leong

II placed some foam pipe insulation on both the front and rear crossbars (fastened tightly with bungees). It did quiet down somewhat, perhaps 1/3 of the original noise (maybe 5 dB of noise reduction). I wish I had a noise meter to experiment to see how much I could reduce the noise. FYI, Rack Attack doesn't stock the "Windjammer"; however, I doubt that it would do a better job than both front and rear pipe insulation. Thanks all for the info. -Leon PS Warning to all: Due to corrosion, all of my Thule Hull-a-Port Pro’s fasteners (bolts with plastic wingnuts) "froze" and had to be hacksawed off. I guess I should have lubricated the bolts occasionally.

I was under the impression that stretching before kayaking is the right thing to do, especially before a race. However, I usually forget to stretch. Does that mean that I don’t have to feel guilty anymore? -Leon

>>Is the noise all the time or just when the sunroof is open? All of the time, in fact, I haven’t opened the sunroof. >>Yakima makes a Windjammer. Yes, I might try that if neither pipe insulation nor some wrapped around bungee solves the problem. I’m surprised that you only need Windjammer on the front crossbar. Thanks all, -Leon

Thanks, all. Unfortunately, the Yakima Whispbars (cost $458!) aren’t available for 2015 Impala’s. But I’ll try wrapping the crossbars with bungees … perhaps that’ll change the resonate frequency enough to reduce the noise. Also, I’m hoping that when I mount my Thule Hull-A-Port's on the Yakima crossbars to carry my kayak the noise might be reduced. I’m not doing that now because the old car is now being used to transport my kayak until I’m ready to drive to Florida. I wonder if Thule has a patent on the flat shape of their standard crossbars? Besides less noise than the round shape that Yakima uses, Thule’s crossbars are better for tightly mounting accessories. -Leon

I bought the Yakima system at RackAttack and their techs installed the roof rack. They did recommend the fairing after I complained that I could no longer hear the radio above 55 MPH. But I'm hoping to solve the problem without buying the fairings (they will interfere with my sunroof). The Thule system is much quieter and Thule fairings or Aeroblades are not needed. I find it puzzling that Thule stopped making a fit kit for the Impala after 2013. The Impala is the 8'th most common car sold in the US and the 1’st most common American-made car (not counting the Ford F 150 truck). -Leon – who’ll soon drive to south FLA sans radio

Yes, the end caps were installed and I know the fairings will interfere with the sunroof. Note, the roof rack was installed by RoofRack techs so the installation is probably correct. I haven't put the kayak on the roof yet. Perhaps the load will change the noise volume. -Leon

Unfortunately there is no Thule fit kit available for my new car (2015 Impala). So I had to switch to a Yakima roof rack. I don’t know whether it’s the shape (cylindrical) crossbars (or something else) but the Yakima system is very much noisier than the Thule systems (Thule uses square loadbars). Thule even makes a quieter loadbar called the Aeroblade but I didn't buy them for my old car because the standard loadbar is pretty quiet. Yakima advertises fairings for noise reduction. I wonder if I should buy them. The damn Yakima roof rack sans fairings already cost a significant fraction of my kayak. Any suggestions or comments? -Leon

>>Trimming this [straight gasket] still will provide all the contact in a more narrow band and will usually feel worse, not better. Suz, The pressure (force per unit area) against the contact area will be the same as if there was no trimming. However, the total force (pressure * contact area) against the arm is decreased as the contact area is reduced. Perhaps reduction of total force will be more comfortable because it improves blood flow. If this is so then Brian might have a valid point. But Suz might also be right since it might depend on the individual wearing the seal. Brian, >>…the overall pressure on the wrist [with reduced contact area] is greatly reduced. I think you mean overall force, not overall pressure.

Seems to me that NSPN has a good balance of “How to do it vs. why to do it.”. With too much of the latter our typical trip report might be something like, “My exciting day trip across Walden Pond in my Pungo”. -Leon

Whaddaya think of this article? -Leon PS The article reminded me of the techniques of mathematics vs. the beauty of mathematics. For instance, the great mathematician Bertrand Russell said: "Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty -- a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous trappings of painting or music, yet sublimely pure, and capable of a stern perfection such as only the greatest art can show."

