Michael_Crouse

>Perhaps it would be advisable to make a separate post here >for each one, so people can reply easily. It might also be >useful to list who already signed up for each one at the >membership meeting. Here's the list, some of the committees are already working, others are still being set up, it's not too late to join! NSPN Committees Governance/Election Committee Keith Attenborough, Shane Smith, Buddy Hogan, Suzanne Prichett Web Site Committee Brian Nystrom, David Lewis, Richard Najarian, Bethany Ericson, Sean T Noonan Trip Leader Training Rick Stoehrer , Linda Shelburne Keith Attenborough Brian Nystrom, Cathy Foley, Buddy Hogan, Dottie Hogan, Suzanne Pritchett Outreach Brian Nystrom, Brenda Smith, Shane Smith, Dottie Hogan, Buddy Hogan, Liz Neumeier, Suzanne Prichett Activities Linda Shelburne, Kim Flint, Christopher Godfrey. Richard Najarian, Al Coons, Suzanne Pritchett Liability/Safety Risk Assessment Rick Stoehrer ,Marjorie Woodwell, Deborah Dempsey, Karen Gladstone, Buddy Hogan, Suzanne Pritchett, Dottie Hogan, Scott Camlin, Finance Committee Liz Neumeier, Sean Kimball Trip Planning David Lewis, Leslie Beale, Bob Lambert

The March 7 Reading Pool session will be devoted to Greenland-style paddling. If you are curious about trying it or want to explore some more advanced maneuvers, sign up now - details below. The number of available slots is limited! Sanjay Gulati will demonstrate some advanced Greenland rolls and maneuvers to inspire you, then he and Adam Bolonsky will teach you how to get started. We will have extra Greenland paddles on hand and lots of spotters. If you want to just come, stay dry and observe, that is fine too. The Reading pool even has bleachers. No need to sign up to observe. Registrar: Karen Gladstone email: drkglad@yahoo.com Equipment for this pool session, includes: * PFD - required, as always * Spray skirt - required, if you want to accomplish anything * Goggles or a face mask -- highly recommended for practice that involves immersion, since chlorinated pools can be hard on the eyes. * Paddle float – optional, but not really needed for this session * Pump – optional for practice involving capsized or swamped boats * Greenland paddle. If you do not have one don’t let that stop you. We will have loaners. PLEASE NOTE: NSPN requires that payment for the pool sessions must be made in advance of the pool session. Your Registrar will provide you with the details that you need to know. Pool sessions are non-refundable. When you inquire about a pool session, please include: Your name, phone number, NSPN membership number, expiration date, emergency contact and their phone number in the email. Directions to Reading YMCA Burbank YMCA 36 Arthur B. Lord Drive Reading, MA 01867 <781> 944 7989 From Route 128 Take 128 to Exit 40, Reading/Wakefield Route 129 Coming off exit, go around rotary until turnoff for Route 129 West to Reading Proceed to intersection at Reading Town Center At traffic light, turn right onto Route 28 North Go north on Route 28 for less than 1 mile At 1st set of lights, turn left onto Birch Meadow Drive Take 1st right onto Arthur B. Lord Drive YMCA is your immediate right From Route 93 Take Route 93 to Route 129 this is Lowell St. Follow Lowell St towards Reading for 1/2 mile to the set of lights. This will be the intersection of Grove and Willow. A convenient store will be on the left. The next street after the convenient store parking lot is Intervale Terr. Take a left onto Intervale Terr. follow until it ends and take a left and follow that road around Birch Meadow Park. The YMCA is on the North side of the park. Take a left onto Arthur B. Lord Drive the YMCA is your immediate right

Nice guy and he does nice work. His website has a picture of a boat that had it's front bulkhead moved for a taller paddler, that's my Foster Rowe Shadow. Patrick Otten (last name?) used to do glass work too, maybe he still does? I think he's in Newton.

David you should be able to post a new message now. Cathy are you running any software that blocks pop up ads? I think the event pop up windows from our calendar also use java script, just like those annoying pop up ads that we all love. So I suspect if you disable java or run some software to block ads you might be blocking our calendar too. Hopefully someone who is is more web savy than I will chime in and confirm this, or tell me that I don't have a clue.

