, cabbage, citrus- lime for cooking is great. Our last nine day trip in Newfoundland we had AVOCADOS on day 7. What a treat at lunch time! A favorite veggie/salad for dinner is red cabbage sliced fine with sliced onion, lime juice, cilantro and srirachi sauce or hot sauce. Nice crunch when things have begun to get boring. See attached picture for 9 days of food for 9 people, breakfast, lunch and dinner (minus the perishables bought the day before launch).

Warren, I am using a very old 50+ original Ronco dehydrator. I dislike it greatly. It is round and meant to work on covection currents. Works OK for fruits but can't do spaghetti sauce without burning. My wish list is the Excalibur with a timer just like a previous poster. A friend has the excalibur without the timer but manages it with a regular light timer. I have the food saver from Costco. Highly recommend it. I don' t mind lending it to you to give it a try if you would like. Suz

Gary- you can call Amigos but last I heard they were not doing repairs anymore. They were at one time doing Kokatat but are not listed any longer. MTI Adventurewear used to import the Palm suits. They might be able to tell you who locally would replace the gasket. You could give Osprey Sea Kayak a call and see if they would replace a gasket on a Palm suit. For some reason, I think, don't hold me to it though... the way the Palm gaskets were attached made DIY difficult. Perfect time for me to mention that although dive shops are good at replacing gaskets, DON'T, I repeat, DON'T allow them to do REPAIRS on your drysuit. I have heard of them applying glue compounds that end up preventing breathing and voiding warranties. Fine for gasket repairs but just not anything else.

In my first fiberglass boat, I got the bright idea to glass in my business card inside the boat, behind the seat on the bulkhead. It stayed forever until the person I sold it to had it removed. Easy to do and the next time I have (my husband has) fiberglass out for a repair, I will do it again.

I understand now what you mean. When it was originally introduced, nobody mentioned a heel. I think it is much easier to get your toe under and straighten the leg rather then try to hook your heel to the close side of the coaming. I think that is why people are getting badly bruised and also hurting the rescuer. I think I will need to experiment with the heel to see though for sure.

Instead of those bulky noisy Ikea bags, I use a mesh bag at the top of each hatch. Empty the contents of the hatch into the mesh bag and then you can carry 3 bags worth of stuff to the tent. The mesh bags take up no room in the hatch, unlike the Ikea bags. Plus if someone forgets their head net for the bugs in Newfoundland, they can borrow my mesh bag for substitute headnet. Can't do that with a Ikea bag! http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/173 I buy the bigger size as they don't take up any room. They are small and sturdy and are easily washed when home.

Most of the time I see people do the heel hook a bit wrong. That is what causes all the 'torque' on the rescuer. Using the leg as a 'lever', once you have your toe under the coaming, you simply straighten your leg and while holding onto the rescuer's deck lines (or yours if you can't reach), you roll your upper body onto the deck. People usually get very bruised when they are trying to shove the leg deep into the boat and 'working' to get in rather than using the leg as a lever. It is harder to do with really high decked boats particularly some of the more recreational style 'tourers'. That is compounded by short legs/arms. Then it helps to hold the boat at a bit of an angle presenting the cockpit to the swimmer. Once the get the toe under the coaming and can grab the decklines, they are in a good position for the rescuer to simply rotate the boat up with the swimmer on it (assisting by rolling their body to the boat and using the leg as a lever). If it doesn't make sense, give it a try next time you are out. Why is it called the heel hook? Really isn't it just your toe under the coaming until you roll into the boat? I don't think the heel even touches until you are seated again in the boat.

Don't forget the coffee maker if you bring the coffee.

