Brian Nystrom

Bungee cord really isn't very effective at retaining things on a kayak deck. Traditional Greenland style lines with sliders work much better, especially when your getting whacked by waves or surf. Unless you clip items to the bungee, you'll lose them. Even then, they can end up flopping around and creating other problems. I'll bet that the first time you experience an on-water "yard sale", you'll change your deck rigging.

Don't even bother installing Nylon decklines; they're a nightmare and you'll just end up replacing them. Get some good quality polyester cord and use that. It doesn't stretch and it doesn't expand and go slack when it gets wet. It's also much more resistant to UV damage. If you haven't paddled an SOF before - and you certainly haven't paddled this SOF before - doing it outdoors in the middle of winter is not the best idea. It's quite likely that the boat will be much less stable than anything you've paddled previously, which makes an unintentional capsize much more likely. If anyone is holding pool sessions near you, that's the best place to try the boat initially. You obviously won't be able to paddle far, but you'll get a feel for the boat and discover any tweaks that you need to make to the outfitting to help you control it.

Yeah, it was one of the few times I was genuinely concerned about getting hurt and/or wrecking my boat. I'm used to leaving "offerings to the gelcoat gods" on rocks, but when things start to crack and crunch, it's a bit more concerning...

The more interesting of the two incidents - and the one I remember most vividly - occurred while playing in a rock garden. I rode a large swell into a hole that was just long enough for the boat and ~6' wide. I found myself trapped there with the boat broached to the incoming waves, while I waited for a large enough swell to allow me paddle out again. The bow of the boat kept sliding under a ledge and when the water level dropped, the boat cantilevered over a rock that was ~5' from the bow. At one point I hear a loud crunch and figured I had just broken the bow and was likely taking on water. I was getting hit repeatedly by waves that were smacking me around pretty hard, but weren't lifting me high enough to allow me to paddle out of the hole. At one point, a wave tore my paddle from my grasp and capsized me. I pulled the storm paddle off the foredeck and rolled up (something I had practiced, BTW). A wave or two later, I was able to retrieve my regular paddle and stow the storm back on the deck. Shortly thereafter, the swell I needed finally arrived and I managed to extricate myself. There was a crushed spot along the keel line, but the boat was otherwise intact and only leaking slowly fortunately. I had a float bag in the bow compartment, so I wasn't too concerned about the leakage and it didn't cause any problems on the way home. The bottom line is that if I hadn't had the storm paddle handy, I would have had to wet exit while in a narrow hole with a flooded kayak bouncing around in it, with no good options for getting out. It could have gotten really ugly, both for me and anyone trying to help.

That's definitely the case and I always carry one. I've only needed it a couple of times, but I really needed it and things would have gotten ugly if I hadn't had it handy.

Go to www.qajaqusa.org and check out the galleries, videos and forums.

If you happen to have any Cabosil (fumed silica) on hand, add it to the epoxy until it's thick enough that it doesn't flow. It makes it VERY abrasion resistance and you can apply it thicker than epoxy alone.

On my traditional-construction SOFs, I install a simple pulley system at each end that allows me to pull float bags in and out of the boat. It consists of: Dowels at the front and rear stems that serve as pulleys A loop of cord at each end that runs down the center of the boat, over the dowel and returns under the ribs Clips attached to the cord that clip to loops on each end of the float bags, so they can be pulled in both directions With the relatively small holes in some of your frames, it will be challenging to do this. If it was my boat, I'd use a jigsaw to increase the size of the openings, leaving ~1" thickness around the periphery of the frames. That shouldn't compromise the strength of the boat. I would also strongly advise that you seal the frames with epoxy and/or varnish, especially edges. They may be marine plywood, but only means that the glue is water-resistant. The wood will still soak up water and swell, compromising it's integrity. If used in fresh water, it will mildew and eventually rot (salt water, OTOH, tends to preserve wood). As for the screws, the damage is already done (the screw holes) and removing them will probably only save a few ounces, so I don't see a significant advantage to doing so. Leaving them in place should also help to reduce water intrusion into the end-grain wood in the holes.

From what I've seen of fuselage boats, with the exception of Tom Yost's designs, most of them are rather bland and non-traditional with high decks. The construction method is certainly fast and easy, and arguably more predictable than steam bending ribs. However, you're not getting the custom fit that you do with traditional construction. I guess it really all comes down to what you want.

I've built 3 SOFs, all with relatively traditional construction (lashed & pegged frames, sewn skins). If you want to try your hand at boat building, SOFs are the easiest and least expensive of the standard construction methods (SOF, Stitch & Glue, strip-built), so you don't have a lot to lose. However, they're also the most variable in performance, since they're traditionally sized to the paddle and not built from plans or a kit. All three of my boats were quite different in their handling characteristics and I ended up modifying my first boat after building the third one to change a few things that were less than ideal. It's the only one I've kept. The building process is a lot of fun, so I certainly won't discourage you from giving it a try. Do you have any specific questions or concerns?

Here's a link to Jed's obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/unionleader/obituary.aspx?n=james-edward-luby&pid=186838638&fhid=3870 There's a guestbook where you can leave messages for his family.

