scamlin

Agree the combination of current and wind makes this a tricky passage on some tides, especially if you end up paddling across Middle Ground which ramps up the aforementioned currents and wind conditions. Potential currents to 3 kts against winds to 20 kts over shoals.... If you aren't planning for Middle Ground as well as the ferries, you may need more study. In NSPN terms, it's a Level 4 trip by several measures, so take it seriously. The distance is the least of it. Very doable of with proper skills. And knowledge or guidance of someone with experience. Scott

Brenda: I hear you about shorty vs. long Farmer John/Jane type wet suits. The main difference, of course, is your legs are covered--which doesn't make much difference when paddling as most of the heat is being generated in your torso which has the same material on it (with or without a paddle jacket). When paddling in our colder waters even in summer, your legs are in the 55-60 degree water when launching and landing. And inside the boat, they are on or near the bottom of the boat which sits in the same cold water. So neoprene on your legs can be welcome protection. I find I wear my Hydroskin shorts only when I don't want to wear the neoprene wetsuit on my torso while paddling, It would have to be stinky hot for the neoprene on my legs to be a problem. Just a thought. Scott

Pru: Being from the Crangle School of equipment (keep it simple), I've always worn a Kokotat GFER: no spray deck tunnel, no covering over zipper, no pockets, no hood. Less material, less to deal with, less to dry, less to go wrong, easier to get at things. Not sure the extra material adds any waterproofness: a spraydeck tunnel is already cinched up under the PFD; most of us are not rolliing constantly and even if a bit more water gets in the cockpit is not a big deal. The zipper is pretty bombproof so I've always considered the zipper covering more cosmetic than anything. I've not found dirt an issue with zippers: dryness and sticking is more the issue, which a bit of wax sorts out. What I would and have paid extra for is a customer suit. For those who are not average sizea and proportion, there is nothing like a bespoke drysuit. Skinny tall people have a choice of binding or lots extra material flapping under the arms. I'm 6-2 and 170 lbs, so order a medium with 2" extra each in the arms, legs and torso. Fits like a glove: no extra material scrunching up under the vest or the arms, and all the extra length means no binding when you're sitting and twisting. A long-ago club member who was shorter with a low center of gravity ordered a customer suit with shorter legs and arms for the girth and was thrilled not to have all the extra material bunching around her ankles and arms. Worth every extra dollar. And when you order custom, you can add all or none of the bells and whistles you want: pockets, reflecting stripes, hoods, size of gaskets, and lots of colors. You order direct from Kokotat so you probably won't get it on sale, but service is excellent and the seller knows the product. Lead time depends on the time of year (my new suit last fall was 5-6 weeks). Scott

John: I seem to remember that the British Admiralty has been doing charts for some time now, so I checked out their site. The good news is they have paper charts of Polynesia. The bad news is that the scale might not serve your needs as it seems to be 1:3,500,00--lacking the detail a kayaker might want. See https://www.ukho.gov.uk/ProductsandServices/Documents/chart_Availability_List.pdf for their list of charts. More perusal of their website might turn up something better suited. Cheers, Scott

"Perhaps the option mentioned is easier/safer that opening the spraydeck, unzipping the drysuit, and whatever? Anyone ever unzip a drysuit while paddling a boat? Just curious. Seems rafting up might be appropriate." Well, yes, I unzip my drysuit while paddling a boat, many times a day. In fact, I unzip my wetsuit for the same reason. Why? To pee while at sea. Extends time between stops and eliminates that pain-in-the-bladder feeling and the urgent sprint to the beach. How? With a pee bottle. My long-time favorite is the Little John: just pee and pour. See http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80972?cm_vc=PDPZ2 There is a lot of other gear I'd leave behind before leaving my Little John. I even consider it a piece of safety equipment as it let's me avoid risky landing in marginal conditions just to pee. And it means I don't have to become dehydrated just to avoid having to pee. And while it is easier for guys to do so, there are options for women. See for example: http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80976 and similar equipment. Beth uses this in combination with the Little John when wearing her NRS Ultra Jane wetsuit with the strategically placed zipper. See http://www.nrs.com/product/22211/nrs-30-ultra-jane-wetsuit. Happy Paddling, Scott Disclosure: I have no interest in any of these products....except comfort while paddling.

