chetpk

Just got in and rallied to pack & load the truck so will be heading down for the AM rendezvous. Scott

If the weather holds on the reasonable side I plan on being there. Scott

Umbagog is a special place. My brother was one of the instrumental people in creating the wildlife refuge-protection of the lake and I'm sure generations of the future will also be able to experience exactly what you and I and my son also did this summer. If you swim with a mask there you will see what looks like a lot of plankton suspended in tthe water. It is an unusual feature of that lake as this abundance of this simple cell creature was almost the demise of the lake in the late 60's 70's when a commercial company wanted to drain it dry and scrape the bottom of the lake for these critters as they can be used in filtration systems. Ironically swimming pools I believe. Thus the beginning of the push to protect the lake. Now there is some concern that the illegally stocked bass in the lake might be so effective at eating the shiners - fall fish etc. that it is impacting the Eagles who share the same food chain. The bass fishing crowd have really impacted numerous eco systems with their habit of illegaly stocking waters and now the trout are being pushed out of the Androscoggin down river from Umbagog as they have made their way through the dam. The next phase of how the lake will be monitored and used is now being discussed and they are looking for public input at this point and time (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/lakeumbagog/). The Cody's crowd of downtown Errol are pushing hard to see more access and use of the toys they sell be the direction it goes in. The oldest archeology site in the state is at Moll's Rock where Native American artifacts were discovered going back over 5000 years. We headed up on a spur of the moment so were operating out of the State Park's main campground as all of the remote sites were long gone. Paddled up as far as Mettalack island and all around Big Island fishing and swimming as we went. I have paddled the entire lake and island camped on it over the years and there are no parts not worth visiting. I have some friends who have started up on Rangely Lake and paddled to Errol by way of Umbagog. I will not forget paddling out to the Eagle's nest in homemade boats with my kids when they were grade school age and watched the chicks hopping from branch to branch in their first attempts to master flight. Catching bass with surface plugs under the moonlight Campfires on the island with stars and moon rising. As I tell my sons on occassion, you can have million dollar views for pocket change from the screen door of a tent with good stewardship of the land.

Got to figure out how to get the boat there as son needs my truck to move into his apartment, but sounds like one not to miss so will put a little Yankee ingenuity to work to hopefully make launch time.

Decals On one of my homemade boads I simply had some decals made up with the words, font and size printed to order on a clear vinyl decal. Do a search online and you will find a number of outfits that will produce as little as one decal for you for probably no more then the cost of materials to paint a name onto a boat. Plus if you choose to sell the boat at a later date, you can always remove the decal

Is the meeting pont going to be the High School parking lot as portrayed on the 'Launch Sites" link or as far as one can drive their car out to the end of the point or are they the same spot?

Hi Al, Planning on heading down and joining in. Shouldn't be any glitches,but if I'm not there by launch time don't let me hold up the group. I'll check here befor leaving N.H. to make sure it is still on. Scott Kimball

For me this was my first paddle south of the Merrimack River and it was a visual treat paddling out of the harbor that for sure is a sailing mecca. I also had just seen the Edward Hopper show at the MFA and you can see the inspiration of his paintings of the architecture of that area as many of those period homes dot the shore line with their unique New England elegance. I was new to the other four and enjoyed their comaraderiship. Beautiful day, relaxing conditions, excellent conversations topped off with a great 360 from the top of the knoll on Misery for lunch. The paddle back had a little bumpy water, but the predicted afternoon headwinds never appeared. I had test paddled the Cetus on a pond once and was worried another spin in Al's might further wet the appetite. It sure seems to be a quick big boat with a personality of a small one. If one ever had contemplated building a stripper then they should take a look at Roger's Night Herron. There is no shortage of craftsmanship and eye for visual detail in it. It also seems to be a well thought out hull design for paddling in different conditions. Thanks to Al for setting this up. Scott Kimball NDK Explorer

