PeterB

Karen, yes i'd second all the advice here. It is a personal choice with Rob pretty much enumerating the pros and cons,: you just have to weigh your own pros and cons. I would never put a water container in my own front compartment however; too much weight forward and that compartment is where I keep all my light and must-stay-dry stuff; clothes, sleeping bag , hypo kit etc. I guess I would give a first long look at the custom bulkhead (placement is easy to figure out as Rob said) , assess whether i can carry the water I need with that setup (meaning: in the cockpit between the legs and/or behind the seat, or in one of the rear compartments) and if I can't figure that all out I'd then give more serious thought to the standard bulkhead and storing water in front tof the footpegs. Storing water in front of footpegs might possibly be bad for boat trim to begin with (depends on the boat and some other things) , so keep that in mind as well .

Scott, Cathy Foley has experience with exactly the gel coat method you are interested in. I suggest you contact her. She did some work on a kayak if mine , and did a great job.

Yes, I agree that the jetboil is good for boiling water and thats it. It boils water till the cows come home, but when I tried to cook something in it ; instant burning on the inside surface of the container. Once I tried to heat hot chocolate in it. At home I'm an expert at heating hot chocolate in a saucepan; you just know when to stop when little foamy bubbles just begin to form and bubble on the surface. At that point, you have maybe thirty seconds before it starts to seriously foam and froth upward. In the jet boil, little foamy bubbles appeared just like at home, but in one second , (giving no time to react even when babysitting the process) it then erupted into a volcano of foam which overflowed and cascaded down the side of the jetboil. A total mess. From then on, i have had a rule, jet boil for boiling water only. A jetboil is also good as a backup or assistant device in group camping; you can boil water fast and supply the main chef or other people with fast bits of hot water as needed. Yes, it is also a bit top heavy and needs a bit of extra vigilance to prevent tipping and spilling.

Wonderful. Trip report, Pru. You might try your hand at writing a story like this for a kayak/ outdoor/ nature/ travel magazine. I'd buy a copy for sure. The hummingbird is hard to ID probably a white throated hummingbird, Leucochloris alibicolis. The "weird looking bird" is a hoatzin , not uncommon but unusual in that it's the only bird of its kind: (only species - Opistocomus hoatzin -of the family Opisthocomidae) It,s unlikely we'll see many trip reports this winter. Maybe you can keep your writing skills fresh with pool session trip reports. That would please all of us who comprise your literary fan base.

I have found that tacking just a bit- just a small angle adjustment so as to not paddle directly into the wind- was beneficial. Yes, paddling into a headwind is one area where an unfeathered blade (the fad these days) can be at a disadvantage; the dry blade in the air catches a lot of wind. Its admirable that you can change feather angles mid- trip; thats unorthodox but it is a good exercise to be able to paddle according to the feel of the blade in the water rather than some preconditioning. But then again, muscle memory and preconditioning is a big part of paddling. There is the risk of slicing a stroke while paddling with an all-new feather angle. Interesting that choking up worked so well for you - it would indeed increase torso rotation and that's good, but also require a higher angle stoke : dry blade higher in the air, catching more wind. Paddlers often change to a lower angle stroke in strong wind.

This means that current charts will be out of date; the location of navigational buoys will be changed?

Bob, Welcome ! I would highly recommend trying some of the NSPN pool sessions , which run through March. Perfect setting to meet other paddlers , see what gear they have (boats, paddles, pfd etc ) and try their stuff out (people are very accommodating the way) and also a perfect setting to practice skills in a comfortable setting that are essential to paddling on the ocean ; wet exits, rescues, self rescues, bracing, etc Then , starting in late spring/early summer, practise sessions (last year at Walden Pond, Chebacco Lake, and Seabrook, also in southern NH) continue these opportunities in a comfortable setting. Peter

i dont see much use for a paddle float while paddling with others , but paddling alone i see it as a last line of defense: if self rescues fail, a paddle float re- enter and roll is viable.Since a paddle float also serves as a float bag ( its always good and certainly no harm to have a variety of float bag shapes and sizes) and can be used as a camp pillow and it takes up virtually no space its not worth arguing against taking one along if one finds it useful. If its not useful, very little harm done having one along. Having a Crangle along as ultimate safety gear is inarguable but since he's not always available and a paddle float is, i dont see any downside to bringing one along.

