Gcosloy

Better-if you are 62 or over or can wait, DCR offers a free lifetime senior pass for all the sites. Something to look forward towards?

David, Sounds like a splendid paddle. Right now I'm up for L2 but I'll decide when the date gets closer.

While its just anecdotal I find that I cannot paddle a Euro unfeathered without unnatural wrist adjustment. Perhaps its just habit; if one began paddling unfeathered, perhaps that would seem natural. I started with 60 degrees and soon settled on 45 degrees. Biff are you back from your southern soujorn? Hope you're not texting while driving!

The forward stroke represents 95% of the paddlers effort but not for everyone. We who love rock gardening perhaps rely on many more strokes to get us through: back strokes, sweeps, bow and stern rudders and all the interesting side slip strokes and draws. In big water a little understanding of the strokes used in surfing also is employed. I don't know what the ratios are but if you're slightly inefficient in the forward stroke you can still get to your destination. If you don't know the rudiments of these other strokes you can wind up high and dry or worse capsized. Different strokes for different folks! I admire Leon's and Lisa's efforts to master their skills within a sport they love and excel. Will I ever be able to keep up with them by improving my forward stroke? No! Do I want to? Not really. The other nice thing about rock gardening is that as far as speed or distance covered, its a great equalizer. If you're in a group you usually need to wait your turn and have time to catch a breath between challenges. Viva la différence!

Latest update on the saga of loading/unloading kayaks: I have a new Imprezza Sport which has side rails. I purchased the Subaru cross bars which are mounted 32" apart and added my Thule Kayak saddles. At this point I thought I was done. Using an extra Thule square bar cantilevered over the side rail and under the outboard front saddle screw toggles getting the boat on and off was fraught with potential mishap. Unlike the Forester, the outrigger tended to pitch toward the car inviting the bow of my Romany to do the same. Abandoning this plan after a few trials I ordered the Rollerloader. I purchased the 10" wheel version which may not have been necessary but wanted the insurance of clearing the cowl on the roof line. I've tried it about half a dozen times and found it easy and almost flawless. The two wheels will grab any part of the boat so if you don't line up the boat directly in back of the rollerloader you might find yourself pushing the boat on its chine and off at an angle. That happened but once and a little patience and planning should avoid a repeat. I think they've improved the product; it seems very robust and heavy. Overall, I'm very pleased.

I THINK KATE'S POINT IS RIGHT ON: As someone who once made a living using dangerous woodworking bench power tools I always found it ironic that it was mostly the professionals among us that had fewer than 10 fingers left on their hands; amateurs not so much! Great write-up Rick, stay safe my friend!

She looks like a rocket Lisa, good luck with it! And good for you in contributing to the kayak designing and building economy!

GP recovered-thank Thor!

Terrific rolling guys and gals! I think Leslie's smile says it all.

Considering your choice of font colors I'd have to say why not "Dunkin"?

Does DSC capable radios allow you to automatically broadcast your position? i.e longitude/latitude If so could be a life saver! I won't go into details but over the last 6 years or so of kayaking I've made two Mayday calls, (well maybe one was a Pan Pan call.) In both instances I could not retrieve my position from my hand held GPS. Its a long story but I was too nervous to remember to press either the Find or MOB button on my Garmin 60CSX. The second episode I didn't have my GPS and was not able to give the CG location information that they could use to locate me. They tried to triangulate my VHF broadcast finally but by that time I found a bail out spot that was less than life threatening. Both instances were my bad-the first in attempting to rely on electronic gizmos that I barely new how to use properly, and the second having poor navigational skills that defied my ability to state my position unequivocally. But maybe DSC is designed for fools comme moi. I'm sure the CG spends more time and energy and perhaps with more failure and loss of life with examples like the above. Finally something close to idiot proof at an affordable price. Sure beats an EPIRG at $500 or more.

Lisa, Your paddling form looks most impressive here. Thanks for sharing.

Ed raises a good point: Without knowing the conditions in advance it may be difficult to specify levels. For instance the waters between York Harbor and Portsmouth Harbor can vary from L2 to L4 on any given day. This region is rife with off shore shoals and breaking water which makes for a nice learning experience on how to establish a safe line. And then there are currents. On a calm day just paddling from Portsmouth Harbor up to Pierces Island can be an L4 if its close to flood or ebb tide. Great area to learn!