Dan: Not sure you want to go by the time of year as a guide for when to wear a drysuit. We monitor the temps for the annual spring club on-water training in May and early June. The temperatur range for the same dates year-to-year are over 10 degrees: we've had as low as 46 degrees and as high as 57 degrees for the same waters in mid-May on the North Shore. Depends on the year, the currents and the wind on any given day. Those temps range from mandatory drysuits (46 degrees) to shorty wetsuit (57 degrees) for some people. Not to mention air temps and wind/wet, and whether you plan to or could be in the water. Temperature tables are helpful, but are averages--not the temps the day you paddle. Best to decide based on the temperatures of water and air on the day of the paddle, perhaps making adjustments at the launch based on conditions. Best, Scott

Just a reminder that the first workshop of the annual club training for 2014 will be this Sunday, March 23 at 11:00-4:30. You must RSVP to the course leader Scott Camlin to register for these CAM workshops (see below). This training is intended for club members who want to go on club trips. It will also give you the basic tools and skills to plan and go on your own trips. The goal is to prepare you to be knowledgeable and ready to fully participate on club trips. See the calendar listing and the posting on the NSPN Events message board for more details. Who is it for? What do we cover? Classroom Sessions March 23 and April 6. The two classroom sessions are for anyone. We explain the club's trip level and equipment guidelines. Most of the sessions involve practice planning trips, reading charts (maps), forecasting wind and water conditions and preparing for the unexpected. You will be given your own trip planning assignment to complete for the second classroom session. In addition, we discuss the Common Adventure Model (CAM) that the club uses for trips. The classroom session is interactive: group discussion and hands-on practice in small groups. On-Water Sessions May 18 and June 1 The two on-water sessions are for paddlers able to paddle in Level 3 conditions. (Level 2 paddlers ready to move to Level 3 can consider an on-water session. If you are not sure, come to the classroom session or contact the course leader for more information). We will cover boat handling, rescues and tows, as well as moving and working together as a group during a trip. We also practice various scenarios such as crossing active shipping channels, rough water rescues, launching and landing in difficult enviornments and incident management. We do not cover basic paddling skills and assume you can control your boat in Level 3 conditions. The workshops are a collaborative forum where participants ask questions, share their knowledge and learn together. Experienced club members organize and lead the workshop. Scott Camlin scamlin at restructassoc dot com

Leon: "Who’s strong enough to drag a boat across your lap if it’s full of water with the captain in the cockpit?" Without having tried this myself, my impression is that the combination of rescuer edging and water-filled boat momentum gets the boat up on the cockpit, not the strength of the rescuer. Cheers, Scott

Like Kate, I've had both the Pentax Optio W10 and the Panasonic/Lumix TS4. The Pentax took very good pics for a 5Mb camera, clear, vivid and good contrast--despite some limitations like a very slow shutter. Lasted 7 years of regular use on the water and land without protection of any kind, but finally got sort of fried presumably by salt water. A great little camera. Can't speak for the subsequent Optio models. So got the Lumix TS4 last year and while it has proved reliable to date, the picture quality has been bit disappointing (muddy and poorly exposed). Also, the the Tele/Wide zoom buttons are on the upper right back of the camera, right where your thumb holds the camera--so I'm constantly zoming when I don't want to. Other than that, it's well designed and rugged, and the form factor means it slides easily into PDF pockets. For the record, Lumix says the camera must be returned to them annually for inspection and refurbishing of the gaskets. I think the cost including shipping is almost $100 so I don't think I'll be doing that for a $220 camera. I think the warantee depends on it, though it's only one year I think. Panasonic has a really dreadful reputation for warantee service, so you might want to think of the camera as disposable: when it breaks, get another. Besides rinsing in fresh water, the other thing I do is dress all gaskets once or twice a season with silicone grease.

Just want to echo Pru's recommendation of Ginni Callahan of Sea Kayak Baja Mexico in Loreto. I attended a talk she gave at the an Auckland kayak club a couple of weeks ago. Very impressed with her and her operation. She was in New Zealand for a month or more giving lessons and tours--good feedback from club members who had attended. She confirmed they use NDK boats and also that they will rent boats to qualified kayakers without a guide. They are knowledgeable about paddling both the Gulf of California (inside the penninsula) as well as the Pacific coast. Good vibes and passionate about Baja paddling.