PPPO's ( post paddle pig outs, or , in this case , pre-paddle pig outs, or pre- presentation pigouts) were for many years part of the societal fabric of NSPN but seem to be in a bit of decline, or gestation . the obvious PPPO venue for this event is the American Barbecue , a few miles south of there off of rte 1a.

The winners of the 2014 NSPN annual awards are usually announced at the Holiday party earlier in December , but we didnt have enough votes from our members at that time ,so we continued collecting votes for the rest of December and can now announce 2014 winners of the NSPN awards! Founders Award: Bob Levine 

The Founders Award is given to the person deemed by the members of the club to have done the most to keep the NSPN spirit alive by giving of themselves to better the club, in ways that may not always be visible. Bob has served as Clerk on the Board of Directors, and has organized such events as the New to Sea Kayaking workshop and the Salem Swim Fin, and has generally been a respected and well liked mentor and figure behind the scenes in NSPN . Traverso Award : Andy Shoeck 

"The Traverso award goes to the member who has shown the most improvement through taking a "never quit attitude in the last year. This award is supported by a memorial gift in honor of Jim Traverso, a member who lost his life on the Sun Kosi River in Nepal in 1999. Jim was a dedicated teacher, guide, adventurer, and lover of the outdoors." Andy only took up sea kayaking a little over a year ago and has already developed his paddling skils to a remarkable degree, by working tirelessly at pool sessions, instruction, and on club trips and events. Paddler of the Year Award: Rob Folster 

"The Paddler of the Year Award is given to the person who made the greatest contributions to benefit the club's membership." Rob has been a central figure both on and off the water for NSPN, has been at almost all club events, has been a presence both posting and participating in club paddles, and his devotion to NSPN has done much to keep the club's spirit alive. Congratulations, Bob, Andy and Rob!

Happy Holidays! Don't do this:

Thanks to everyone who made the Holiday Party such a festive and pleasant affair. The Gould Barn was decked out in fine fettle with holiday lights and decorations , and the food was, as always, excellent. I enjoyed catching up with friends , and the raffle doled out a lot of great kayak items and raised over $600 , which we will donate evenly between Maine Island Trail Association, Salem Sound Coastwatch, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust . Thanks to everyone who donated items that made the raffle such a success. I don't have all the names of those who donated, but there was serious kayak stuff (paddles, gear, etc) donated by Suz Hutchinson/Kokatat, Carl Ladd /Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures , John Carmody, and Charles River Canoe, and Kayak . Doug Mogill and Shari Gallant donated their beautiful framed artwork. Special thanks to Pru and Janice for heading up the Holiday Party preparations and festivities, and MC'ing the official proceedings (no easy task with such an unruly bunch of revelers) , Cathy and others for setting up the raffle, and to everyone for making my Saturday night such a good time.

I'll make gluten free sushi rolls!

Pru This was a great and truly educational trip report; I felt like it gave the reader a good feel for the nature of winter paddling and camping and the things you needed to sort out in order to have a safe and enjoyable trip at this time of year.

Josko, Broken ribs and boats most certainly qualify for the Hard Knocks award provided that your misadventures are now recalled with some measure of good humor. It looks like a banner year for the Hard Knocks Award, Competition is intense! Christopher, I can attest that Mr. Stoehrer is still alive, and survived his whirlpool misadventure, which I believe occurred near Cobscoook Reversing Falls, where you and I might have been tickled by a whirlpool or two. One way to catch up on all the details of these tales of Woe would be to come to the Holiday Party!

This is a fun little award, created in 2007 , which will be presented at the Holiday Party, to celebrate the club member who suffered the most damage to dignity, limb and property while paddling. 2013 Bill Harter (hull damage requiring more than the usual remediation) 2012 Scott Kimball (a rocky assault on boat hull, requiring the services of New England's finest repair professionals ) 2011 Rick Stoehrer (a misadventure with a whirlpool during a rescue) 2010 Glen Cowley ( a series of unplanned meetings with rocks) 2009 Lisa Huntington (drove her car into a low garage with a kayak on top , or something like that)2008 Karen Gladstone: (boat tied to a dock, ripped apart by rising tide: spectacular! ) 2007 Peter Brady: (caved-in hull on rocks followed by barnacle abrasions on hands). SO: if any of you have any 2014 Tales of Woe involving busted boats, boats flying off of cars, paddles run over in parking lots, bodily or psychic injury(as long as you lived to joke about it later), keys locked in cars, or any other kayak misadventures, please share them here. Or you may send a personal message to me if you desire confidentiality or wish to preserve some measure of dignity to the nominee, at least until the party when the inevitable indignities will be administered. "Lifetime achievement" (serial incidents over the course of the year ) will be considered . Please submit stories/nominations by November 23rd , to Peter Brady (PeterB by PM on the message board, or pbrady@neaq.org by personal email) so that the award (a rock with winners names inscribed) may be prepared in time for the Holiday Party Wishing you a safe Holiday season! Like ThisQuoteMultiQuoteEdit