At the general meeting a number of people expressed interest in getting more involved with the operations of the club, here's your chance. We have several committees that assist the board in the operations of the club. If you're interested in joining any of these committees just send me an e-mail, mikecrouse@yahoo.com A number of people signed up at the general meeting, I already have your info so you don't have to contact me. Here's the list of committees Governance/Election Committee This committee will reveiw the structure of NSPN, and research legal and practical alternatives (size of board, term limits, committee structures, executive positions, elections)as well as membership interest. The findings of this committee will be presented to the board to implement. Web Site Committee This group has an ongoing mission to work with club interests and board needs to manage and maintain the content and community of www.nspn.org. Trip Leader Training Assessment Task Force This is a task force to work with the Trip Leader Training Committee to assess and research the current Trip Leader Training program and suggest enhancements to the club/board. Outreach Committee The mission of this committee is public outreach: promoting kayaking, safe paddling, club/community involvement, and NSPN as a club. Activities Committee This committee will encourage and develop a schedule of club-sponsored events with input from the general membership and the Safety Committee. Safety Committee Risk Assessment This committee will research the liability and safety issues facing NSPN and recommend policy to the board. Finance Committee The Finance Committee manages and maintains the club's operating budget. Trip Planning Committee This committee assists in the planning of trips and works with NSPN trip leaders.

>I’d suggest a mechanism for last minute decision >makers/arrivals. As it is now you have to commit and pay >days in advance. That’s ok but it doesn’t help fill open >slots at the pool. If someone shows up without a paid >reservation and there’s not enough room then that’s their >problem. If anyone want to "show & pool" just double check that their are spots open (talk to the person regisering the pool session) , and bring a check or cash with you. I would hate for 5 people to show up with boats and only let two in, of course if extra people show up they could always wind up spotting.

We are running (roughly) the same number of pool sessions this year that we did last year, but no one is signing up, what's going on? Chinatown wasn't full on Saturday night, Danvers and Reading still have spots open, are we interested in pool sessions anymore? I'm asking because if the pool sessions don't sell we will offer fewer pool sessions next year. Spotters will be at Reading and Danvers to lend a hand, now all we need are some people who want to play.

Just like the life jacket bill this is legislation instead of education. It's bad for many reasons. It will make it harder to roll, impossible in shallow water. I don't want a stick on the back on my boat when I'm in surf, that's just dangerous. It's dangerous if you capsize in close quarters, imagine a fiberglass flag poll snapping you on the arms or head. Please everyone come up with some more reasons why this is harmful rather than helpful.

Bjorn Daehlie Max VO2 of 95 http://www.vo2films.com/about/principles/12.htm YIKES!

When I say kayaking isn't much exercise I meant the normal touring pace, casual kind of paddling. If you're paddling at a 4mph pace I really don't think it's much exercise. It's certainly better than lying on the coach and way more fun too. Probably not as good as running but then again it's more fun than that too, plus as you pointed out lower impact so it's safer. When I was doing a lot of indoor rowing I was told that after two days of non cardio exercise you lose of lot of the benefit, something to do with red blood cells and oxygen levels. It certainly always felt that way if I took some time off. In no way am I a a "good rower" I think I placed 500 something at the CRASH B's several years ago. I went to one Wednesday night race last year (I don't think you were there) and to sum it up "I got my butt kicked real good!" Trivia question what sport measured the highest VO2 max? Bonus points for the athletes name.

30 degrees and sunny is good, even 20 degrees and sunny can be ok, but the -10 of the past few weeks is no fun. This is supposed to be fun, right? Everyone has a different tolerance for cold, heat, etc... I work with someone from South Carolina and the hates New England winters. The way most of us felt a few weeks ago is how he feels in late October. Some people get a drysuit and paddle year round, some people just get a drysuit and extend the paddling season a bit. What ever makes you happy is fine. As far as paddling as exercise goes I hate to burst anyone's bubble but kayaking isn't really a cardio workout and it doesn't burn many calories. Something like cross country skiing, rowing, or running burns a lot more calories. I'm trying to lose some weight and for me the best workout is rowing on a concept 2 machine. I've heard it said that for cardio/endurance training after two days off you lose a lot of the benefit from that prior workout. I guess this means at a minimium I need to hit the gym every other day.

Spotting can range from out right instruction to simply pulling someone up when them miss a roll or push thier sculling past it's limit. If you want to try spotting and you're not sure about it just come to a pool session, sit on the side lines, and watch someone else do it. That way you'll get a better feel for what spotters do. Those of us who have spotted can show you the easy way to pull someone back up without hurting your back, if I can be pulled up easily than anyone can. The rewards of spotting you ask? Besides the Post Pool Pig Outs you get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever someone learns something new. It may sound silly but there's nothing like watching someone roll up for the first time. They usually smile in disbelief then ask "Did you help? Are you sure you didn't touch my boat?" Pool sessions are happening in Chinatown, Danvers, and Reading. Reading is a new spot for us this year. Yes it's a bit more $ but that's because the pool rental costs us more $. For the extra $ you get easy parking, easy boat loading, and a new(er) pool. See you all at a pool soon.

