scamlin

The good folks in the Rhode Island Canoe and Kayak Association (RICKA) know a lot about RI paddling: http://www.ricka.org/ If you don't like their trips, just post a message where you want to paddle on the appropriate forum and you should get pointed in the right direction: http://rickaseakayaking.org/forums/ You might also try the Kayak Center, the high end kayaking retailer in RI where the staff expertise is deep; they might be willing to steer you to a suitable location: http://www.kayakcentre.com/About.html Good luck and good paddling. Scott

OK, as Professor Stoehrer says, the internet makes you smart: I found the reveiw article and as I remembered, green lasers win hands down. Not quite twice the range in the test, but they stopped well short of the max green laser range. 30 miles for the naked eye under bright moonlight ain't bad. As a bonus, it tested them using Night Vision Goggles (NGV) as well as naked eyes. Interestingly, the earlier prototype green lasers were not visible to the NVGs but the later production models were. See the excerpt below; for the full article, just follow the link: "As we got further away than 20 miles (32 km), the ground team required their NVGs to locate our aircraft's strobe in order to sight the lights and Rescue Lasers on us. Otherwise, we were unable to see anything from them on a consistant basis. The red Rescue Laser was visible with the naked eye out to 22 miles (35.4 km), with NVGs out to 28 miles (45 km). The green laser was going strong with the naked eye at 30 miles (48 km), which is all we had time and resources to test. In fact, the green laser was so easy to see and so distinctive that we used the green laser for locating purposes to identify the location of ground team at the extreme distances when we lost the location after a course reversal. It was immediately noticeable. While a prototype green laser we tested early on was not visible with NVGs, the production model currently available is clearly visible with NVGs (as shown in the image which does not show the flash as that would appear as simply a bright green screen)" http://www.equipped.org/rescuelaser.htm Scott

Thank you professor.

Leon: Found this clip on YouTube: I think it illustrates the concept: Scott

QUOTE(Kevin B @ Jun 28 2008, 08:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>While indulging in our other obsession known as disc golf in Amesbury today, we came across a tree that had recently been struck by lightening. The lightening had hit the top of a (100ft?) pine tree and had carved out a line in the bark that wound its way around the entire trunk of the tree, all the way into the ground. At one point, it went under the bark and left it in place but the char marks allowed you to still follow its path. Now, let's relate it to kayaking...don't get hit by lightening Kevin: I've seen that same spiral path of a lightening strike on two differnet trees (one in Maine and one on the Baltic coast in Sweden). In both cases, it was a pine, and in the case of the one that was recent you could see light brown wood about 1/8" wide where the lightening had blown off the bark all the way down (probably due to instant steam production). On both, the line went into the dirt and you could see the disturbed soil it had entered the ground (more steam explosions I assume). The path completed at least two and maybe three complete turns around the trunk as it came down. But why the spiral? Why not a direct or at least wiggly path to the ground? My first thought was the spiral growth pattern of branches on pines, but I'd have to confirm the species involved were indeed spiral. Other theories? Scientists, professional and amateur, please enlighten us. Scott

QUOTE(Kevin B @ Jun 30 2008, 08:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Ed, It looks that way. Still curious though about the green versions. Even the laser flare comes in a green version from what I have seen. I went to the Pains Wessex home page and didn't find the green flares. Curious. Kevin: I seem to remember a review and field test of green vs. red laser flares saying that green has significantly better visibility than red under a variety of condtions. My memory is hazy, but on the order of twice the range. As a side note, the green laser was also significantly more expensive probably due to manufacturing costs since red is the more common color. If this is true, it may not translate to flare colors. Scott

Joe: Just curious why you're looking for 55 foot tow line. Generally, shorter lines are easier and quicker to manage on both deployment and retrieval/storage. And extra line always has entrapment potential in or out of the water. A shorter line also allows easier communication between the tower and the towed. The main reason for a longer line is to avoid having the towed boat surge into you in waves. A longer line keeps the towed boat on the other side of the wave between you. You do need a bit more length in following seas, but the principle still applies. For most club paddlers in New England, it's relatively rare for wind waves or swells to require more than a 35 foot line; you'd have to be towing in some west coast size ocean swells to justify 55 feet. I shorten my 35 foot line down to about 20-25 feet by daisy-chaining it, which is fine for most all towing you will do. So I'm curious what other reasons there might be for a longer line. While on tow ropes, I always had the impression that spectra has considerably less stretch, other things being equal. Anybody know how it compares to poly or nylon? Scott

