Michael_Crouse

If you have small hatches Exped (yes I do love their stuff) makes a compression dry bag that compresses the long way, so you don't wind up with a flat fat pancake of a dry bag. Rick does bring up an interesting point, things strapped to your deck, my personal feeling on this is DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON YOUR DECK!!!!! Ok that'a bit bit strong, but I do think this should be avoided if possible. The hassle of a foam sleeping pad, dry bag, ect... during a rescue is not worth it. Having said that are you paddling in mill pond conditions a mile to your base camp? Ok, pile on the gear.

My Exped DAM doesn't make any noise, maybe down is better for sleeping pads too? This is the first complaint I've heard about noisy sleeping pads other than the foiled lined thermarest one. A lot of people bring cheap foam ear plugs with them in case of a snoring neighbor. This goes back to the try before you buy, most stores should have the pads out for you to try. Kittery Trading Post is the closest place I can think of that sells Exped. As far as a foam pad goes a crazy creek chair works as a 1/2 length sleeping pad and a wind shield for your stove. People smarter than I can probably figure out even more uses for it.

So many choices for gear, camping methods, etc... just remember that that what everyone is going to tell you is what works for them, it's sort of like "what's the best boat for me? Here's my 2 cent list of opinions Tent - so many options, get something big enough that if you're pinned down in a thunder storm you wont be miserable, but small enough that you wont be searching for a place to pitch it. Free standing is nice, but for me it's not a necessity, even with a free standing tent you're staking out the vestibule and guy lines. Tarp - get a sil tarp, they're small, light, and perfect to cook under on those rainy mornings. You can also pitch the tarp in the rain, then pitch your tent under it. Sleeping bags - I usually use down, I just keep it in a dry bag, in a dry hatch, and pitch my tent where it will stay dry. Look at the Big Agnes bags with the sleeve for a sleeping pad. Sleeping pad - I love my Exped down air mattress, yes it's bigger than a thin thermarest but it's thick, warm, and oh so comfortable. IMHO it's worth the extra weight Cook set - I use a GSI aluminum non stick set and an outback oven. Stainless steel is heavy and it will mess with your compass, titanium isn't worth the cost/weight savings. Oh yea even if it's Ti or aluminum keep it away from your compass. Stove - for ease of use the canister stoves are hard to beat, for cost/weight savings as far as fuel white gas is hard to beat. Water - water bags and one bottle, who wants drink from a bag? Food - make it yourself and eat the same thing you eat at home, camping on an island miles from shore is not the place to experiment with a new diet! Maybe we should be thinking about another camping workshop?

LOL, unistrut, PVC pipe, and a grill! Hmmm grilling meat in warm southern ocean water with sharks, barracudas, etc... doesn't seem too bright, but maybe I'm over thinking this.

P&H sold carbon/kevlar pre-preg Quests and Bahayia's (sp?). The Quest weighed around 35lbs, with seat hatches, etc... I'm surprised nobody has mentioned any Impex kayaks, the smaller models are very light.

What kind of laminator are you using? I have used a heat laminator in the past but I now have access to a large "glue" laminator, the plastic sticks to the entire chart. not just to itself along the edges. Having said that I use a chart case, the laminated charts are copies that I lend to people or use as back-up.

http://golden-shellback.com/ These guys have been around for a couple of years but still don't seem to have gotten into production. I think they're based in Falmouth.

So I finally got my sister into a great boat at a great price, but the skeg won't deploy! It's an old Impex Mystic (old fiberglass hatches) and the skeg control moves but the skeg won't lower. I can pull the skeg down by hand and then the control will raise it, but it won't lower it again. I know I'm going to have to take it apart but what should I expect? Kinked cable?

As discussions ramble on and get heated I couldn't help but think of this cartoon a friend posted. http://c0013914.cdn1.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/x2_7bfc5d2

For me cycling my feet helps with torso rotation and it keeps my feet from falling asleep. When I first started paddling I was applying pressure to the opposite foot, I recall doing this in an IDW with a guy named Micky many years ago. At some point in the past few it seems like it changed to applying pressure to the same foot as the paddle was in the water on.

You might be thinking of New England Small Craft, www.nesmallcraft.com Give them a call, you could also call Charles River. If you have to get them from RI maybe they could ship them to you? I have some thigh braces off a Capella but I doubt they fit your Skerrey.

Are these just pieces of foam that are glued in? Some contact cement and a bit of sand paper to rough up the plastic should do the trick. You could also buy some new foam that comes with a peel & stick side, much easier to apply to the thigh/knee area. Yes some of us remember you! Lots of different faces now but not surprisingly it's the same fun club it's always been. I'm at the same place you were several years ago (one year old daughter) so I haven't been on the water at all the past few years.

Didn't Boats US and West Marine merge?

I'm bigger than you and I found the Quest to be very stable unloaded, in contrast I always found an Explorer to feel twitchy, and they're supposed to be stable and reassuring. When I paddled both I was probably 215lbs, and I'm 6'6". Just goes to show that individual milage may vary!

At your height weight you're probably near the limit for this one but it shows that there are some deals. Yes it's in Mass. From paddling.net - impex currituck sun burst orange with yellow trim pictures available upon request. $1200.00 OB

A suggestion for used boat shopping, make a list of the kayaks you would be happy with, then be patient and keep searching. In the past few years I've seen an Avocet for $900 and a Aquanaut for $1200, yes they were both fiberglass. It might take a while but there are some real deals on nice boats to be had. Good luck! Also the skills sessions used to be a great way to demo kayaks.

I put on sunscreen before I drive to the put in and then again before launching. This is because I always miss a spot so two applications helps avoid the striped sunburn look. Also sunscreen takes some time before it's effective and if I put in on just before I launch I've already been in the sun packing up gear and getting ready to launch. btw. Rick when did you start wearing sunscreen?

The put in in Hingham allows overnight parking.

Can't make these dates but I also have much gear to unload.

Not raining in Andover yet, looking forward to driving home to Haverhill in this. I think I'll be skipping the long dog walk/baby walk at the lake tonight.

As was mentioned lots of companies are making pyramid type shelters, Black Diamond, Go-Lite, etc... the Go-Lite version is nice because it has a loop at the top so you can hang it, this means no pole in the middle of the shelter. You can also get mosquito netting and a floor for it, or leave those bits at home and go very light. I have a WInd Wedge floorless shelter, just in case we're having an old weird gear comparison contest Sadly I never got a walrus trekker tarp , a sil nylon version of one would be amazing. Thanks for the tarp pitching video! A nice trick for pitching a tent or tarp on a rocky surface is to tie off the guy lines to a rock, then put another rock on top of the guy line against the first rock. It will actually hold in in place and the rocks wont move.

In Mass anyone can get a JP for a day license, Peter Logan married me & Kim, he taught a workshop with me the day Kim and I met!

Kind of a rhetorical question but...... Why do we ask "Are you cold?" when we see someone shivering and we know what their answer should be? As soon as you hear the "I'm fine" response what can you do? Denial should be considered one of the stages of hypothermia This is like the "can I help you?" - "just looking" exchange that happens in stores everyday

Kayakoutfitting.com sells a product called Skinz that is meant to go under your heels. Once the repair is done you might want to put some under you heels/feet.

damn I wish I could edit my grammar, my mother would be ashamed if she saw this! Power boaters, canoeists, etc... will be angry, funny that tandems would be exempt!