Foster-Rowe Shadow VCP oval hatches and day hatch All dry when double sealed The VCP hatches are a pain to get on and off but they work. CD Gulfstream Kajak Sport hatches, round front, day hatch, and oval rear hatch They leaked like crazy, I removed the hatch rings, cleaned them up and reinstalled them, now they're nice and dry If you saw the original install you would have thought that sealant costs $1000 per ounce! It wasn't the hatches fault, they weren't installed correctly. A very old Mariner I (west coast boat) front screw hatch and a large rear hatch that has a plastic and a neoprene seal Both dry so far but I haven't done nearly enough testing

>Just curious, how were you folks fixing skegs? With great difficulty! :-o My cable skeg had a kink in the line so it was removed straightened, cleaned up, lubricated, and reinstalled. It works really well now, Brian's old boat had the exact same skeg so he was a big help. Kim's skeg has always had some issues deploying. When we tried to take it apart we discovered that the skeg box was too small for the vcp rope skeg that was installed. We (forceably) removed the skeg and ground down the sides of the skeg. We then replaced the rope and bungie and now it works like a dream.

A big thanks to all who lent a hand with the outfitting workshop today. It was great to see everyone helping each other out, getting our boats set up, fixing skegs, carving foam, fixing another skeg, replacing deck lines, etc...

Yes, you are correct. NSPN is an ACA Paddle America Club, so when you join NSPN you are an ACA member too. I didn't realize that we're actually cheaper than the ACA. The ACA went up on their rates last year and we (NSPN - the Board) decided not to raise the membership fee. We figured that we could make up for the increase through hat sales, sticker sales, etc...

For those who don't remember Bob started a Gulfstream Owners Group a few years ago, now this... does Derek know about this other boat? I wonder if every member will list their boat's weight? Perhaps the repair history of everyone's boats, divided into factory defect repairs and owner damage repairs of course ;-)

First off a disclaimer I'm not a doctor or even a very good paddler, I'm a complete hack, but here goes... Since it's just in the right hand and I'm assuming you paddle feathered it might be something a simple as gripping the paddle shaft too tightly, or the paddle shaft might be too large or small for you. Have you tried using a different paddle? Wearing a pair of gloves? Switching to unfeathered?

My first official NSPN trip was lead by Roger, I think we launched at Dover Point? btw. Roger the new boat is white, and the new pfd is orange... not yellow ;-)

I wonder how waterproof the mic is and I wish the resolution was better than 380, but I would still gladly accept one as a Christmas gift. ;-) I've been eyeing the waterproof aquapak camera bags for a while, but I don't know if I trust a $1000 camera to a drybag.

I recall an NSPNer telling me a story about how his boat and roof racks were blown right off the top of his car on his way to Nahant. Of course some of us are responsible people who would never ever forget to triple check all straps, bow lines and roof rack fittings before we start driving. On a completely unrelated topic, if anyone finds a black nylon cockpit cover in the Bradford rt 125 area give me a yell. The owner is a friend of mine... yea that's it, it belongs to a friend.

Hi Shane, judging from your description the boat you tried was probably an Elaho, not an Eskia. The Eskia is a basicly a bigger Elaho. When I sat in an Eskia my feet were past the foot pegs so I had to brace against the bulkhead, probably not the best thing to do on a foam bulkhead. Then again if it's a rental boat I can't help but think of the phrase "drives like a rental" ;-) If I seen a Sealution XL around I will try it on for fit since I also have a 36" insean and I'm 6'6"

I just throw on a jacket, maybe fleece, maybe a cagoule and a fleece hat.

Nicely done Ciro! I thought Krakens only came out for the 5 star assesment?

A have a Seattle Sports compression dry bag with a purge valve that works great, but it cost $44. Actually that's not true I got it on sale for 50% off so it only cost me $22, but I got the last one so yours will cost you $44 ;-) Check the end of year sales now is the time for bargains! Any dry bag with a purge valve can suck water in if you create negative pressure by squeezing out too much air. Always store the bag with the valve towards the deck so that if water collects in the hull it won't get sucked in through the valve. If you're only using a summer weight bag would you consider one of the duffel style wide mouth dry bags? It's easier to fit the sleeping bag into the dry bag with this type of opening. Those W-Tex (name? sp?) orange bags that REI sells look interesting, it's a dry bag with a twist on/off purge valve. You might want to check them out. Sometimes I think that compressing your gear is over rated, I seem to be able to fit more into my backpack by not using compression sacks. Maybe it's because uncompressed clothing can fill up all of the corners, whereas compressed stuff won't change shape.