Phil Allen

Unfortunately, there are examples of the hand held aerial flares behaving badly when used correctly. Watch your fingers and toes, or waist if you are sitting in the boat, when using them. Best. Phil

with the K.I.S.S principal in mind, I like whistles, signaling mirror, strobe and laser flare (along with VHF and cell phone). I'm uneasy with the idea of explosives strapped to my body (reminiscent of bad movie plots). best Phil

Thanks to all you and the rest for making it a great night! Phil

maybe a bit late, but there's a review of 4 dehydrators on Wired's site http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/11/food-dehydrators/ best Phil

Ditto what Nate said on the pogies. I use heavy neoprene ones, mostly because it's easy to get my hands into them. Others swear by the waterproof fabric ones (which may be on my christmas list this year). Benefits are that my hands dry faster, and stay warmer (like being in a mitten). Trade offs are that your hands are unprotected if you are swimming, handling gear etc. best Phil

Congrats Paula! Well deserved. best Phil

Hi Leon, Glad to be of help. Just to be clear, I usually find one leg in the cockpit sufficient. I also keep my pump and paddle float separate, since I use them at different points in the rescue. Keeps me from having too many things in hand. Paddle float is usually behind my seat and pump is stashed between my legs under my foam foot block. Enjoy the warm water practice. Phil

I like keeping a foot/leg in the cockpit of an upside down boat while I'm setting up for either paddle float or re-entry and roll. Lets me use two hands and yet keep a hold of the boat. Sounds like the problem arose not while removing the paddle float but when going to put it to use so my approach might help. Definitely one of those things where having more hands would help. best Phil

Sticking to my story. Assuming he keeps the same stroke rate and distance the paddle "travels" the same when paddling or poling, he should pole up stream and paddle down. In the upstream case, if he paddled, the travel of the paddle in reference to the direction of travel would be paddle velocity minus river velocity. In "poddling", there's no river velocity to contend with. In contrast, going downstream, paddle velocity and river velocity are additive. best Phil

I'll bite. You don't define the coordinates for maximum speed, but if your using speed over land, then it doesn't matter what he uses since its the same maximum speed. For amount of effort, he did do it correctly, as when poddling, he's applying force against the bottom (unmoving) against some water flow that would otherwise work against him. When moving downstream he paddles, and the action of the paddle is in line with the direction of the water moving downstream. best Phil

Who's the contact for changing details? I noticed several out of date links that need to be updated. Best Phil

Congrats!

Boats: "holes in the water in to which you pour money". I'm glad my boat makes a very small hole.

Just to reiterate, if you want to attend, you need to RSVP to Suz by email suz@kayakne.com to sign up. best Phil

Not sure of the river rating here (4, 5?) , but class 3+ have moves you need to make with varying degrees of consequences (painful swim all the way up to may die). This looks like river left was the must make move and folks were prepared in case the move didn't get made. Stuff happens and its good to be prepared. Their desire to play in that environment is best left to another discussion. best Phil

I find I get more blisters under my callouss using gloves and pogies as the skin has less opportunity to dry out. Doesn't sound like that was your problem though. Might have been an un-noticed pinch. best Phil

gloves, pogies or bare hands?

Congrats to all! Pru, did Kevin have to sing to you? best Phil

Expensive, but such events also have good training value for the next time when it is an emergency. best Phil

Good to hear.

Thank you Lisa for acknowledging that I might not be a computer ignoramus ;-) For what ever reason, the animation opened as a new window behind all my other windows. Other than that weirdness, I do like that site. best Phil

The paddle smart stickers are a good idea. However, what ever plastic they use doesn't hold ink very well in my experience. I have to 'erase" and right my info in about once a season. And that's using a sharpie. best Phil

I did. animation didn't show up for me. best Phil

here's a video in case you can't see the animation like me best Phil

Continuing the discussion, when I'm the rescuer I find I work harder to stabilize the boat when the swimmer uses a heel hook then when they scramble aboard. If I'm trying to rescue someone much bigger than me, having them scramble over my back deck to their boat can work if I've oriented both boats bow to bow (the "wrong" way). Options are good. best Phil