Phil Allen

For me, rightside up, dragging the keel across my lap. Flip upside down to empty, Flip back up to put person in boat. Paddle on. best Phil

Hi Ed- Just for clarity, I don't ask the swimmer to empty the boat, just flip it so that I can drag it across my deck. They can also help flip it back up right after the water has moved out of the cockpit. best Phil

Hi Cathy- Having taught a few beginners, there's definitely a male/female split between liking the heel hook and liking to scramble across the back deck. Both can work, but as Ed suggests its best to figure it out before you need it. And for what it's worth, I try to keep the swimmer near their cockpit during rescues. It gives them an easy grip on the boat, they can help flip the boat both upright and back upside down for emptying and they're then in the proper position to get back in the boat without having to travel far. I might have to move my boat around theirs to set up for reentry, but that's a better proposition than them losing grip of the boat out at an end. best Phil

Coastguard searching for possible missing kayaker: http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/10/21/search-underway-for-possible-missing-kayaker-off-nahant-boat-was-found-shortly-after/qZC8TggS7v2bzyWlT855GK/story.html Phil

pack using small dry bags with long strings attached so that you can stuff the dry bag way up at the ends but keep the string near the hatch for retrieval. keep perishable foods below the waterline (at least if you're north of here) for really puffy gear (sleeping bags, some clothing), consider a stuff sack with waterproof venting

At the end of your trip make a list of what you brought, and what you used or didn't. Keep the list in a easily located place to guide your packing for your next trip. best Phil

Is there thought of altering the access members and non-members have to various parts of the board? I know the idea of limiting postings in the classified section to members only came up in the annual meeting. best Phil

Josko- You may have considered this, but at some point the physics gets in your way. The paddler needs to accelerate to approximately the traveling speed of the wave to "catch" it. As you change the direction away from perpendicular to the wave front, you "lose" speed in the direction of the wave and add it to the sideways movement (not a linear relationship). I'm not sure exactly when, but I dont think it would take much of an angular change to reduce the forward component of the speed such that you can no longer match the forward speed of the wave. If you watch the surfers, they accelerate down the wave, and then turn off to run along up and down the wave face. Same with short boat surfers. While long boats have greater speed than short boats/boards, it's the shorter boat/boards ability to climb back up and then run down the waves that allow them to travel long diagonal distances. best Phil

David- you'd probably fit better in the 150 (which isn't on sale I realize). The 150 fits me like a white water boat while the 155 fits like a sea kayak, and I out weigh you by a few pounds (or tens of pounds). best Phil

The gut is pretty small and Peddocks is pretty close, so an arcing course from Hull will easily keep you away from the majority of the current. You might suggest they post on the Wild Turkey site, who paddle that area a lot, if they have other questions. Best Phil

Warren, Sounds like a great trip. Looking forward to the pics. Phil

Lorrie and I are thinking about coming. Phil

Les, if you've got access to a vacuum cleaner where you can hook the hose to the outflow (a shop vac makes this easy) put the other end into the spray skirt tunnel and tape it up tight. Spray some soapy water all over the cockpit area, turn the vac on and look for bubbles. Where you see bubbles you've got leaks. Found a leak at the seat hanger bolt that way. Good luck. Best Phil

Les- picture please. Is this on your Force? I had issues with the bulkhead glass edge or flange breaking loose from the hull in my Impex. Cleaned it, dried it out as much as possible and then put more fiberglass tape and epoxy on it to recoonnect the bulkhead to the the inside of the hull. best Phil

Maybe not much use as I can't find the source, but there was a story of Ambulance driver's in the UK following their GPS from one side of the country to the other. Think they'd typo'd the name of their destination. best Phil

Norm- Where's dead horse beach? Not familiar with that name. best Phil

Leon & Lisa Sounds like the garmin GPS's are actually showing you the course over ground (COG) to the waypoint, not the heading or the bearing to the waypoint? Is that the default setting, a special setting, or what it defaults to when you turn off the magnetic compass? best Phil

I've heard that if conditions are relatively flat, surfski racers will go as close to rocks/shore to surf every wave they can for better overall speed. That said, if you weren't able to surf the rebound waves, I'd expect that decreased comfort would minimize any benefits in the long haul. best Phil

You're point is valid, particularly over long distance with no other corrections. That's why it's good to use a range that you adjust as needed (even lobster pot to lobster pot in the fog). And GPS can be wrong as well, if you've got some smart grad students wanting to give you a hard time: http://gizmodo.com/students-take-control-of-80-000-superyacht-using-fake-951409579 best Phil

Leon- It wont get you power, but if you've got an Iphone check out speed coach. It uses the accelerometer in your phone to get stroke rate/cadence amongst other data. best Phil

Congratulations!

I've used 4mm (lots of reflective colors), 5mm (reflective only in black that I've found) and 1/4". They all seem to work fine. I think P&H specs 5mm which is just slightly smaller than 1/4". Not sure about Valley/North Shore or NDK now that I think about it. best Phil

New to Sea Kayak Camping (NTSKC)

Hi Pru: As Christopher noted, trying the other side is an option. As you describe the situation, without a tow you would have to sit in the eddy until the current accommodated your paddling speed. As current speeds get higher, planning the timing and pace of your trip so that you don't get caught in such a choke point becomes a necessary skill. best Phil

Hi Cathy, For the sake of discussion (I almost wrote argument ), you may find that your group B is easier to organize and can cross the channel more efficiently than group A. It takes time to get boats lined up, can be particularly challenging to keep parts of the line from drifting in to the channel before starting the crossing, and communication from end to end of the line can be difficult if you've got more than a few boats. Like all things on the water, aim for the ideal but be satisfied if the result is safe, effective and efficient. best Phil