Good for you Rick.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the CAM model. As a bonus it motivated the board to produce some excellent CAM training led by some of our more skilled membership these two last seasons. I do think there is plenty of planned trips that take place; they just sometimes don't get posted to the NSPN trips board. Why this is so I can only speculate. Some of our membership have their own "membership lists" that they frequently email when planning a trip. Part of this stems from the fear that an adventurous paddle might unwittingly attract an unqualified paddler that would create a safety issue for others. Part of it is just the comradeship of friends paddling together. I have bemoaned the fact (in print) that some of our advanced members don't post trips and thereby deny the rest of us their excellent company and experience on a paddle. One member who I asked responded: "Why do I want to add to my responsibility for someone who's skill level is unknown to me? And so it goes! I think we're doing pretty good. As long as members post the level numbers we should avoid some of these problems. I noticed recently that a few members have done just this in anticipation of the coming season. I think more should be doing this and perhaps with the caveat: " If the post defines a level higher than your presumed level of skill, please don't plan on joining this trip." JMHO

There may be a solution for hoisting the kayak up onto J bars. The Malone Telos Kayak Assist You need the Malone J bars which allow the assist to clip into. I've never seen one in use but I'm now considering it.

Warren, I've ordered the Premium version of the hatchback, which while it has exactly the same roof line doesn't have the option of adding the side rails. Another idea is to mount the subu cross bars into the fixed position on the roof and add the Thule Slipstream which has saddles that can be moved perhaps 40" apart. In addition it has the pull out roller for loading off the back. I haven't seen anyone with one yet and I know that they have updated and improved the original design to allow for more extension and robustness. Leslie, If we catch up sometimes on a paddle I would like to try your rollerloader. Thanks. Christopher, The Thule loader bar requires the Thule square bars and even then would be to far forward on this car to insure that I would not scratch up the top of the hatch. There is only a fixed position that either Thule or Subu cross bars can be mounted on this vehicle.

Does anyone have experience with this accessory to help loading kayaks. I'm getting a new Subaru Imprezza hatchback and the only crossbars that can be fitted either Subaru or Thule screw into fixed positions on the roof which seems like a fairly narrow spread. rollerloader.com looks like it might work. They now have a 7" wheel version as well as a 10"wheel version. If anybody has any more advice regarding coping with a narrow spread on the crossbars I'd be appreciative.

Sad news indeed. I used to paddle an Ellesmere which while an older design was one of the faster hulls ever designed. Little primary which made it an active and fun boat to paddle and a very strong secondary which ensured confidence. It was always a little too large volume wise for me but I think fondly of the boat and frequently wished I had kept it.

Paddler weight has more to do with the boats total volume, not the weight of the boat. As I remember the Surge is a fairly medium to large volume boat and should perform well at your weight. I paddled one in Salem Sound years ago and I was 175-180 and found it perfect for my weight. In the past many women were too light for the light boats they paddled. Today there exists many light and lower volume alternatives for the lighter paddler.

Battery power is known to die at the most inappropriate time. Always carry a hand held compass secure in the PFD pocket.

Unless there is a performance advantage to a very light sea kayak and I'm not sure there is except for sprinting during races, there may be other alternatives to the problem of hoisting and carrying the typical 55lb fiberglass sea kayak. I have not lifted and carried my 55 lb. Impex Force Cat 4 for years now. I place a third Thule extension bar cantelivered and extended with foam glued on to the end under the front factory bar on my Subaru Forester move the bow onto the foam outrigger, then lower the stern onto a bathmat on the ground. I place a center cart under the cockpit and then lower the bow section on top of the cart. I am now free to wheel the kayak wherever my put in is. In all I may have lifted 20 pounds at a time during this process. It does take a bit more time but as we seakayakers age more of us are doing something similar. Women have been investigating these approaches for some time now. Oh yes I have severe spinal stenosis and one bad arthritic hip and this method described has kept me paddling for many years now. At home I limit myself to lifting no more than 25 lbs. A man has to know his limitations. Besides, employing something like my method now gives you access to the best boat for the type of paddling you want to enjoy. Some paddlers swear by the NDK, Valley and P&H boats which are heavy.

Truly awesome and inspiring. Thanks for sharing Jason.

Warren, Congrats on the award-you deserved it. I've had an Explorer and think it a great choice but I'm really envious over your newly acquired and improved lower back-was it a 50/50 layup or did they just apply a keel strip?

I'll send you a PM Liz.