Brian Nystrom

Where is Mr. Bolonsky these days? It sounds like an ideal project for him.

There are different types of automatic car washes. Mythbusters recently did a segment where they rode through one on the roof of a car without injury, but it didn't have the horizontal rotating brush.

From the History page under "Our Organization":

"In 2007, NSPN decided to end its affiliation with the American Canoe Association (ACA) and embrace the Common Adventure Model (CAM). The ACA's focus on general kayaking and the need for increased flexibility for NSPN activities were central to this decision. This alteration will enable NSPN to more completely fulfill its main objective of seakayaking education."

Sounds like the right move to me.

Suz,

Charging the M88 battery has nothing to do with the radio. In fact, you can take the battery off the radio, drop it into the charger and it will charge fine on its own. I'm charging one that way as we speak. I'm not sure if all Icom models work that way, but my M1V does as well.

One problem that can occur with the M88 batteries is that the charging contacts on the back can corrode, possibly even to the point that there's nothing left. All it takes is one of the four to corrode and the battery may not charge properly.

If the contacts are clean and the battery still won't charge, it's damaged and probably beyond hope. However, Icom may replace it under warranty, as they did that for me with a battery that had badly corroded contacts.

There is one other possibility, that being a bad charger, but if you have two radios you'll have another charger you can try.

While we're on the subject of M88s, I'd just like to remind owners to periodically clean the battery contacts on the radio body and lube them and the O-ring on the connector with some silicone grease.

I thought they were renaming Qajariaq to Anas Acuta HV

I think that was two names ago. That boat has had at least four names.

I would love to do another paddle making class with the club, but it's way too time and material intensive to do it on a "volunteer" basis. It would have to be a paid class, as we've done in the past.

A press release from the Coast Guard for 2009:

http://ow.ly/16ioSq

Similar to past years, fatalities were evenly divided between motorized and non-motorized vessels with 25 deaths in each category. Twelve canoe and five kayak fatalities accounted for 34 percent of total fatalities.

Break it down further and canoeists alone accounted for nearly 1/4 (24%) of the deaths, yet it's kayakers at 10% that are about to be screwed by the legislature. Power boaters, who account for 50% of the deaths get another free pass...no big surprise there. I guess that's what their registration fees pay for.

What is it about these numbers that the monkeys in your state house can't understand???

I guess this is just more evidence that they really don't care about saving lives, it's more about getting a few vocally-grieving constituents off their backs, personal bias and the need to appear to actually be doing something. Shame on all of them!

Has anyone else noticed that any kayak with a cockpit and two hatches, two cockpits and a single hatch or three cockpits is technically outside the definition of a kayak in this bill? The bill specifies "a lightweight boat that: (i) is covered, except for a single or double opening in the center thereof". Given that, any boat with bow and stern hatches is not a "kayak".

Interestingly, the most traditional-kayak-shaped boat I own, my skin boat - is the only one that qualifies under the legal definition. Maybe the legislature is trying to legislate what a kayak should look like...

If they claim that the hatches are "covered", then a spray skirt that "covers" the cockpit makes the entire boat "covered" and still falls outside the definition.

I wonder what their definition of "paddle" is?

For that matter, would the rather "portly" NDK boats qualify as "lightweight"?

This is all probably pointless - as is the legislation - as there isn't anyone to enforce it.

Next year we will have to register with the state and pay a fee.

Not in this lifetime...

Who exactly do they expect to enforce this? It won't be the Coast Guard.

While I understand your point, I certainly hope you're not serious. Once you let the "ban" genie out of the bottle, there's no putting it back in. Ultimately, all kayakers would suffer.

Brian, I believe "cavitation" was <exactly> the word I wanted -- and I stand by it. Here is one definition:

<The sudden formation and collapse of low-pressure bubbles in liquids by means of mechanical forces, such as those resulting from rotation of a marine propeller>

Therein likes the rub. Cavitation is caused by low pressure created by a fully submerged object moving at high speed. The low pressure causes dissolved gasses in the water to form bubbles which collapse once the pressure returns to a level above the point where cavitation occurs. While a marine prop can do this, there is no way that a person pulling on a paddle can create low enough pressure to cause cavitation. This has been discussed on other paddling sites.

I think "aeration" would imply other means to put air deliberately into water, whereas cavitation occurs in marine or aviation airscrews -- or behind a coursely-controlled paddle!