Cathy: While most in the club have migrated to the heel hook re-entry, the older technique of going up on the back deck behind the cockpit doesn't have to be primarily about upper body strength. Two keys I've found that make it easier for people of varying strengths execute it: 1. Kick your feet until they are at the surface, then keep kicking as you swim onto the back deck in a horizontal position. Pulling yourself up from a vertical position makes it much more difficult. (For those who can access the animations, the paddle float rescue has an excellent visualization of the problematic vertical starting position). 2. While swimming onto the deck, don't pull yourself up over the deck, rather push your body up a bit while pushing the deck under your stomach. Helps keep you on the surface and creates a momentary clearance so the boat goes under you. Cheers, Scott

I've got spider cracks on all my glass boats and have ignored them for years with little noticeable effect. I've also repaired many of them when doing other gelcoat work. I'm no expert, but my understanding is: 1. Gelcoat is a resin layer that not part of the resin/glass matrix that gives the hull its shape and strength; indeed some lightweight boats have no separate gelcoat. 2. Gelcoat does protects the resin/glass matrix from abrasion, shock and UV rays, which helps the resin/glass matrix retain it's structural integrity and waterproofness. Gelcost itself provides little if any structural strength. 3. The resin/glass matrix is waterproof so as long as it is not damaged, there is little immediate risk of failure or leaks. 4. That said, water can seep into cracks, including spider cracks, over time to cause problems such as mildew or freezing which can damage the matrix and allow water to start beign asorbed along the glass fibers. 5. If severe, spider cracked areas may be more susceptible to chips of gelcoat flaking off, which would expose the matrix. So while not an immediate problem, depending on how bad they are, it's proably prudent to eventually seal the cracks. Problem is, they are so tiny, that it's difficult to fill them as is, so a full repair involves sanding or grinding down the gelcoat to a solid surface and recoating with new gelcoat. Not a major repair as you are not touching the glass layer. The biggest difficulty is matching the gelcoat color if it's not white. Would simply wiping on some gelcoat and hoping it more or less fills the cracks and seals things up? I've done that and hoped for the best. It probably slows down the seeping, but personally I would not count on a complete seal. It might help to gouge out a v-shaped channel right on the crack and sand it to give the new gelcoat something larger to hold onto, but in my experience, it's hard to track the cracks accurately with your weapon of choice. It would also be wise to make sure there is no damage to the glass matrix underneath. Sometimes you can see damage from inside, but not always. One clue is to press on the area and if it is a bit spongey or more compressible compared to other similar but undamanged areas, suspect some crushing of the resin or tearing of the glass fibers. If damaged, you need to cut out ALL damaged glass and resin back to clean, solid material then patch with glass and resin. The only way to know for sure if the glass layer is damaged is to grind the gelcoat off and inspect the area for damage. Which is what you'd do anyway to repair the cracks even when it's not broken underneath. Scott

Mary: You are not ending your paddling days, just finding different venues! Like others, I have many memories of your intrepid journeys and ageless spirit. Bob's mention of diving for a chart is one of them as it was my chart. On one of our Bailey Island weekends, I somehow lost control of my laminated chart which slipped to the bottom in about 12 feel of cold Casco Bay water. Before I could finish debating with myself whether the chart was worth a dive, you slipped out of your boat, disappeared and came up shortly with the chart and a quiet smile. My most recent memory was registering at the Cobscook Bay campground last summer, only to turn around and recognize a certain RV with a familiar Force 3 on top pulling into the parking lot. Yep, just Mary back from Alaska, out for a little weekend trip after volunteering for Maine Audubon at the Hog Island birding camp in Muscongus bay for the summer. The plan for the fall was to drive to Texas to vollunteer at another bird sanctuary before heading back to Alaska in 2014. At the campfire that night, you told of selling the condo and giving away various items, summed up in your emerging philophy: "less stuff, bigger life!" That ain't aging, it's wisdom. Hope to get a paddle wet with you sometime. Scott