Rick: Yoga does the trick for me: my infamous back problems are 75% licked. It took 2-3 years of persistant classes and practice 2-3 times a week, during which I'd have months where nothing changed and then a series of breakthroughs. it's more than stretching, though there is plenty of that. It's also correct posture and protection of joints. If you go this route, find a qualified teacher who is teaching a cumulative class with the same students so you can progress; you generally won't find this in health club type classes. I'm very partial to the Iyengar style as it emphasizes precision and alignment, not so much the flow and power aspects: good for my aging body. Scott

I'd second Paul's recommendation of the Eastern Shore of NS (east of Halifax). In 1999, Beth and I camped for three weeks on the islands out of Tangier (home of Coastal Adventures): as Paul says it's coastal Maine without people or restrictions on camping anywhere. Water is cold but tides only a couple of feet since it's outside the Gulf of Maine. Highly recommended, but a long way away: 13-14 hours drive or take the high speed ferry from Bar Harbor. Also would recommend Coastal Adventures: Scott and Gale are great folks and very welcoming. We stayed at their B&B but toured ourselves. See http://www.coastaladventures.com. (The other) Scott

Rental? You haven't been gone that long. I won't be using my hardware (boats, paddles, etc.) the second half of June so you're welcome to use it. My software won't fit you. Contact me off line Scott

Kevin: Look up Jeff Casey: he's the local expert on slot canyons out west and did Lake Powell a few years ago. Scott

Three points: 1. Stacker bars (vertical bars with a hook at the top) are a flexible alternative. They allow loading on the kayak's edge (gunwhale or seam) which is it's strongest point. I duct tape some pipe insulation on the bar for a bit of paddling, but frankly, it really doesn't need it. Advantage: takes up less room on the bar leaving more room for other stuff on the bar; I can easily get 3 full-sized kayaks on a 48" bar. Little trickier to load since the boat can tip over while tying it and probably has a bit more wind resistance, but can be loaded from shoulder much like a Malone J-stack. There is a slick technique for fastening with a cam strap that is very secure, but is not easy to describe in words (see below). I put round hulls out from the bar so they don't dent, but hulls with a V-hull and a flatish hull section (like the NDK Explorer) do better with the hull in against the bar. You're looking for a relatively flat section of the boat to go against the riser. A bonus is that the stacker folds down when not in use (less wind resistance and lower clearance in garages). 2. Yakima and Thule both have their adherents. I think Yakima bars are a bit stronger, probably due to basic physics (experts chime in here): a circle is stronger for a given wall thickness than a square. I've seen a few Thule bars that have sagged permanentaly from overloading, but not really any Yakima bars. Another advantage to Yakima bars is that you can rotate stuff down out of the wind or the way: ski carriers, riser bars, even saddles. Can't do that easily with a square bar. As for rotation while loading: tighten the clamp! 3. I think the problem with the Hully Roller denting the hull is not so much the smaller surface area, but rather the positioning on the hull. Most saddle type carriers are meant to hit the hull on the chine (where bottom of hull transitions to the side), not the bottom. Saddles are meant to conform to the curve of the hull and cradle it from the side where the hull is much stronger, not support it from the bottom where the hull is most susceptible to denting. Scott Strap attachment to riser bar: Loop strap around hook at top of bar about 9" from cam buckle with buckle hanging in front of kayak near top; free end of strap goes down the front of the yak, crosses diagonally under bar, goes around base of riser above the bar, crosses diagonally back under bar and then up the front of the yak to the buckle end.

Here's a simple animation of the tidal cycle caused by the sun and moon; it illustrates how spring and neap tides are created. I say simple because, well, it ain't that simple. http://www.sfgate.com/getoutside/1996/jun/tides.html Enjoy! Scott

Joe: Point well taken about the potential for mass markets if your business is kayak sails. However, your original post on the topic was mostly not about markets, but rather about the absurdity of using sails on kayaks and some specific opinions about their technical limitations. It was the latter two points that I was responding to. If it was all in jest, I missed it. Scott

Here's a link to Ed Gillette's account of his trip to Hawaii: http://www.legendinc.com/Pages/MarbleheadN...EdGillette.html Scott

Joe: Any serious kayak racer will tell you a rudder is essential to be competitive in a race. Ask Verlen Krueger, the ultimate long distance kayaker, with over 100,000 under his hull, whether real kayaks have rudders. See http://www.krugercanoes.com/ I always considered Easy Rider Kayaks to be the leading production line of kayaks with sailing rigs. They have been used for some serious expeditions. Well-thought out, modular and the outrigger models with arefoils are able to beat into the wind. See http://www.easyriderkayaks.com/ I heard Ken Fink give a presentation in 2006 on an expedition with folding kayaks where they rigged the kayaks into catamarans somewhere in the south Pacific; they did some serious crossings between islands (into the ball park of your Nova Scotia trip) using sails. Ed Gillette's famous unsupported 62-day crossing from California to Hawaii was accomplished with kite sails in a production Tofino (Necky double). I'd say that was a pretty serious kayak trip. I guess my point is different strokes for differnt kayaks. It depends what you want to do with your kayak. It's a big world and there's gotta be room for sails on kayaks for those who need them and take the time to master them. Scott

