jwhipple

Possible to put me on the waiting list? Judy

Me too!

Hmmm ... near as I can tell, it seems to have been developed by an individual (https://twitter.com/cambecc) chiefly for educational purposes, using government-sourced (NOAA, etc.) public domain data. Or that's what it looks like to me ...

This website, showing global winds live, really gives a powerful picture of today's nor'easter ... https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-76.97,36.49,1811

Hi Cathy - I'm interested in joining you, too! And I'm kinda uncertain where the put-in is ... Thanks, Judy

I second (third?) the recommendation of Paradis Marin, if you want to camp. The name means marine paradise, and that's a pretty good description. It's right on the St. Lawrence just a few miles north of Saguenay; you can sit on the rocks and watch the whales go by, or go out and paddle with them. I went with a SMSKN trip many years ago; they went July 4th weekend, which turned out to be a bit early for whales (though we saw lots of belugas). Air temp was very hot but water temp called for a drysuit! That weekend coincided with Canada Day (their national holiday, July 1), so the big campground was chock full of Quebecers enjoying their outdoors — good for people-watching, probably quieter other weekends. Anyway, my two cents. Judy

Count me in, too, please! (And the suggested timing looks fine.) Judy

I'm in, too! Will PM you with the info, though you won't likely see it before morning. Thanks for posting the trip!

Article in the current NY Times Magazine about primitive navigation; the featured scientists include John Huth: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/magazine/the-secrets-of-the-wave-pilots.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below

Apropos of cabin fever (inspired by Peter’s note about the party in January), who has reading to nominate for kayakers in need of winter distractions? Or maybe suggestions for friends or family to put under their favorite kayaker’s Christmas tree? For those of you interested in coastal processes who’ve wanted to understand what forces have shaped (and are reshaping) our varied coastlines, I suggest BEACHES AND COASTS, by Richard Davis and Duncan FitzGerald. It’s a college text, so is chock full of content, from global influences like plate tectonics and glaciers to local processes like longshore sediment transport and formation of tidal deltas (both important factors in the Crane’s Beach area, I learned). One of the authors (FitzGerald) is local, and some of his research interests are local, so a fair number of the examples are from New England. My only quibble is that the book tends to focus more on changing shorelines than rocky coasts (my favorites), but I suppose the rocky ones stay put for too long to be as interesting to researchers, beyond understanding how they came to be formed. As an introductory-level text, it’s written in fairly plain English, though it’s more of a reference book than something you’d want to read through from cover to cover. Also, being a text, new copies are pricey, though used copies and an ebook version are readily available online. If you’re interested in checking it out, here’s a link with more info: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0632043083.html Another option: those of you 58+ with flexible weekday schedules might have interest in auditing FitzGerald’s spring semester undergrad course on the subject at BU’s Boston campus, through the university’s Evergreen Program (a fantastic program for auditors, by the way). The course, Introduction to Beach and Shoreline Processes, uses this book as its text, expands on it and makes the material very accessible. I audited the course last spring, and wallowed happily in the stuff all semester. Okay, now, who else has reading suggestions?

I'm coming, too ... thanks for posting this, Christopher!

Thanks so much, Brian! Your detailed advice was much appreciated (and needed) ...

Thanks so much, Brian! And I note your earlier post in this thread describing an oil/varnish mix. Just to follow up, so I'm clear about it: do you recommend self-mixing it, and if so at 50:50? Or is there a pre-mixed blend (Formby or other) that you'd trust? Thanks ...

To add a wrinkle to the discussion ... I'm noting a few comments elsewhere online to the effect that LAMINATED greenland paddles shouldn't be refinished with oil, the argument being that the varying woods and glue involved need something more protectant such as epoxy, spar varnish, etc.. I'd be grateful for any thoughts you paddle wizards may have on this.

What is the order of presentations tonight: Labrador first, followed by Newfoundland? Or Newfoundland first? Thanks ...

Thanks for the info, Rob ... and for reminding me of MITA policy, I should have remembered that!

Nice report, Rob! I'm having trouble visualizing a few things, though -- could you please clarify where you put in and which islands you camped on? Thanks! Judy

EMS has a 20% off sale going for Columbus Day weekend, and this light's apparently eligible. (Also, for the party animals among you, the light's maker also offers a color-shifting version for $10 more.)

Add Norway!

