NPSheehan

When I contacted Valley about some additional decals for my Avocet & Aquanaut they were very responsive. Below is the contact info. and phone number. Best way to contact them is at sales@valleyseakayaks.com From: sales@valley [mailto:sales@valleyseakayaks.com] Sent: 25 September 2008 11:49 To: info@valleyseakayaks.com Subject: Re: Avocet & Aquanaut decal replacement? Hi Neil If you let us have your address I'll pop some in the post for you... Email details to sales@valleyseakayaks.com Cheers! Andy Valley Canoe Products Ltd 0115 9614995 www.valleyseakayaks.com

I'm sure the new ValleySeaKayaks.com Web Site when it does appear will be pretty slick. They had one of the best compared to the other competitions sites prior to their web site catastrophe. Peter Orton is answering question in some of the kayaking BLOGS but it would've been prudent to have at least a link on their placeholder site page with some additional information. Neil

We'll be launching at the York Harbor Town Dock #2 on Harris Island Road York Harbor 11am if anyone wants to join us. Neil

Anyone up for an early afternoon paddle tomorrow Friday. Dec 4th in the NH/ME Seacoast area? Looks like it will be a nice sunny day with temps reaching the 50s and west winds 10-15mph. I'm flexible as to where we go in NH/ME Coastal area but some thoughts would be in Great Bay heading up the Squamscott to Exeter from Chapman's Landing or up to Newmarket launching from Adam's Point in Durham. High Tide in Great Bay area is around 2pm. I was thinking of launching at noon but could go later although no later than 1pm. I'm also up for an earlier paddle launching at 11am at either Odiorne or York Harbor. High Tide at the NH coastline is about noon. Forecast for Friday... Sunny. Highs around 50. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Let me know your thoughts or if you have a preferred destination. Reply to this posting or on the NE Seacoast Paddlers Message Board Trips & Events Forum from the link below http://www.meetup.com/NESeacoastPaddlers/m.../thread/8172104 Neil

It looks like the 2 of you had a nice paddle last Sunday. As far as the GeoCaches you shouldn't concern yourself as to how people get to them. I suppose you could make a note as to difficulty level and and warn people about potential weather conditions but that doesn't mean they'll heed it. I hope to get to these caches someday myself. Neil

Hi Sid & others I'm planning to paddle in Great Bay area tomorrow if you are interested in joining me see the link below and please reply there or reply to me by email. Launch time is flexible but I was thinking 11am. High Tide in Great Bay is high around noonish. http://www.meetup.com/NESeacoastPaddlers/b...thread/8162239/ Neil

Here is some interesting information on the subject from Maine Coast Sea Kayaking http://www.mainecoastguide.com/kayak/kayak...escurrents.html A well planned trip if you are trying to avoid strong currents would be to abide by the 50/90 Rule stated in the above article which read.. "The “50-90 rule†estimates current speeds between slack water and maximum flow. Divide the time between slack water and maximum ebb or flood into thirds. In the first third, the current will increase to 50% of its maximum. In the second third it will reach 90%. And in the last third, it only increases the last 10%." The NOAA National Current Observation Program (NCOP) has real time current info for some locations but unfortunately does not plot the Maine Coast locations yet. Pretty cool stuff though. Ed's link in a previous reply gives the predicted currents in many Maine locations and that's probably as close as your gonna get right now. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/station_retriev...state=&id1= Neil

If you are looking for a very stable day touring kayak that will fit a smaller person well then I'd suggest an older version of the Perception Carolina 13.5 The Carolina although not fast is a great and stable plastic kayak and it is also narrow. There are a zillion of them out there. Most of them sold have a rudder as well and you can pick one up for a bargain. The older Carolina 13.5 was very snug for all but petite paddlers. My girlfriend Cyndi as well as a few other women paddlers I know had them and they loved the Carolina 13.5. Cyndi sold her Carolina and now has as Valley Aquanaut LV but the woman she sold it to has been paddling it for 2 years and loves it. Perception no longer makes the Carolina 13.5 but you can probably pick one up used for under $600. Check out the review below from Paddling.net and info from Lake George Kayak http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1114 http://www.lakegeorgekayak.com/perception_...na135_specs.htm Neil

Peter is correct it's definitely a Sea Raven see the photo below http://www.thejump.net/id/sea-raven.htm As kids we used to spearfish for these as well as Sclupins and Monk Fish and Flounders off of North Beach in Hampton Neil

HILARIOUS!!! Neil

Careful ironing does seem like a good idea although it specifically states on Gore TEX Site for Immersion Technology Products DO NOT IRON. However Kokatat's states in their care and storage .pdf for restoring DWR Kokatat recommends using an iron, on medium to low heat. Keep the iron moving. DO NOT iron gaskets or zippers. Kokatat suggests using a thin section of cotton between the iron and the GORE-TEX® for two reasons – (1) to prevent TX-Direct from collecting on the iron and transferred to the next garment you iron and (2) to minimize the potential of applying too much heat to the GORE-TEX®. Some people have also had success using a hair dryer. http://kokatat.com/documents/cserv/KokatatDSstorage.pdf Neil