Very often the chart is folded on my deck so I cant see the long.s and lat.s on the perimeter of the chart, and the scale and compass rose are often not viewable when chart is folded (which it always is, someway or another, depending on where I am and where I'm going ) So I like magnetic north lines parallel every nautical mile, across the whole chart; makes course plotting or orienteering with handheld compass easier. These lines then double as a scale. I also like to place long.s and lat.s here and there on the chart so I can figure them out no matter how the chart is folded on my deck.

Kate, yes, wind can be an issue. With a pretty significant southwest-northeast fetch, and the lake being flanked by mountains , winds from the south can funnel right up the lake, and create quite a train of wind waves. There's a predictable pattern, I'm told, of south winds building in late morning to mid afternoon, then dying down. This has been my experience as well . In the summer, it gets crazier, when the huge number of power boats on the lake actually create their own conditions, and the whole lake can become a mass of confused seas midday. the disparity between the bustle of the summer months and the tranquility of the off season months is amazing.

Lake George has always been a favorite place for me; in my earliest kayaking days I often came here in the spring and autumn, on camping trips out of a tandem with my boy when he was around 8-10 years old. I hadn't been to Lake George in years so I planned to paddle there for several days during a week of peak autumn foliage. These plans did not materialize due to weather and other obligations , but I was able to paddle there for a day on Friday of last week, Lake George is 32 miles long, a deep block fault set amidst the outer fringes of the Adirondack mountains. Because of its depth and steep, rocky shorelines there is relatively little purchase for vegetation so the lake is oligotrophic : little aquatic vegetation, and the water is very clear. Like Winnepesaukee, it is a magnet for vacationers and boaters, but before Memorial Day and after Columbus Day the lake is sparsely traveled, and seems virtually uninhabited in big parts, perfect for kayaking and exploring. The eastern shore is largely inaccessible except for a few roads which wind through the mountains from Rte 22 north of Whitehall. It was this eastern shore and the uninhabited middle third of the lake that I aimed to explore I set off from Huletts Landing Marina, (a bustling place in the summer but now almost a ghost town) at 9AM and paddled southward, down the eastern shore, past Burgess and Noble Islands, the first of the many state-owned islands I would encounter. After about a mile I was past the last road extending from Huletts Landing, and now into Adirondack Park, so for the rest of the day I encountered only a few boats and no dwellings save for a couple of remote cabins on the western shore. I passed two canoes with paddlers wearing traditional clothes, perhaps historical re enactors, returning from a traditional style camping (canvas tents, wool blankets , togues etc) The lake is steeped in history dating back to the French missionaries and explorers of the 17th century (it was first named Lac Ste. Sacrament ) , and the French and Indian War ( the Seven years war between England and France extended to North America ) and attracts historical buffs and re enactors. I paddled into a 11-12 kt wind which funneled up the lake all day, promising a fast ride back in the afternoon, in about a mile I was amidst the Mother Bunch islands. I meandered a bit and stopped on Coopers island to boil a thermos of tea at a campsite that was typical for this area. I then threaded my way past Black Mountain Point to Paradise Bay and Red Rock Bay, my turning-around points .From here I was inspired to cross the lake to French Point , in the shadow of Tongue mountain , where I have camped many times. I first traveled here around 1975 , and was intrigued by the Tongue Mountain range when I encountered a big robust timber rattlesnake crossing the road. On almost every subsequent hike along the Tongue Mountain range I encountered rattlesnakes . It was now too late in the year, however, to hope seeing any of these splendid creatures. I explored the shore along French point and stopped at Dollar Island for some lunch,then paddled onward in the shadow of French point mountain and fifth peak on the Tongue Mountain range. It has always captured my imagination that by far the grandest spectacle in the long history of human activity on this lake was over 250 years ago, In 1758 , when a huge British army under General Abercrombie traveled the length of Lake George, from Fort William Henry, in hundreds of boats, for the disastrous attack on Fort Ticonderoga, then Fort Carillon. (Sorry for cluttering this report with historical minutiae , but kayakers seem to share a fetish for most things Scottish so it seems fitting to include here) This was where the 42nd Royal Highland regiment, the"Black Watch ", entered into legend when they were mired in the vast French abatis of fallen trees and sacrificed in the attack on the fort From St Sacrament Island I spotted an odd-looking chapel like-structure about two thirds of a lie away on Harbor Island , a place of interest as the only two power boats I saw all day stopped there to take photographs before roaring off. I crossed over to have a look- see , then paddled back across to the west shore via Steere Island, explored a few camping spots, then crossed back again to Vicars island before returning to Huletts landing at about 4PM. After sorting out my boat and gear I lounged on a bench by the marina to savor the late afternoon sun. This fine trip has inspired me to return to Lake George for a camping trip of a few more days, probably in the autumn and in the remote Mother Bunch Islands, or perhaps along the shore of the Tongue Mountain range .