Aeration has no component of "intent". Water is aerated as it flows over rocks in a stream, but nobody is "deliberately" injecting air; aeration is a side effect of the interaction of the water and the rocks. Viewed that way, you can see that a paddle is very much the same situation, except that the water is (relatively) stationary and the paddle is moving. Surface air is drawn down into the water as a side effect of paddling (poorly, in this case). The air bubbles are being added to the water, not coming out of solution, then re-dissolving.

It's really a matter of controlling overall drag, mostly by good design, and any wing or propeller will have drag occuring all along its trailing edge -- the best wings and propellers minimize the total drag by controlling those vortices and allowing them to occur almost entirely at the very tip.

I agree.

I may not be an engineer in fluids; but I know something about aviation applications.

Air acts a fluid too, as I'm sure you're aware. The principles are the same, whether it's air, water or molten lava (YIKES!).

One nice thing about 3.5" wide blades is you can make them at home from 2x4s and craft them to your own particular idiom. I'm much better off with a blade that's a bit "clubby" and a thicker shaft as well as I'm rough on my toys.

It's interesting that 3.5" is the most common width here, primarily due to the availability of 2x4 dimensional cedar. Historic Greenland paddles are almost always narrower. I suspect that's due to them using as little of their precious wood resources as necessary to make an effective paddle. One of these days I have to make my self a narrower twig to see if I'm missing something.

They look like standard size GP's to me.

One of them looks to have 4" - 4.5" blades, but the others look like a more typical 3.5".

I have not noticed that GP's are sensitive to cavitation.

The term you guys are looking for is "aeration", as cavitation can only occur at high speeds.

It is extremely rarely noticeable for me. The only time I find it to happen is if I am very sloppy with the entry angle of the blade, and then pull very hard on it.

That's typical. Reaching too far forward for the catch is a common cause, as it changes the cant angle of the blade. As you said, it takes sloppy technique to cause aeration. There is nothing inherent in the blade design that makes it prone to it.

Could be that I just have a well-designed stick. Yay Don Beale!

The shape of the blade definitely plays a big role. Blades that are overly thick and "clubby", with blunt edges tend to aerate more. They're also noisier and less efficient. A more refined blade shape is better for paddling, if not for doing chin-ups.

Great new play boat.

Here are some local pics (photographer unknown). Maelstrom Vaag vs. Popham Beach.... Awesome conditions in November.

Thanks, Lincoln Canoe & Kayak for bringing this new boat line to the states.

OK, so what is their claim to fame?

QUOTE(Stohlquist)

In order for any claim to be processed, warranty information must be on file, and have been sent no later than 30 days from date of purchase.

Not true in Massachusetts and at least several other states. Manufacturer warranties (and other Chapter 90 stuff) cannot be conditioned upon consumer purchase response info. Don't know about NH.

It doesn't matter anyway, as Stohlquist will stand behind their products. I had an email exchange with Jim earlier this week, as my Gore-Tex Maytag is delaminating. Although they no longer use Gore-Tex and therefore can't cover it under warranty, he did offer me a deal on a new dry suit from their current line.

I also contacted Gore directly and they will replace it under their fabric warranty with an equivalent Kokatat suit (probably a GMer, though he just said "pick a model"). I sent my suit to them and I should here back within a few days. I recently had a Marmot jacket replaced for delamination, too. That's the reason I buy Gore-Tex garments, they're basically a lifetime investment, even if the company that made the garment stops making them or goes under. You can't beat that!

Now I just have to try on some Kokatat suits to see what fits. I'm suspect I'm probably going to end up with a size medium with extra length added to the arms and legs (my Maytag was a Medium Large, which was basically a long medium). If Suz reads this and has any comments/suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing them.

I guess I'll finally end up with the Gore-Tex socks I've been wanting for years...with a dry suit attached!

What Does it mean? The closest English translation would be "pain itself" (dolorem=pain, grief, misery, suffering; ipsum=itself).

It doesn't mean anything, just like the text it generates, it's gibberish that looks like a real language. The reason it always starts with "lorem ipsum" is to indicate that's what it is. Professional content writers recognize it immediately.

I can't find it now, but I came across an "emergency" Valley hatch cover that was neoprene & bungee like a cockpit cover. 20-30 bucks if I recall, so probably a good thing to have in one's kit so as not have to turn around at the put-in and go home unfulfilled. My Prijon uses them but also has hard plastic covers that flip over top. I'm sure they are fine for non-extreme use without the extra protection, but the Prijon has a lip made for them and I'm not sure how well the lip designed for rubber covers holds something else. Gotta be better than Saran Wrap and a rubber band!

