jwhipple

If we schedule it, they will come ... won't they? There's still TONS of room in the Waltham pool session this Saturday night -- room for 8 more paddlers and a spotter or two. Aren't you ready for a mini-tropical vacation? Can't you just feel the warm air and the gentle waters lapping at your boat? And that faint hula melody in the background, can't you just HEAR it? Info in the calendar ... Judy

And if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, there's always the Waltham pool session Saturday night -- and there's still TONS of room in the pool! Judy

... Also sessions in Waltham on January 10th and 24th. You DID include kayaking in your New Year's resolutions, didn't you?

UPDATE FRIDAY 12/12: There's STILL room in the pool tomorrow night for 3 more paddlers and a spotter or two (volunteer welcome) Judy

A brief respite from arctic cold and holiday shopping, a mini-vacation in the tropics -- warm air, azure blue water ... This Saturday night's Waltham pool session still has room for three more paddlers, and a spotter or two (any volunteers?) Details on the calendar. Judy

Aw, now this is starting to get too easy. Can't we send the L and R by different routes? :-)

WOW what a stroke clinic to watch!

Great photos, Dan, thanks for posting them! I meant to take a closer look at your camera -- a Canon, I remember you saying, but waterproof? Or protected? And thanks to David for posting the trip ... the Cohasset put-in may be a bit south of many NSPNers' mental charts, but it shouldn't be overlooked -- the shoreline there is beautiful, and there's a wide variety of neat stuff (hard, soft, bumpy) to do nearby. Highlights of my day (besides good paddling company) were playing in the tidal current at Little Harbor (always fun when the tide's right), going out to Minot Light, and FINALLY getting to see the tiny house clinging to the tiny island off of Gun Rock Beach (which as a child I'd often stared wistfully out at from shore) up close ... and somebody was home! And finally, Mother Nature came along for the ride. Where has she been all summer? Judy

If the weather and my work commitments cooperate, I'm going to TRY to get there. (My boat's on the car outside the office, waiting.) The old adage, you never know until you get to the put-in. About 3 weeks ago, with a fairly threatening forecast, I took the chance and turned out to be the only kayaker at Chebacco, but the weather turned out to be decent so I got in some practice until 7:45 when a thunderstorm finally developed, by which time I was getting off the water anyway. Actually, I just checked wunderground and the forecast for tonight has improved, thunderstorms AREN'T mentioned, it's looking almost half-decent ... so now if I can get my job under control ...

Thanks for posting this, Rick, it's an opportunity many of us would like to take you up on, and I think there's a fair amount of invisible interest ... so I'm posting this just to make some of that visible. Count me among those (like Sir Christopher) who're very interested but very stuck elsewhere on Saturday. Arrrgh.

Arrrgh ... so it's not Sunday, after all? Wish I could join you, but Saturday's out. Have fun!

Me too, please! I assume that "Winthrop" is the Winthrop Harbor Boat Ramp described in the put-in list, yes? Judy

Thanks Deb. Hmm, risk management looks like fun! I just looked at the radar and agree. A lot of nasty stuff moving up through southern New England, tracking straight across the North Shore, looks like it'll start arriving there around 6-ish. And given the tornado reported earlier today across the border in southern NH, I'm not inclined to fool with Mother Nature. Of course, there's always a chance things could turn out decent at the put-in, but the radar looks like near-certain nastiness. And with the commute from Somerville just to find out, my sofa is beckoning ... the *prudent* choice ... but I'll have to lay in some beer to do the risk management properly.

Forecast's full of thumpies ... do folks plan to show up anyway and dodge 'em? Just checking, before I go shlepping up there ... thanks. Judy

If you've got a quorum, please count me in. If you'd prefer to wait for more folks, then I'll watch for a reschedule date. I'll check the board again around 7-7:15 AM to see whether it's on (or not), before hitting the road from Somerville (or not). Thanks, Judy

Thanks all for your input ... once again the amazing NSPN community comes through! Just by way of update: I did get in touch with Bob at Canoe Imports (he does all their kayak repair), and he confirmed many of the things you all said. First, it's not rocket science, just put a bead of your chosen goop all the way around the tube where it passes through the bulkhead, so I'll do it myself rather than hassle the warranty (which expires, um, Friday ...) As to chosen goop, he considered fiberglass a definite no and he wasn't keen on plumber's putty/epoxy, in both cases because of the poly-plastic (can't remember which chemical he said after "poly") nature of the cable tube. Its flexibility seemed to be one of the things he was concerned about. He felt Lexel, silicone sealants, AquaSeal would all work fine. He didn't have concerns about silicone in this particular application because (as I understood it) there's no load involved. So, I'll probably either get a little tube of Lexel or use the AquaSeal I have lying around. Again, thanks!