Sir Christopher, my trip was Monday and weren't you out there on Tuesday? Nevertheless, I launched around 1030 and returned to the cove probably around 1600. Ironically, my original plan was for a full circumnav but I began to run low on water at Milk Island (a leaking camelbak thingie) so I turned back. A lobsterman gave me a water bottle. -Leon

Dear Pru, I love your trip reports, whether short or long. Would you write a trip report for moi if you went on one of my thrice or more weekly trips? For instance, yesterday I paddled solo from Lanes Cove to Milk Island and then turned back and paddled to Annisquam Light (for a cooling swim) and then returned to Lanes. I can’t think of anything to write home about it except that landing on the small sliding stones of Milk Island is non-trivial. -Leon

Yes, I too, noticed that there's only 4 discussed in the video. But I decided to use the actual title for the post. The only explanation I can think of is that there are 7 common mistakes in the actual Gordon Brown DVD. But more likely it's just a typo. Does anyone have Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown: Volume 3 - DVD?

This is perhaps obvious to good rollers but probably useful to some of us. -Leon

Ha Ha. Heel Hook Paddle Float Self Rescue.

As Pablo later found out we were all at the other side of Lanes Cove (near the boat ramp).

Hmm, kayak y, PFD y, paddle y, camera y, water y, sprayskirt y, .....

Les, 303 Aerospace Proctectant is a pretty good lubricant and is non flammable. But I have no idea if it would work for your application. -Leon

If we skip Straightsmouth the round trip would be shortened to about 10 miles. Hmm, this reminds me of a race once with Lisa. The Blackburn Challenge director suggested that she and I should compete in a race around Cape Ann. But the one who’s boat placed second would get the super prize. So we started the race and after several boring hours we both had only paddled one mile. Then Lisa suggested something and I agreed to do it. Lisa got the prize. What did she suggest? Hint: We both got wet following the suggestion. -Leon

Pablo, Don't worry, I'll paddle no faster than the slowest paddle. -Leon

Hmm, people are complaining that I’m having too much fun paddling solo. Sorry, I can’t help it; I just gotta paddle! Anyway, to rectify, this I’d like to host a group paddle Thursday (8/6/15) from Lanes Cove, Gloucester. BIB time is 1100. The current plan is to paddle to Straitsmouth Island and have lunch there and/or head to a beach in Rockport. There’s not enough space here so please check the subject line for additional details. Please post interest here. -Leon PS Hopefully we’ll be home in time to watch the TrumpNado show on the Fox channel. PPS A free tow to the first one who guesses where I was paddling to take this picture.

Matt, I think a successful roll is less of a problem than falling off of a ski. Of course a wet exit from a kayak is a much bigger problem than falling off of a ski. Regarding the contour of the ski: While paddling with a friend using his new surfski he had a hip pinch from the deep rounded bucket (I think he was paddling a Huki something). I gave him some foam pieces to sit on. He played with the incline/decline angle and was able to get a better position on a flatter surface that apparently helped. I guess you can have the same problem with some kayak seats; however, kayak seats can be changed. You make a convincing argument for surfskis. That’s an impressive video too. Seems like all of the Epic skis were the real tippy V14s, except for Oscar in a V10. Good luck in Salem Sound. -Leon

Hi Matt, Congratulations on your fabulous time. You might be interested in my latest post comparing surfskis to kayaks here. Feel free to attack it. Respectfully, -Leon