Cathy: While I haven't been to Crescent Beach, most public swimming beaches (state owned like this one, Crane's Beach in Ipswich, swimming beaches in Rockport, etc.) prohibit boat launching and landing, at least during summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day). Applies to lunch stops as well. So I'd check with the park before planning to launch or land. There are several smaller coves/beaches in Saco Bay but have very small parking and are often full with fishermen and other sportsmen. So be prepared for no parking spots and possibly some push back if a large group of kayakers take up a lot of spaces. Scott

Liz: Like Nate, I use a 40 degree Marmot down bag, 800 cu. In. fill, which packs very small. Down can absorb a lot of moisture before failing: on a recent trip, it was raining and foggy for serveral days and my bag got wet due to condensation in the tent, through the floor and seeping through the dry bag fold in my hatch. Not a problem after four days of the above, and when the sun finally broke out, it was dry in about an hour, fluffy like it was new. We had temps in the 30s and 40s, but I simply wore my puffy insulated jacket to bed with wool socks and cap, and was plenty warm. I perfer my spare jacket to a liner as it serves double duty. Down loft lasts waaaay longer than any synthetic: this one is 25 years old and still going strong. I do air it after every trip and store in a large muslin bag to allow lofting. My bag is semi-mummy so it can fold out flat. In the summer, Beth and I take only the this one bag and use it as a quilt over a poly sheet on the pads. Comfy and very compact. Scott

Paul: I'd second EarthNC Marine: full seamless NOAA charts with layers for USGS topos, satellite, and many more. The combination of NOAA, topos and satellite layers together make it easy to scout new areas. Tides and currents. Compass. GPS. Live radar with tracking over past 90 minutes. Sunrise/sunset. Basic navigation (waypoints, tracks, etc.). Requires live data connection for most features, which can be a problem for battery drain or remote areas with no signal. One very useful feature is that you can download sections of the chart so you can use it with no data connection, limited only by the size of your device memory. Like all live data using/gps devices, this app will suck down your battery pretty quickly. Features are somewhat clumsy, but improving on every new release. This is a smaller new company in Florida. I think I paid $20, with free updates. Another cool app is Marine Traffic, which shows all vessels that provide location information to AIS on a live map . You can see large ships and some high end yatchs underway or sitting in harbor, with info on vessel name, size, current speed, etc. I use RadarUS for tracking storms as it is easy to use and loads quickly. On the other hand, the latest Weather Channel app gives you the choice to see either past or future storm tracking: it predicts where a storm cell is headed for next 90 minutes. Also, the familiar hourly, 36 hour and 10 day forecasts. Scott

Paul: I'd second EarthNC Marine: full seamless NOAA charts with layers for USGS topos, satellite, and many more. The combination of NOAA, topos and satellite layers together make it easy to scout new areas. Tides and currents. Compass. GPS. Live radar with tracking over past 90 minutes. Sunrise/sunset. Basic navigation (waypoints, tracks, etc.). Requires live data connection for most features, which can be a problem for battery drain or remote areas with no signal. One very useful feature is that you can download sections of the chart so you can use it with no data connection, limited only by the size of your device memory. Like all live data using/gps devices, this app will suck down your battery pretty quickly. Features are somewhat clumsy, but improving on every new release. This is a smaller new company in Florida. I think I paid $20, with free updates. Another cool app is Marine Traffic, which shows all vessels that provide location information to AIS on a live map . You can see large ships and some high end yatchs underway or sitting in harbor, with info on vessel name, size, current speed, etc. I use RadarUS for tracking storms as it is easy to use and loads quickly. On the other hand, the latest Weather Channel app gives you the choice to see either past or future storm tracking: it predicts where a storm cell is headed for next 90 minutes. Also, the familiar hourly, 36 hour and 10 day forecasts. Scott

John: As far as I know, there is no time limit on fishing gear being off limits. Besides the long-standing principle, how would anyone measure or prove how long it had been abandoned, once you were caught with it in your vehicle, boat or house? The clean ups MITA does ran up against this for years as lobster traps are a major component of trash on islands. In 2009, we did a major clean up of Bar Island which lies just south of Louds Is. in western Muscongus Bay. To get permission to remove them, volunteers went out a couple of months in advance and recorded the tag numbers of each trap, gave them to the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) who posted the list in lobster pounds in the area. After 30 days none had been claimed, so we got the green light from the DMR to remove them. If I remember, we took over 220 traps off in one day--with help from community groups and a couple of lobster boats out of Round Pond. If I remember, only 6-8 of them were usable. I was on another clean up two years later, and we found that over 100 additional traps had washed up in the intervening two years. Since then, we have established a relationship with the DMR which allows removal of traps without the same laborious posting of abandoned traps, but only because MITA has established its credibility. It helps that for many of the major trap retrievals, local fishermen volunteer to transport the traps back to the dock. While almost all fishing gear is damaged and of little interest to their previous owners, I don't think private individuals should even think of retrieving gear. Too sensitive. Scott