There are no words for this. Jed was a truly unique individual and a veritable "force of nature". The influence he had on local paddlers is incalculable. I'm just shocked.

While this looks like a really fun trick and I'd love to try it, it's not a realistic rescue technique on anything other than flat, calm water. Frankly, if you have enough body control to pull this off consistently, you should be able roll and avoid the need to do this at all...except for fun and to entertain other paddlers. It's definitely great to watch, though I doubt I'd be able to do it.

I'm aware of that, but I'll bet that less than 1% of paddlers actually bother with either system, which is why I didn't mention them. While I'm a big believer in paddler education, the sad fact is that most people are not going to spend the money for the necessary training, then spend even more for a certification that's largely meaningless in the long run. I hold certifications in several things that I couldn't possibly do competently today. If the Coast Guard came up with a paddling equivalent to the Power Squadron, that might be something that the general paddling populace would embrace. Unfortunately, it the training isn't cheap or free, people simply won't do it because nothing is compelling them to. And no, I'm not advocating licensing for paddlers or anything of the kind. That would be a disaster!

Sadly, there's just not enough distinction between various groups of kayakers to be understandable to the general public and frankly, I doubt that the press would care enough to use any terminology we came up with. When you say "kayaker", I'm sure most people probably envision whitewater kayakers, since that's the only thing they typically see on TV. Beyond that, where do you draw the line(s)? There are no general-purpose kayaker rankings and people can claim to have any skill level they want. I suspect that as with drivers, most paddlers think that they're more skilled than they actually are.

I hate it when they call people like this "experienced kayakers". The fact that someone has paddled a bit doesn't mean that they have any idea what they're doing and this moniker reflects badly on all of us when some dumbass screws up. Paddling ~6 miles on open water, at night, with no means of communication is just plain stupid and irresponsible. Questions of whether he should have done it at all aside, if he'd at least had a radio, he'd have been rescued quickly and wouldn't have put a huge scare into family/friends or caused a broad and expensive search. Wanna' bet that he had no means of signalling rescuers either? Perhaps if the headlines started with "Irresponsible dimwit in a kayak" instead, it might make people think before they do something stupid. Making them sound like brave victims just encourages bad behavior.

Other advantages of mineral spirits are that it's hydrophobic (repels water) so it prevents corrosion inside the compass and its viscosity is unaffected by temperature, so the compass works the same at any temperature where you can actually paddle.

Brunton compasses are filled with mineral spirits (a.k.a. "paint thinner"), not oil. It should not leak out and there shouldn't be any air it it. Brunton will probably cover this under warranty if you contact them. If not, there is a screw plug on the bottom of the compass for filling and draining it. If you attempt this, remove the plug and verify that the liquid inside is in-fact mineral spirits (the scent is distinctive). Drain out whatever is left in it, refill it, then put the plug back in. That should be all that's necessary.

I have a tutorial on repairing damage on an Explorer on my website: http://briannystrom.com/kayaking/tutorials/fiberglass-repair/

I avoid Standard Horizon radios, as I've had problems with them in the past (a bunch of club members did). OTOH, Icom radios have been pretty much bulletproof. I'm not surprised that your "VHS" doesn't float, since it's a video tape .

If you're partial to the color green, it may be the only game in town...

I started out with a Stolhquist Gore-Tex dry suit that I really loved, but the fabric delaminated after several years of use. In the interim, Stohlquist had stopped using Gore-Tex. I contacted Gore and they told me to pick out any suit in the Kokatat line and they'd send it to me as a warranty replacement. I offered to pay the difference to upgrade to the Expedition suit, but they refused to take any money and just sent me the Expedition suit I wanted. I've had two other garments replaced under their warranty, both of which were around 10 years old when they were replaced. Neither of the replacements has had any issues, probably because the newer versions of Gore-Tex are more durable than the old ones, and perform better as well. That's why I buy Gore-Tex products; they have the best warranty in the industry and they absolutely stand behind products made with their fabrics. A Gore-Tex garment is essentially a lifetime purchase unless you manage to damage it or just wear it out. So, the bottom line is buy a Gore-Tex drysuit, which probably means a Kokatat, since I think they're the only ones on the market currently. Their reputation is as solid as Gore's, so you can't go wrong. They're absolutely worth the extra money.

He's definitely a future "Darwin Award" winner. Hopefully his stupidity won't continue to cost the rest of us taxpayers money to save his sorry a$$.

I see two issues with your examples. First 2 square feet is a low estimate of frontal area given that your chest alone is at least 1 square foot. Second, your 4 knots SOG results in extremely high hull drag when going against the2 knot current. Most sea kayaks hit their max hull speed well below that and cannot be paddled at 6 knots by a normal human being. Run the test again at a more realistic speed and the results will be much closer.

Since both wind resistance and hull drag are exponential functions, there's going to be little or no difference initially. Going against the current, you will approach your hull speed limit quicker, so it will become harder, sooner. Going with the current, you'll reach a higher "ground speed" before you hit the hull speed limit.