Gore TEX does not recommend wash-in DWR Durable Water Repellents. They do recommend putting your Gore TEX fabric in the dryer on the warm setting to restore the DWR unless it is completely gone from the fabric. See the link below http://www.gore-tex.com/remote/Satellite/c...ater-repellency Washing recommendations for Gore TEX Immersion Technology products http://www.gore-tex.com/remote/Satellite/c...ng-instructions Neil

Yup I think that is what I indicated in my previous response. As far as it's meaning as gibberish it did come from a latin root and this text was used by designers as mock up text and not meant to have any real meaning. Neil

So the geeky folks or Graphic Designers knew this was just placeholder text but I'm sure it confused everyone else that saw it. I get this text or similar text when using Dreamweaver for creating placeholder text blocks so it's very common in the Web Site Design world. What Does it mean? The closest English translation would be "pain itself" (dolorem=pain, grief, misery, suffering; ipsum=itself). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum H. Rackham's 1914 translation of Lorem Ipsum Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure? Ironically Valley is really feeling the pain of a complete Web Site re-design let's hope they and we find pleasure in it's result. Neil

More info on VCP Hatches Triple Seal on Valley Kayaks. http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/pages/Re...ch-Covers.shtml As far as the emergency hatch covers Jeff mentioned, they are available form Great River Outfitters http://www.grokayaks.com/Accessories.html Neil

Valley Oval Hatches really lock in tight if you put them on right. However you need to press the lower edge into the hatch coaming to seal it correctly. Once you do them puppies are very secure and it would take an internal bomb to pop off. I'm not sure even that would do it Unfortunately most other non Valley Kayaks that use VCP hatch overs don't have the same coaming rim as Valley and thus do not seal as well. Neil

Many of you Valley owners know that the ValleySeaKayaks.com web site has been down for quite a while with just a static page showing Rockpool Kayaks in a very nice photo. Below is the response form Peter Orton from Valley on the site and why Rockpool Kayaks are displayed on the Valley Web Site. Click the link below. Peter Orton explains what's going on with Valley's Web Site Valley's current Web Site Photo from Rockpool's Site I wonder if the same Graphic Designer that did the Rockpool Site is designing Valley's new site. Neil

I used this web link as a reference for installing a ComNav 70P Compass in a Valley Aquanaut. I used brass pan head screws with nuts and lock washers instead of the self tapping screws provided with the compass. Installing a Kayak Compass Hope this helps! Neil

It was obviously bad judgement on the part of the Captain of the 65' Fireboat to try to navigate through Whitehead Passage during an astromical low tide especially when there were much safer options. I could see if they went through Whitehead Passage on the way to the rescue to take the shortest route but to go through it on the way back was just a bad decision which will cost the City of Portland some serious money for repair of the Fireboat. Neil

Although the Cetus and Force 3 are great kayaks I'm going to put a plug in for the Valley Aquanaut LV. The Aquanaut LV is also a 17ft kayak and handles like a dream and is very fast. I love my Aquanaut and when my girlfriend was looking for a upgrade from her CD Slipstream the Aquanaut LV was a perfect match. I paddle the LV on occasion too and it's an awesome kayak with it's roots in the Avocet and Nordkapp. I'd be happy to let you give it a try along with your trials of the Cetus LV and Force 3. http://www.expeditionkayaks.com/aquLV-comp.htm http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/pages/Re.../Aquanaut.shtml Neil

It appears Valley is really for the Birds Anas Acuta - Northern Pintial duck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anas_acuta Pintail - Pintial duck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pintail Avocet - Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills (giving their scientific name Recurvirostra) which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocet Good thing they didn't come out with a kayak named Recurvirostra avosetta

Photos from our Haunted River Halloween Paddle on October 31st. Photos of Haunted River Halloween Paddle on Squamscott River Enjoy! Neil

Great shots Doug, It was an awesome day and although the start was just a bit windy once we entered the Blackwater river the wind was much less and and in some places non existant. Scenery was fabulous especially on the return with the setting sun and back lighting of the golden marsh grass as displayed in Doug's spectacular photos of the day. Neil

Personally I like my shaft straight too and because it's also a small shaft "no Irish jokes please", it feels more secure when holding it with gloves on especially thick gloves in winter. I typically use a 30 degree feather with my Werner adjustable feather paddles. Although here is an interesting article on the pros and cons of both. http://www.roguepaddler.com/choose2.htm Neil

Hmm interesting topic! Although I wonder if your legs were cold inside the kayak what they would feel like if in the water. Maybe the safest bet would be more layers or thicker layering inside the dry suit. Although closed cell foam would be comfy if your legs were extended as Ed's are in his SOF. Also the hull temp may actually be warmer than the deck temp when the outside temps drop well below 50. I suppose you could wrap that closed cell foam completely around the inside of the kayak. Neil