With my Explorer's warranty soon to expire, I finally got serious about tracking down why my day hatch regularly collects so much water, mainly when I've been upside down (intentionally or otherwise). Having tested and ruled out hatch ring problems or a misfitting hatch lid (both proved watertight), I discovered that the cable skeg sheath (which seems to be coated with something waterproof for most of its length) is exposed where it passes from the cockpit to the dayhatch, and sure enough that's the exact source of the leak. Seems like a relatively simple thing to fix without bothering about warranty (which involves a roundtrip to Burlington VT) ... my guess is that just gooping it up with something (but what?) to make it watertight where it passes through the bulkhead would solve the problem. Or is there something I'm missing here? Any advice? Beyond suggesting that if I had a bombproof roll I wouldn't need the repair ... Thanks in advance, Judy

A couple of thoughts to add, in case someone has light to shed ... A few questions regarding scissors that've worried me are (1) the relative motor skill difficulty of getting the fingers into two separate holes in an emergency, (2) whether grip strength might be an issue, depending on what needs to be cut, compared with a knife which involves much larger muscle groups, and (3) whether scissors can really do the job single-handed, without needing to use the other hand to hold what's being cut. And one alternative to knife and scissors -- the rescue hook -- hasn't been mentioned. Besides the safety issue, would seem to be simpler to grab than scissors (just one hole), only require one hand for use, and involve the larger muscle groups. Are there drawbacks beyond the fact they're less versatile (not too not at slicing pepperoni)? Actually practicing with these different tools underwater (well, duh!) would most likely answer my questions ... but in the meanwhile, any thoughts or experience on any of these? Thanks. Judy

Kudos to everyone involved in rethinking, reorganizing, redesigning, and executing the new website! It represents a major commitment of effort and time (time spent NOT in your boats), and we appreciate it. It will be fun to watch the club grow into some of the new features ... Judy

Hi! Depending on how todays' chore list goes (and I will try to make it go away), I'd like to try to join you ... Judy

will any NSPNers be gathering to watch from some vantagepoint on LAND? Judy

As of now, there are still two paddling slots available (Phil and his wife took the other two). If you're interested in coming, the best way to arrange it today is to contact me by phone (617-623-5535) rather than email. I'm home but may not get to the phone before the answering machine does (there are ladders and lots of plaster dust involved, you don't want to know), so leave a message if I don't pick up and I should get back to you almost immediately. Judy

As of now (Wednesday 4/25), cancellations have opened FOUR spaces for this Saturday's pool session. Lots of room in the pool! Are cancellations a sign that Spring has finally sprung? Don't be too sure about that. A note to those of you who may be getting too much fresh air up your noses lately: Saturday's weather forecast calls for rain, and water temps out there are still frigid ... but the Waltham pool climate is reliably fair and tropical. We also need a spotter for Saturday. Any volunteers? If you're interested in paddling or spotting, please contact me via email at: winter_hill at hotmail dot com. Judy

Until last night, paddlers at Waltham pool sessions have carried boats and equipment through the dark behind the building to get into the pool. Last night, for the first time, we could do it before sundown, and back there we discovered a lot of kayak outfitting foam -- a virtual treasure trove (pieces o' foam, arrr). Since we're the only kayak group using the Waltham pool, I have to assume it belongs to folks who've paddled there this year and inadvertently left it behind in the dark. Here's what I found: (2) medium-size plastic ziplock bags, each with about a half-dozen assorted smallish pieces of foam suitable for outfitting a cockpit (looks like they may be the type sold as foam kits) (1) large teal mesh bag with a LOT of foam pieces in it, some carefully shaped and glued, some with magic marker notations on them I brought these home with me, so if you've paddled the Waltham pool and you're missing any of them, please email me at winter_hill at hotmail dot com.

Tonight's Waltham session is full (including someone for Gene's vacated spot) ... but there's still room in the pool April 28!