I think they were actually made by Valley.

I have a pair of these (one round, one oval) that are made by Palm. I've pressed the round one into service and it's every bit as dry as the original Valley cover.

IMHO, its easy to overthink/overengineer installing deck compasses.

This seems to be a common malady. There is very little stress on the screws holding a compass in, so they don't need to be burly or have nuts & lock washers, etc. As others have said, you only need to seal the screw holes and should not try to seal the compass to the recess, as water that gets in behind it must be allowed to drain.

When you get right down to it, the best best way to install a Brunton compass is to simply follow the installation instructions that come with it, rather than trying to second guess them. What a concept!

While the paddler may not be the brightest bulb in the pack, it seems to me that the real losers in this situation are the people piloting the rescue boats. After all, it's their JOB to navigate those waters. While it would at least be understandable if they damaged their boat in an attempt to rescue someone, it's inexcusable for them to have done so simply while navigating back to port. Blaming the rescued person(s) is scapegoating, pure and simple.

I believe Gore-Tex is just highly engineered teflon tape typically laminated between an outer layer and a wicking backing.

More correctly, Gore-Tex is a PTFE membrane that is laminated to an outer shell fabric and either has an inner laminated liner (3 layer Gore-Tex) or separate inner liner (2 layer Gore-Tex).

I would expect Gore-Tex to be waterproof in both directions, however more breathable in a particular one. I'm curious how Conduit can only work in one direction but have a mountaineering hardshell made of it and it is bomber.

Waterproof/breathable fabrics are bi-directional, though the inner and outer layers are designed to enhance the movement of moisture from the inside to the outside of the garment. They all rely on osmotic pressure - differences in humidity between the inside and outside of the garment - in order to move moisture. The greater the difference, the better they work. That's why they breathe very well when the air outside the garment is dry and poorly when the external humidity is high, such as when it's raining.

DWR finishes are to keep the fabric from soaking and losing breathability when used in conjunction with a breathable laminate fabric - if the fabric is soaked it won't pass perspiration and it gets heavier too.

Saturation of the outer fabric reduces breathability, but doesn't completely eliminate it. That's particularly important for dry suits and tops, since they all wet out at times. Although DWRs are better than they used to be, they're really not that durable.

I now have an Anas Acuda in my garage, but my dry-top hasn't been returned from Stohlquist yet. ...what to do?

Thank you Peter!

That would be Anas "Acuta".

A while back I heard a rumor that he wasn't paddling much, if at all, but had gotten back into music pretty heavily.

Brian,

Thanks, I have seen that page a number of times over the years, your and other pictures is what has inspired me to do it.

When I was searching the message board archives for a part number I found links to your page a number of times, some of them with direct links to your pictures, the direct links no longer work.

Webshots has made some changes over the years that might explain why direct links don't work. The link to the main site hasn't changed.

What width tape do you recommend? I was also hoping to just order a roll of it online, thus I was hoping for a brand name or even better a part number.

I used 4" tape, but it's really up to you. It worked fine for me, but it doesn't conform to compound curves as well as narrower tape does, which is something to consider.

In the captions of the first photo of the red boat, I have the brand and part number of the product I used. It's Prostripe Black Tread tape (part# R82403).

Check your yellow pages for auto body repair suppliers. They sell the tape I use on my boats. Details and pics are on the second page of my Deck Rigging album at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg

I just did a test. I put a drinking glass in each wrist and a bowl in the neck. I then put a bunch of water in the dry-top from the tub. With 1-3 inches of water pressure, water would weep through the fabric.

Not good!

The neck gasket is a neoprene with a silver coating. The silver has worn, but other than that the whole thing looks like brand new! I've taken very good care of this thing. WTF!?

Age can do it with some fabrics. UV exposure, sunscreen, ozone, etc. can all take a toll.

Is there any sort of a wash-in treatment that would be useful for this or do I need to pony up for new gear?

Wash-in treatments are temporary at best and only make water bead on the surface. If the fabric is leaking, they won't help much, if at all.

As for what to do, as I mentioned before, if it's Gore-Tex, it's probably covered under warranty. If it's some other fabric, you are now the proud owner of a windbreaker with seals on it.