Reading MattD’s post here got me to thinking about why racers have been switching from standard sea kayaks to surf skis rather than switching to High Performance Kayaks (HPK) racing SIKs. Some advantages/disadvantages between surfskis and racing SIKs that I can think of (I borrowed some of these opinions from a search of the Internet):  In general surfskis have better ergonomics compared to racing SIKs. The surfski usually allows for better lower body engagement (knees centered and legs pumping). But the West Side racing kayaks have cockpits/combings/seats designed to accomplish that. So does the Epic 18X (not an HPK racing kayak)  After a capsize a good roller in a racing SIK can probably be on his way a lot faster than someone using a surfski. I think rolling in rough conditions takes less energy and is easier than re-mounting a skinny surfski.  In principle, given identical hulls below the water line, there should be no drag (frictional resistance and wave-making resistance) differences between surfskis and racing SIKs. Especially when the SIKs have understern rudders like surfskis (like the West Side Marauder or Thunderbird T-Rex).  Surfskis usually have a weight advantage, but not always since the Marauder weighs only 24lbs.  Surfski paddlers need sunscreen for their lower bodies and kayak paddlers don’t. Advantage to kayakers.  Spray skirts on kayaks reduce torso rotation somewhat. However, racing kayaks have the advantage of not needing drain scuppers like surfskis (the drains introduce additional drag).  Regardless of the waterline shape, the racing SIKs tend to have less bow volume than most surfskis. So, the skis have the advantage for ocean racing as the bow lifts over oncoming waves and stays high when surfing. But this design difference is not a necessity. I think a racing SIK could be built with higher bow volume. Actually, the Epic 18X (not an HPK) does have fairly high bow volume.  All surfskis have pedal steering systems and most racing SIKs still use tiller steering systems. Ocean racers prefer pedal steering systems. But more racing SIKs are changing to pedal steering systems. My Epic 18X (an FSK kayak) has a pedal steering system. Onno makes a pedal system that can be added to any kayak.  Racing SIKs have the advantage of a lower center of gravity for the seat - it's right on the bottom of the hull (improved stability). Besides, you can change seats on a SIK. With a surfski you're stuck with the molded-in seat.  With the pedal system on a SIK you can push with the balls of your feet, rather than using your heels as must be done with surfskis. That’s an advantage for SIKs.  The contour of a surfski doesn't always place you in the optimal position for a powerful stroke. Anyway, below I summarized the data for the first few surf skis and racing SIKs (that competing in the HPK class (and finished) in each Blackburn Challenge from 1999 to 2015, inclusive. Let S denote a surf ski and K denote an HPK racing kayak. Here are the results: 1999: SKSKSK: 11/4: (notation means there were 11 surf skis and 4 HPKs finishing and the first boat in was an S, the second boat in was a K, the third boat in was an S, etc.) 2000: SKKKSS: 7/4 2001: KSKKKS: 7/7 (first pace was Greg Barton who entered with a standard kayak, the Epic Endurance) 2002: SSSKKK: 8/8 2003: SSKKKS: 6/16 2004: SKKKSS: 8/4 2005: SSSK: 18/4 (the fourth S came in before the second K) 2006: SSSKKK: 14/5 2007: KSSKKK: 32/3 (first pace was Greg Barton who entered with a standard kayak, the Epic 18X) 2008: SKSS: 29/3 (the fourth S came in before the second K) 2009: SSS: 39/0 (there were no Ks in the race) 2010: SSKSSS: 28/4 2011: ?S?KSK: 29/2 (? denotes unknown) 2012: SSSSSKSSK: 38/2 2013: SSSS?SSSSK: 35/1 2014: SSSSK: 33/2 2015: SKSSSS: 23/2 Note 1. Although the S (surfskis) boats were generally ahead of the K (racing SIKs) boats, the time differences weren’t always significant. Also, as the surf skis became more popular many of the faster kayak racers switched over to surf skis. My conclusion from the data is that there is no significant speed improvement of surf skis versus HPK kayaks. I believe surf skis are becoming more popular due to the ease of re-entry versus a difficult roll in a HPK kayak using a wing paddle. Many of the fastest HPK kayaks don’t have sealed bulkheads and a failed roll is almost catastrophic, unless they have airbags installed. Note 2. The Blackburn results above don't prove that surfskis are faster than racing SIKs. It only proves that the faster paddlers are usually using surfskis. Besides, there weren’t enough racing SIKs to be statistically significant. Note 3. More Surfskis (11) didn’t finish the 2015 race than FSK boats, perhaps due to overly rough water. Note 4. A racing SIK beat all of the surf skis (22 skis) in the 2011 Essex River race. The SIK was a West Side T-Rex, one of the fastest of all the West Side racing models. The T-Rex was up against many of the fastest surf ski racers in New England and beyond. I believe you’d see more SIKs win if more were used. Note 5. As you can see, the number of surfskis is increasing and the number of racing SIKs isn’t. Note 6. Personally, I’ve had to help a dozen or more surfskis in races that I’ve competed in. Only one kayak (actually two including me … thanks Andrew Binks). Note 7. The weight of the evidence points to surfskis being faster given the number of paddlers that have switched. But they could be wrong. Perhaps it’s a popularity contest. -Leon (who doesn’t have a dog in this fight)

I forgot to mention that Captain Bev Bernard and Co-captain Ben Zorfas won the SK doubles class. Congratulations guys. Bev mentioned that it was so rough out there that a double scull broke in half. Bev is another of my training partners. Also, I forgot to mention that Sid Cohen rescued a surf ski and still managed a second place finish. Darn it, I shoulda entered the race, recuperating arm and all. I can’t forget the similar 2000 race that was even rougher. I rescued a surf ski too and then capsized a little later. I rolled up just as Sara Evertaon approached to rescue me. She said it was like being in a washing machine out there. -Leon PS Here's a video of the race.