What a great trip sport, and great camping/journeying observations/ tips/ "ah-hahs". Thanks for sharing! Reading this illuminates how much of kayak life is condensed into the journeying/ camping experience; how to do this and that, how to get from here to there , exploring, working things out with each other, being flexible, savoring the environment and the companionship.

I got an email from Dave Corbin in the UK, where Dave just passed his BCU (British Canoe Union) 5 star assessment , in Pembrokeshire , Wales. The BCU 5 star award certifies that the paddler is qualified to lead paddlers in the most challenging conditions that paddlers might be be out there in the first place, and reflects the highest level of proficiency in personal paddling skills , seamanship, leadership, and judgment . His is a great achievement. Congratulations Dave!

Thanks Warren and Dave for an excellent presentation! Warren models his new rain bib Warren and Dave share special gear secrets Dave demonstrates expedition kayak packing, makes his fully loaded boat throw up in public, to the intrigue and pleasure of onlookers.

NSPN Post-General Meeting Paddle Sunday Sept .28th 12:30PM Pavilion Beach, Ipswich NSPN members are welcome to our annual NSPN Post-General Meeting paddle at Pavilion Beach in Ipswich. As is our tradition, after our General Meeting, we will relocate to Pavilion Beach in Ipswich (about 20 minutes away), aiming to arrive at @ 12:30PM , for a 1:00 Pm-ish launch. There will then be L2 and L3 trips Trips running from Pavilion beach . from 1:00 to @ 5:00PM Options for paddling include trips we have done in the past :*up the Parker river and explore the marshes along Plum Island ; *Fox Creek behind Castle Island and Cranes Beach, and/or a Cranes Beach cicumnav.,;*play in the surf off of Plum Island and Plum Island Sound entrance , tour Plum Island entrance and along Cranes Beach. Slack before ebb is 3Pm, Max ebb in the Plum Island sound entrance is:57 Pm (around return)(Tides are friendly for an exploration up Parker River,so L trip will likely go this direction. ) see you Sunday!Float plans can be determined by the group size , weather & conditions that day . * You dont have to attend the meeting to attend the Post meeting paddle; we'll just see you at the beach. Check for details and weather updates here QuoteMultiQuoteEdit

Sal , from your description it sounds like an ocean sunfish. They can sort of wallow at the surface of the ocean , or move in the way that you described; I saw one behaving just like that off of one of the Cape Cod beaches once .

Barry, I would not advise committing to a one piece paddle. It sounds likely you have might two problems at once . If , as you say, the two halves join easily but the blades can rotate independent of each other , thats problem # 1. One or both of the bits at the end of each paddle shaft (male splined bit and female receiving bit inside the other end ) are loose inside the shaft, just as Nate described. This loose piece could then be glued back in place using super glue or epoxy . The two halves separating without depressing the button is problem # 2, and a fairly common occurrence , and suggests that the locking mechanism (activated by the button) is stuck or broken , and you can try to free it up as Sal described. I'm surprised though that Werner wouldn't have identified these problems, . It might be be that Werner is committed to repairing their paddles back to factory standards , can't do so in your case (gluing old parts back in place etc ) and won't get into this kind of repair which is sort of funky "non professional' garage work . ​if none of this works: its an inelegant solution but: with each days use you join the two halves and wrap with electricians tape. It'll adequately hold your paddle together for at least the duration of your paddle trip. Ive done this in the field , when the locking mechanism was temporarily stuck open so paddle shafts came apart during use , and it worked fine for the day until I could get home and free up the locking mechanism as Sal described.