I know it's tempting to think Maine should pass a law to allow recreational use of the inter-tidal zone, but since the statue was declared unconstitutional, it appears that the only recourse is a change to the Maine constitution. Remember, the concept of restricting rights to this zone were established in the 1600s by Massachusetts (of which Maine was a part) when the colonies were still part of England. I seem to remember the concept was based on English practices, specifically the usage of salt marshes and shores in East Anglia where many of the Puritan leaders came from. Also, just to clarify, Rick's appropriate comments on private islands applies to just that: private islands. The request to not mention private islands on the Maine Island Trail by name is in order to respect the wishes of the owners of those islands, who in many cases have granted permission only to current MITA members. Some do not care if the public visits their islands, but we do not know which ones. The public islands on the Maine Island Trail (State of Maine and some municipalities) are open to anyone: you don't need to be a MITA member to visit. Access to the third category of islands on the Trail--those owned by non-profit entities such as land trusts and conservations organizations--depends on the specific policies of each entity: some allow the public to use their islands and some do not. Historically, the Maine Island Trail was formed in part because private ownwers that has for generations allowed or tolerated use of the islands started to put up no trespessaing signs and telling visitors to leave. The founders wanted to preserve access for recreational boaters and so found another way: an alliance between Like-minded owners and recreational users of islands. Scott

Christopher: I believe the reason to NOT leave metal zipper pulls at either end is that it can compress and/or distort the gasket material at the zipper stop--a location that is difficult to seal and therefore a frequent source of leaks. By keeping the zipper pull somewhere in the center of the zipper, while there is also some compression of the zipper gaskets where it is closed, the risk is less than at the ends. I'll defer to Suz on this. By the way, I've understood that any appliance with a flame (furnace, gas hot water heater) is a source of ozone, even if it is properly vented. If the drysuit is stored in the same enclosed space, say hung in the basement during the winter, it will deteriorate to a greater or lesser extent. Whether 303 or some other product would reduce the damage from ozone, I'll leave to others. While we're throwing out interesting questions about gaskets: 1. Do freezing temperatures affect or damage latex gaskets? Like hanging the suit in an unheated garage through the winter? 2. I know sunblock products are very damaging to gaskets--Suz has tutored me on that (more or less with a baseball bat). But are any more or less damaging? What is the ingredient that does the damage? Suz has told me put the sunblock on at home before leaving for the put in (at least a hour ahead) so it has completely dried before touching the gasket). And to use clear spray products rather than greasy lotions as these leave less of the damaging ingredients. Any information on all this? 3. If 303 is not a conditioner, why are gaskets and especially rubber hatch covers much more pliable if treated regularly and generously with 303? I find a dramatic difference--the rubber in both places is much stiffer (i.e. feels "drier") when I've neglected the 303. Scott

In addition to Rick Crangle who appeared as if born on the wind, thanks also to Peter Brady who also helped lead the workshop. Thanks to all for coming out to learn together! Scott

I've used a small hard plastic pill bottle--semi-transparent orange with white plastic snap on cap--that I got from a camping supply store, maybe REI, or EMS. Got them maybe 10 years ago, maybe 20, so no sure they are sill available. REI shows some options (not the ones I have): http://www.rei.com/search?search=pill+bottle&scv_page_size=109&seq=1&hist=query%2Cpill+bottle. The small Nalgene ones look watertight and study, but take up more room in a First Aid kit. For other kits, I just put them in a regular sandwich size ziplock bag and roll it up. I tend to mix pills in the same bottle so I have a selection: aspirin, Ibuprophen and Tylenol. Easy to tell apart (white, brown and red/yellow), but maybe you should get pills with printed names on them in case someone else has to use them. Why three you ask? Partly so people can have their NSAID of choice, partly for specific purposes, such as emergency tech blood thinner (aspirin) for suspected heart attack until they reach the ER; general pain/inflamation management (Ibuprophen) , and a low stomach impact alternative (Tylonol). By the way, on a week camping trip, a couple dozen pills are not over-kill, especially if you may need to share. Best, Scott