Suz Hutchinson will be conducting the yearly cold water event this year on Nov. 23. This will be a workshop done as a "learning on the go" style paddle as was done for the Spring CAM workshops on the water. (Unfortunately Scott is unavailable to assist.) It is a bit later in the year than normal and very close to Thanksgiving. If it appears there isn't enough interest, this will end up cancelled. Please ONLY RSVP if you are really planning on attending. • Review of cold water physiology and clothing; recognizing hypothermia; • Dunk tests • Rescues and tows • Group scenarios; CAM/leadership issues related to cold water; • Warm up practice (on-water and on-shore) • Indoors debrief (if we can find a place nearby to where we will be paddling. Hard to find though.) Our launch will be planned as we get closer to the event. It will depend on wind/weather conditions. Most likely we will plan this near/on Cape Ann or perhaps Ipswich. Any updates to the trip will be posted to the NSPN website and the evening before we will post the location depending on the weather. More information will also be posted on the calendar. The paddling will be within level 2 guidelines on NSPN. Please read those: http://www.nspn.org/paddle_levels.htm We would like volunteers (one per 3-4 participants) so that we will not need to limit participants. Please include this in your RSVP if you have attended a cold water workshop in the past and are now looking to help. If you are interested in using a drysuit for the day, Suz will bring Kokatat demo suits. They will be available on a first come/first serve basis. When rsvp'ing let Suz know if you are hoping to use a drysuit and what size you think you are so she can make note: http://www.kokatat.com/sizing_mens.asp http://www.kokatat.c...zing_womens.asp If planning to use a drysuit, please bring form fitting fleece to wear underneath, wool/fleece socks and closed shoes that can be worn OVER the drysuit sock and your socks. Fleece jackets are too bulky to go underneath a drysuit. Please bring any gloves/hoods/hats/shoes that you have that are extra so that if someone else is missing an article of clothing, they can borrow. RSVP - suz@kayakne.com . Please don't private message or facebook. I have some documents that I will be e-mailing to all who are attending so those other means of communication are more difficult. Also, in the event that this cancels due to weather, I would want to e-mail all.

Let's table this idea as there is only one person who expressed any interest. Suz

The previous post about field repairs of drysuits has reminded me that I have not done a drysuit "care and feeding" workshop in awhile. Should we plan for one during November? Maybe instead of just a drysuit field repair maybe we should do a field repair in general. Topics: stove repair tent repair quick on water boat repairs I know of quite a few gear heads in the group that could talk about each of those subjects. Any interest? If you do, post which subject you are interested in. Suz

Here are directions for neck and ankle wrist repairs: http://kokatat.com/media/pdfs/KokatatNeckgasketW.pdf http://kokatat.com/media/pdfs/KokatatAnkleWrist.pdf Works for holes/tears in the gore-tex: http://www.mcnett.com/gearaid/gore-tex-fabric-repair-kit#15310 Brian's suggestion of carrying aquaseal is a pretty good one. BUT, if you are going to do that, you should also carry cotol which is the accelerant. It does allow for a quick repair that dries quickly. If using aquaseal alone, you need to dry overnight. On a trip this summer, we effectively patched a wrist gasket for multi day use. Have also done it on a neck gasket for multi day use. Gorilla tape is the best for that. Personally I wouldn't try and patch a hole in the material but instead would tape it from the inside and the outside over a larger area than needed. I would also recommend testing your suit prior to a multi day trip to make sure that the 'dampness' you felt last time wasn't delamination by this time. That also happened on this summer's trip. The user was very cold as the front of his suit was delaminated and he became chilled every day as he was pretty wet underneath his suit. For a really long expedition, I might consider bringing two drysuits rather than one. But, I am the woman who owns plenty so perhaps that is why I have that preference:) I must say that I was super comfortable in my gore-tex lightweight paddling suit this summer. It has the neoprene gasket and latex on the wrists. It made for really comfortable raingear in the Newfoundland RAINY environment we encountered. Found I put it on in the morning and took it off when going to bed at night. Suz

I stopped skiing when picking up kayaking back in 1999. Last few years I have gotten back into skiing in the winter. I'm not sure how it started. Just this week paying for the Epic pass for the season so that we can! It isn't that I don't want to paddle in the winter but I think I got the skiing bug back after having so much snow a few years back. Then we had so little the year after we just had to travel to Vail. (sounding like a spoiled brat! Loving both skiing and kayaking!)

Brenda, Here is some more 'food for thought'. Surprised nobody else mentioned it. Try this experiment. Find an area where you have protection from the wind but able to paddle where you are exposed to the wind. Where there is no wind, see what happens when you paddle normally with even strokes. Now paddle out where the wind is... maintain those even strokes. Without a skeg and without corrective strokes, your boat should eventually end up pointed up into the wind. Now, STOP paddling. See what happens. You should find that your boat ends up BROADSIDE to the wind. It should not be weathercocking or pointing into the wind if you are not paddling it. A boat will ONLY weather cock if it is under power/ forward movement (or backward if you are going to opposite way in wind...). You said in your original post that when you STOPPED paddling, it pointed into the wind. That is in fact what it 'should' do to some extant but only when you are underway, not stopped. A (properly loaded) stopped boat does not have it's stern nor bow locked in so therefore the wind will eventually push it sideways so that the boat will be pushed across the water. That same thing will happen in very strong winds if the paddler doesn't have the strength/power to get some sort of bow wake forming to lock the bow in which causes the stern to 'slip' that causes the weather cocking. I wonder if you remember how you loaded your boat. If you loaded your boat bow heavy, it may have caused it. Best thing to do would be to spend time when the wind is up and play around with all turns. Doesn't have to be on the ocean where in addition to the wind, you would also have waves and current. Just play around with the wind and practice all turns, upwind, down wind, bow rudders, stern draws... Find what is effective without the skeg. Understand what the boat does and why. Not so that you can do 'penance' and paddle without a skeg, but so that you have an understanding of what is going on with the boat. Then practice all the same things with the skeg. Figure out when to use the skeg and when not to. To build up your obliques so you can use them when necessary, practice going straight but edging. This requires you to use correctional strokes with a paddle. Like other paddlers here, I use a skeg when necessary. Some boats are more skeg dependent than others... just like some paddlers are!

