Pintail

Jim, I had <thought> that your second photo (top of thread) looked familiar! Of course: I used to visit Laconia and Loudon quite frequently, some years ago...

Brilliant, Gary! Many thanks, mate: there is some wonderful inspiration here...

He <probably> meant variation; but he <might> have wanted to know the declination...you never know... By the way, could this not simply be an anomaly? Or a misprint? <I still can't wrap my head around this peculiar feature, but I'll still work on it>

<I have always wanted to paddle through this when the current in running> Paul, didn't we paddle through there, once upon a time, with Jed et al, after launching at Thomas Point? We must have gone through there at slack, then...

Janice, that bivvy-bag did not sell at $10 and has been re-posted! Go and look it up -- it would cover up your dreaded slate grey...? (You are supposed to be <sleeping> in the bag, not admiring its hues!) ☺️

I once made a <big> mistake, camping on Jewell, when I awoke in the middle of the night, feet chilled to the bone: I grabbed my nylon storm protection thing (you all know what I mean: the group shelter that seems such a clever idea). I thought I was being so clever and wrapped it around my lower body and promptly went to sleep again...to awake in the morning with everything wet through! A <much> better idea (I forgot about this, Janice) is this: find on eBay a used, ex-army goretex bivvy bag/sleeping bag cover. (Example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ARMY-olive-drab-Bivy-Bag-sleeping-bag-cover-bivvy-sack-breathable/114160326323?hash=item1a947c56b3:g:k7EAAOSwN6VefVGG) You will pay anything from this one, starting bidding at $10 (!!) up to $60. Since they are goretex, there will be no damp build-up inside <and> it will serve to preserve your bag. I promise you that this alone will make you feel far more comfortable on chilly nights. Silly me: I should have thought of this immediately! Go and put a bid in on this one and all you have to do is insert a rip-chord at the neck. It is ex-military -- you can see the printing, so it is breathable... Mr. Lawson wrote: <Caveat is I prefer no using a tent at all so biased> which means he is almost certainly using such a system, too! Forget the original concept of these bag covers, Janice: they are <intended> for sleeping outside, tentless (soldiers, for the use of!); but for our purpose -- bloody ideal!

Janice: it is your sleeping bag you need to be looking into (I don't mean "looking <into>" -- you won't see much down there, I guess -- but as in <investigating>!) Get a lower temperature rating bag...easy-peasy!

Don't you have to heat invisible ink usually with a flame to see the writing? Tough on my screen, GY! ? I tell you what, Gary: number 4 is almost identical to the one in Lubec Channel...same sort of design and only differing in detail. I wonder why on earth they ever designed it in <steel>?

Photo #19 cannot be in Maine, if it is showing the maple leaf flag painted on it, surely? I could be wrong...(Perhaps the lighthouse keeper was having a bad day after he finished re-painting it and decided he didn't like the state of things and that he's rather be a Canadian?) I reckon I know five of these, maybe one or two more...I don't like these party games, for no one categorically tells you the answers!

Are you lot keeping abreast of the numbers of deaths in Europe? Spain, for instance? Now <there> are some figures to make you sit up and take notice! And some leading American medical experts, interviewed by the BBC, are saying it is going to get <much> worse here before it gets better. Pancake-makeup man is already having to eat his words of wisdom regarding his expected relaxation of lock-down by...Easter! I have often said that I am not interested in cold-water paddling any more; but I am beginning to feel <very> tempted...

<If you're worried about boat toggles, adopt the rule that the boat's owner always touches the bow toggle, and you use the same helper to assist you with unloading, loading, and beach carries, always on the stern toggle> Toggles, toggles? Who carries their boat by the toggles? They are really there for grabbing when <in> the water (ie, swimming), aren't they? Far safer to carry any boat under the hull, Dan. (There was even one British boat with shallow, almost-finger-shaped indentations under bow and stern exactly to encourage this mode of portaging -- I forget its name: it was the one with off-centre skeg) I think that the salt-water environment should itself be an encouragement to paddle since I cannot see viral organisms surviving in that medium...

Hello there, stranger! Enjoying your summer?

No, Brian: don't you remember that we had a member who had a dirty great workshop that we used, somewhere north of Boston off 128? He paddled an Explorer and I bought a digital camera from him (my first); but I cannot, for the life of me, recall his name... Perhaps it was just <one> winter session?

For <that> sort of money (the Astral, in that link), you could have the very top of the range in Kokatat. Since Al says he doesn't need all the bells and whistles, then a mid-range Kokatat would suffice AND provide reflective surfaces (always useful) and pockets galore AND be suitable for his water bladder...seems logical to me. As for rescue rope stowage, Al, (and you <should> be looking for this) do you mean a place to stuff a towline after use? The easiest manner of temporary stowage is in front of your chest, between PFD and your body -- until such time as it is convenient to re-stow it back into its (presumably round-the-waist) place. Stick with Kokatat, Al! I reckon it's the best...

Will also be out of town...

You know how it is with guests: they post something for sale here, after researching all possible venues -- he will likely as not never look here again: that would be my guess.

Thanks for the link, David.

Wise words. Lawson-san...!

Oh, look-ee, look-ee: yet <another> old hand crawling out of the woodwork! Welcome back, Michael! Does this mean we might expect to see you on the water again, one of these days? (Even get your daughter out paddling, perhaps?) (Nystrom, too, has been seen, lurking, recently, among these pages, you know...)

@Sal: <...10 miles out with 3 kids in a 14" boat makes no sense> Sal, I don't know how they would even <fit> in a 14" boat!? Oh, wait a minute: I know -- you meant a 14' boat! Ha ha!! (Come on, man: pull your finger out and get that Shift key under control...) ?

Pool "noodles" also make for great padding on roof-rack bars: I have been carrying my boats (upside-down) on those for years! Far (far!) cheaper than all those specialized things...

It will be a pleasure to see you and to paddle with you two again, BN! (You do know that The Founder himself is supposed to be in the New England area again; but I have yet to see physical evidence of this fact...?)

Who is this Nystrom fellow who keeps turning up here, chipping in and offering expert advice, I wonder? There <was> one such who used to paddle many moons ago; but he quit sea-kayaking and went to play on a bicycle among the busy, traffic-laden roads and highways. I am sure he must have been run over by now (dangerous business, that!) and suddenly we start to see a similar name crop up -- <must> be a case of identity-theft?! I could be wrong...

Sorry, Liz: I work Saturday nights!

Paul, much as I should like to accompany you, surgery is set for 16th, so I think it's a no-go for me...shame! Anyway, I'm supposed to work on Saturdays (Bah, humbug!) We could always meet for a pint, though...?