Nancy and Jason, thanks for your input. Once the season is over, I'll contact the folks you (and Gene) suggested and see what results. And maybe I'll remember to post an update with said results, to close out this topic ... Judy

Thanks, Jason -- good to know that's an option if a replacement knob isn't available. But more than likely, doing as you suggest (or replacing the knob, for that matter) is beyond my competence. I'll probably limp through the rest of this season with minimal skeg function, while figuring out next steps for dealing with it.

Thanks for all your input, Gene! Though I'm sorry to hear you're inclined to agree with the "stripped" hypothesis -- was kinda hoping you'd come up with a miracle cure. But alas, it looks as if some replacement parts are in the boat's future. Meanwhile, I seem to have minimal skeg function, but that's better than nothing. Judy

Hi Gene - Thanks so much for your reply -- it’s clear you know exactly what I’m talking about, and what you said makes perfect sense! So I went to my boat, followed your directions, and learned a lot -- but I didn’t get quite the same results as you. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions ... First, here's what happened. After retracting and immobilizing the skeg, then turning the allen wrench in the knob more than enough to back the set screw out of the hole in the sheath, I held the sheath with pliers and tried to slide the knob along the sheath to locate the hole. But the slider knob won’t budge laterally on the sheath (it's as if the set screw were still in the hole). Actually, no amount of turning the allen wrench in either direction seems to have much effect (watching through the knob’s side hole, the set screw appears to turn, but doesn't seem to be rising or falling). Finally, after trying to tighten the set screw in the hole (it never gets really tight), I freed the skeg and tried sliding the knob back and forth. It works okay for the first two inches, but if I slide the knob any further, the cable starts slipping inside the sheath. These results make me think that the set screw may actually be in the hole (at least partially), and that I can't properly tighten/loosen it (stripped threads, maybe?) But I don't trust this conclusion. Based on your own experience, do you think I’m still missing the hole? Or that there's something else at play? Because I can’t slide the knob to see the hole, could you tell me exactly where the hole is located on your boat? As you can see in the picture, my knob is halfway between two notches in the sheath, and the knob’s top and side holes are aligned directly over those notches. Logically, the hole would be centered halfway between the notches and on the same plane with them -- which means the knob is correctly positioned. But perhaps your sheath's hole wasn’t located there? Also, you said the hole is oval: is the longer side of the oval aligned with the sheath, or does it run across it? (My knob won't budge forward or back on the sheath, but has a limited amount of rotational play around the sheath, so I’m wondering if the oval's long side goes across the sheath.) And regarding the cable slippage, maybe the set screw isn't grabbing it tightly enough. But I also wonder if there are contributing factors at the front and back ends of the cable. At the front end (forward of the slider box, inside the cockpit), the ends of my cable and sheath are just loose, there's nothing there to prevent the cable moving in the sheath; maybe there's something I can do here to prevent slippage? And at the skeg end, there is a slight bend (not really a kink) in the cable an inch or two above the skeg. It doesn't look like a significant bend, but I have no experience with this -- perhaps it's putting added strain on the cable, contributing to the slippage under the knob? That's everything I can think of (in more than enough words). I'd be grateful for any and all thoughts you may have ... thanks! Judy knob.pdf

This question focuses on the wire skeg cable and slider knob on my NDK Explorer. Thanks probably in part to my coaxing a stuck skeg (Maine mud), it appears that the cable slipped sternward within its metal sheath past the slider knob; as a result the skeg hung down vertically (when slider knob back) and wouldn't retract fully (when slider knob forward). It's as if the cable were 4-5 inches longer, which makes me think the cable slipped past the slider knob which (as I understand it) is supposed to hold it tight. Using an allen wrench through the hole in the slider knob, I loosened the knob and then used pliers to pull the front end of the cable forward in its metal sheath, to the point where the cable seems to be the right length again -- i.e., when the slider knob is forward, the skeg is retracted. But now I can't get the slider knob to re-tighten against the cable (the allen wrench doesn't seem to be accomplishing anything), so the cable slips back again if I try to use the slider to raise/lower the skeg. (NB: There is a mild bend, but not really a kink, in the cable about an inch above the skeg, but it doesn't seem bad enough to be the cause of the problem.) Any experience/thoughts on how to deal with this would be appreciated. Is there a trick to tightening the slider knob? I can paddle the boat with the skeg fully retracted, but obviously it would be best to get full function back. Thanks in advance ... Judy

Hi Bill - I'm going to try to get there today. Judy