I'm planning on driving down from the Manchester H.H. area. Mostly paddle NH and parts of Maine so looking foward to trying something to the south. Scott Kimball Explorer

I've used an extensive variety of tents going back to camping in the backyard as a kid to a number of years mountaineering. My preference has been towards free standing tents because they are sometimes a little easier to set up in little less then ideal places and their ability to distribute pressure from a big wind blast. Sierra Designs, North Face, MSR all have excellent tents, but even some cheaper tents under the LL Bean, EMS, REI brands or brands like Kelty and Eureka will more then meet the needs most people will ever have. Stay away from the department store ones as most of those don't have flys that come almost all the way to the ground. For the last twenty years I have used one of the origional Sierra Designs Stretch Dome tents and finally the fly ripped (degraded by UV) on the MITA last summer. Sierra Designs did repair it, but my brother did get me an MSR Hubba at cost. Nice tent. If your tent is going to be hit by winds make sure it is effectively staked or rocked down irregardless if it is free standing or not. Lost an expensive Stephenson Warmlite on the side of a mountain once to the Wind God. It wasn't a free standing tent(only requires 4 stake out points), but a free standing one would have also gone that day if not properly staked down. There has been a trend towards simple and lightweight gear in the backpacking and mountaineering worlds and the link below has a wealth of information on that including shelter systems you can easily make. Jardine has been setting standards in outdoor adventuring and designing some of the most effective outdoor gear for decades now going back to his creation of the origional climbing protection camming devices "Friends" in the early 70's. http://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml

If you are looking at an older Capella 169, it is really a different hull then the newer Capella 161, 163 and 167. They have flatter hulls and less rocker while the 169 is a little more V bottomed and a heavily rockered hull that some say is much more skeg dependent then P&H's newer Capella's. So if distance touring is the primary purpose you want out of this next hull, I think some of the other hulls mentioned would perform a little better in this role then the 169.

Check out Wiggy Bags as you can order them extra wide and or extra long plus you can get them in a rectangular shape as well. I have used a wide variety of bags from mountaineering winter down bags to a number of synthetics and found my Wiggy to be the only bag of the various synthetics I have used in which it doesn't seem to become compressed with time and is true to its' temp ratings. They use a fill that is just one continuos fiber which is coated in some sort of silicone so that the fiber won't stick to itself or get matted and compress thus it holds its' loft. They also use a real heavy duty zipper that won't fail and probaly a tad heavier fabric so its' only negative is they are a little more bulky then some of the other synthetic bags out there, but it still should be fine for packing in a boat. Particularly if you are going for a 40 degree bag as mine is an extra long and extra wide 20 degree one that I use mostly for roadside stuff since it is bulkier then some of my other bags, but sure is roomy, warm and comforter like. Mine is close to 20 years old now. http://www.wiggys.com/

A number of years back while researching coatings, I was told by some boat builders/fiberglass fabricators that Awlgrip can only be safely applied while wearing a full suit with an outside air source. Unless Awlgrip has changed since then or has a new product out they absolutely recommended that it not be applied while just wearing a regular facial respirator. They were dealing with it in spray form and maybe rolling it on is a different issue. You do want to seal it as Kevlar will draw in water.

I would be interested in paddling out of Portsmouth. Being east of Manchester it is a good location for me. srkimball@comcast.net Scott

I sent him an email to let him know you are paging him.

My wife heard on the radio that the NH Fish and Game department has proposed to the legislature that canoes and kayaks be taxed/liscenced if they will be operating on NH waters. The New Hampshire State Parks and Fish and Game departments have to be completely finacially self sufficient now as the legislature removed them from the state's General Fund operating budget. Because of this they are often looking for cash cows to cover their operating expenses. Fish and Game traditionally relied on the purchasing of Hunting and Fishing licenses, but those sales have been on a steady decline. Apperently Fish and Game are eyeing kayaks and Canoes to generate a replacement revenue.

Did any of you get your Tempest in a fiberglass layup rather then in Kevlar and if so how has that layup withstood use and abuse?