Seats are still available for the CAM classroom session on Sunday. This workshop is appropriate for any level of paddler interested in club trips. Contact CAM Workshop coordinator to sign up and get details: Scott Camlin scamlin at restructassoc dot com

In case you do not check the Calendar on this site regularly, this is a reminder that the CAM workshop series starts this Sunday, May 19. The Common Adventure Model (CAM) is a set of practices for paddling together on trips and it's the model used by NSPN. Every year, the club sponsors a workshop series that coveres the basic skills and practices needed to be an active participant in the club's CAM trips. The CAM series for 2013 consists of a one day classroom workshop and two separate days of on-water practice. The sessions are summarized below--see the Calendar for more details on each session. There is no fee for the workshops. May 19 Classroom. Trip planning, route finding, paddling as a group, on-water emergencies and the basics of CAM trips. The focus is to prepare each paddler to be a knowledgable member of an NSPN trip. June 2 On-Water. Basics of beach briefings, launching and landing in groups, traveling on the water in groups, rescue and towing practice and working as a group. The focus is the practices that allow a group to work together to make a trip enjoyable and safe. June 9. On-Water. Building on the previous on-water session, continued practice in moving as a group in more challenging enviornments such as surf, currents and boat traffic, as well as dealing with on-water emergencies. The focus is again on working together as a team. Club members may take some or all the workshops. You should note the series is designed to be cumulative: we will build on previous sessions and not repeat topics covered in earlier sessions. Notes about on-water sessions: Trips will be for paddlers who know the basic strokes and can manage their boats in Level 3 conditions. You should have paddled on Level 3 trips or be a strong Level 2 paddler ready to paddle in open ocean. See http://www.nspn.org/paddle_levels.htm for Level 3 conditions.We will not be teaching paddle strokes. You should know how to control your boat (start, stop, turn, move sideways, reverse paddle, etc.).While no one will be forced to perform every exercise, the course assumes participants will capsize and be in the water multiple times each on-water session.Water temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s, so drysuits are strongly preferred as you will be in the water. If you do not have a drysuit, let us know as you may be able to borrow one. Depending on conditions and your equipment, wet suits with paddle jackets may be adequate.Participants must have done a wet exit in cold water before participating in the class.The classroom session is suitable for club members of all abilities. If you are not sure whether the on-water sessions are appropriate for you , let us know and we can help you decide. If you have concerns about your equipment, we can help you sort that out as well. If you intend to participate in an on-water session, we strongly recommend you attend the class room session. Among other things, we will cover needed equipment and give advice what you need. We can also arrange to loan you some smaller items such as tow belts, hoods and gloves. You don't need a lot of equipment to participate: in fact, one of the purposes of this series is for you to find out what you need and try out equipment before buying. Times and locations of workshops will not be posted on the website. You will need to contact the coordinator and register. If you have any questions, let us know via email and we'll be happy to discuss. Scott Camlin, Coordinator scamlin at restructassoc dot com

David: Might be interesting for the crowd reading this thread to know what type of cable you got at West Marine. Were there differnet grades or diameters? Last time I replaced a cable on a Valley Avocet, I got lots of opinions and some good advice on the different grades of cable, specifically stiffness. Seems all cable is not created equal and there are stiff grades that are less prone to kinking. Kayak skeg cables are vulnerable since there are areas where they may be in the open (in the skeg box and at the knob on the deck), not in a tube which normally prevents kinking when the cable is pushed (rather than pulled). Of course, it might make no difference if you don't land with your rudder down. It was so long ago I don't remember the specifics, but am sure someone can weigh in here. As for cutting, I seem to remember buying a special pair of cable clippers, with opposing right angle notches. Not the heavy duty telco ones, more like diagonal cutters. The idea is it minimizes the mashing of the cable end. Another thing I learned was to by two so I'd have a spare next time someone kinked my cable. Scott