Tried to complete the survey but could not: Section 2. Kayak Use, Question 2. There was no radio button for "Other" so when I filled in my answer, it rejected it and would not let me continue the survey. My answer is Outfitter. Someone in the paddlesports business (a kayak school, a teacher, a guide service) that sells new kayaks but does not have a retail store. There are a lot of them in New England. I'd suggest another category: Used A significant percentage of kayaks in our club are bought used, but that may not be relevant to your marketing survey. Scott

Like Rick said. And don't forget the relief zip--male or female--best $$ you'll ever spend. Scott

QUOTE(Kevin B @ Mar 5 2008, 11:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Does he have a website link for those who have no idea who he is can check it out? Kevin: Look at who is posting: I think it's a generational thing. I know, I'm one of them. Scott

John: Last year, there was an interesting exhibit at the SFO airport on the seas. One of the displays was of "stick charts", maps used by Micronesians to navitate by. It looked sort of like an elaborate version of those hot pads you used to make as a kid out of tongue depressors for Mother's Day . Interestingly, the charts mainly plot swells in relation to islands, rather than island location itself . For pictures, diagrams and more details of these charts, see: http://www.janesoceania.com/micronesian_stick_chart/ http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/p...k/stick_charts/ (see links at bottom for more info) Fascinating. Scott

Guru Christopher: Yes, the neti pot and associated techniques have been part of the Ayurvedic tradition for many centuries. And you thought yoga was just for your back. Neti how to: http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/neti-pot.htm Neti Products: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&node=3...0pot&page=1 Namaste Scott

John: I've always budgeted 5 per person per day and it evens out over the trip. Gives a little extra so you can dump some when you can't the water with the really skanky plastic taste. Scott

You might consider using the font in the NSPN logo to send a consistent look (as well as legibility). Maybe not as fancy looking, but the kayak is strong enough to be the center of attention. Scott

Came across a useful article describing a series of tests on radar visibility for kayaks. Very thorough and good winter reading: enjoy. http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/documents/p...areffinal05.pdf In an NSPN-CG informal test a few years ago at the Merrimack station, standard radar reflectors (the sphere you see on sailboat masts) were useless in the on-water test. So were a reflective emergency blanket, foil under the cap and crumpled foil in the hatch. If I remember, the one device that sort of worked was a Watchdog reflector (#5 in the above article). It was a 2-3" tube about 20-24" long with a reflector element inside. It had a suction cup on the bottom for the deck of the kayak and a tether. US Sailing and Safety at Sea did an older study in 1995 comparing signal returns for various devices. See http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Studies/ra...lector_test.htm There is a high tech solution: radar SAR Transponders, but they are intended only after your in the water and the SAR is underway. See http://www.landfallnavigation.com/-ssart.html Scott

Rick: Four or five years ago in May, a couple dozen NSPNers and a few others attended a kayaker-CG event at the Merrimack station. It was a nasty day with hard rain and blowing. If I remember correctly, Jed initiated it in collaboration with Al Johnson, the CG's Recreational Boating Specialist. The audience was not the uninformed general public but rather some more experienced paddlers interested in the CG operating and SAR methods. After a long Q&A on SAR with the Coasties indoors, a few NSPNers went out on the river to test the CG radar's ability to detect kayaks on the water--a perennial concern. Jed and Keith A. and another (was it Ciro?) went out in a very stiff breeze and 2' chop. Entertainment was provided by the creative assortment of methods and materials they wore to increase detection (I could swear one of them wore a collendar on his head but maybe it was foil under a watch cap). Basic conclusion: kayaks are pretty much invisible to radar, especially in chop. Some of the younger CG cadets jumped into the water with their heavy duty drysuits on, without much purpose that we could tell except to float around behind the warf. We all then got a tour of their big aluminum boat, including a squeeze into the bridge and a peek at the radar. I came away that the CG had as many myths about what kayaks can do and how they do it as paddlers had about the CG. Good vibes and a lot of fun. We left saying we should really build a regular relationship, take some of them out on a paddle, collaborate for public education, etc. A more technical discussion of visibility to radar is posted separately. Scott