I double bag when on the water. Not worth the risk. Use a lifeproof case for off water and when on water, I slip it into the drycase iphone protector. It is the only bag that you KNOW when it has failed. If you remove the air and air ends up in there 10 minutes later, you know the bag is sealed incorrectly or you have failure. Lifeproof cases are great but you don't know when they will fail. But it is better than nothing. I used to be a sales rep for drycase but dropped only because they were being sold by all the distributors.

Mary, I am hopeful that our virtual hugs have been reaching you! My first memory of the intrepid Mary Bennett was when we met on our MIKCO 5 day sea kayaking class back sometime around 2001. There were many trips and classes that I would turn around and see you pulling in with your rig, from Georgia through Maine. I would use you as an example for all the women I have encountered that thought they couldn't do "it". Whatever "it" was, from carrying boats themselves and loading them on their cars to paddling the bumpy stuff and moving water. You have been inspiring me since that first meeting! Enjoy the journeys through calm waters and think of the many smiles that paddling has brought to you through the years. Best, Suz

Keep it on the charger for awhile... I had one that stopped taking charge and then suddenly it started working again after a replacement was purchased. As for what to buy... I second buying from West Marine AND buying the additional insurance. I too buy the ICOM M88. I have also taken to keeping the radio in a cheap West Marine VHF dry bag for the extra protection. You can use the radio while it is bagged. When on my person, I just tether the bag to me and shove it between me and my life jacket. Otherwise it sits in my day hatch. I could easily recommend buying a much cheaper radio, probably a West Marine brand AND the insurance and then just plan on using the insurance when it fails. Last time I had to replace a radio under warranty/insurance, I did have to send it in rather than have the on the spot replacement which had been done in the past. Which means that in order to have a working radio in my possession, I had to purchase a replacement and then have the insurance replacement resolved separately.

well done to all!

Paul is exactly right. Slowest first. Much easier for everyone to paddle at the slowest person's speed for a crossing than the expectation that the slowest can meet the fastest person's speed. If they could, they wouldn't be the slowest person...

Good question. My husband has one and it is a very useful tool to have in the barn (barn - that's the operative word and allows you to own special purpose tools). Before I would have a camp stove lit and then heat up the end and a knife on a cutting board it allows you to slice at an angle. You sacrifice a cutting board and a knife for the job. I bet the hot knife is cheap - doesn't look like any more technology than a hot wax gun...

When I replace the lines, I trim the new line at an angle when I cut it with a hot knife, it allows you to 'thread' a bit through and then gives you something to hold on to. I don't bother with shrink wrapping the ends. Just tie them off. It does look nicer with the shrink wrap though.

II think that age group has high expectations. They are accustomed to having things solved for them. Perhaps you did such a good job towing that your towing looked easy to them raising their expectation that you would solve the dilemna for them. BTW, in the original descriptions, a comment was made they were wearing cheap life jackets. Note that cheap life jackets float a person just as well as an expensive one. The difference is that the expensive one is usually more comfortable and fits the user better. Therefore the user is more likely to have it on.

I used to have a very old unused gasket that was in my repair kit after an overseas trip. It didn't get treated and eventually got all dried and cracked. I was at a demo where I was changing gaskets and decided that I would 303 that gasket and see what happened to it. Initially it was dried and in danger of cracking if it was stretched. After the initial treatment, it ended up being usable within the time span of the hour demo. I kept treating it for awhile to see how much longer it would stay supple if treated well. It eventually gave up and ripped. BUT, it convinced me that a quick swipe with 303 was well worth the time it takes to do it. Surely anecdotal but... And on another note, I do have silicone grease - http://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Grease-2-0-oz-Jar/dp/B0000DCVZL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370958970&sr=8-1&keywords=trident+silicone+grease I keep it on hand to use when people get chaffing from their drysuit gasket or edge. It is really useful on the skin and doesn't damage the gasket. I have never noticed that it helped the gasket. Maybe if I get my kit out, I will try treating an old gasket with it and see what happens. Will report back in a few years:)

Love it!