Phil Allen

:-) Hi Leon, You're approach would be more appropriate to the base question, but if it's just hydrophobicity you want there are simpler ways to go about it. If you're serious, ping me offline and we can try it later this summer. best Phil

Good thing I ate lunch before watching that! ;-) One for the bucket list for sure. Thanks for sharing. best Phil

From the 303 website: "All About Vinyl 303 Products on Vinyl An enlarged sideview of common vinyl fabric would show raw PVC (polyvinyl chloride) covered by a thin layer of plastic called the "topcoat". The topcoat is the part of the vinyl you can see and touch. To keep vinyl fabric soft and flexible, manufacturers add agents known as plasticizers to the raw PVC. A major function of the topcoat is to hold in these plasticizers, which otherwise would quickly evaporate. If the topcoat is damaged or degraded, plasticizers begin to escape leading to embrittlement/cracking/failure. Protecting the topcoat, then, is the most crucial aspect of properly maintaining vinyl, and the subject with which vinyl manufacturers are most concerned. Vinyl manufacturers agree on and recommend the following. "" since 303 restores the flexibility of rubber and vinyl materials (hatch covers for example). I'm sticking to my belief that it also contains plasticizers. But since the actual mixture is proprietary, it will have to remain a belief. http://xkcd.com/386/ best Phil

Hi Leon, No clue, but if you provide me with two pieces of your kayak, one piece each treated with the two materials of interest, I can have a friend answer your question for you. ;-) Best Phil

3. If 303 is not a conditioner, why are gaskets and especially rubber hatch covers much more pliable if treated regularly and generously with 303? I find a dramatic difference--the rubber in both places is much stiffer (i.e. feels "drier") when I've neglected the 303. Scott I believe, but can't document, that 303 also has plasticizers in it, which give it the effect you mention. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasticizer . Basically they're short polymers that fill the spaces in longer polymer structures, leading to greater flexibility in the material. Unfortunately, the also migrate out of the material (new car window haze, for example) over time, which leads to aggregation of the longer polymers and stiffening of the bulk material. 303 likely replaces the lost plasticizer in the surface layer returning it to its more flexible state. Phil Paddling nut on nights & weekends, science geek by weekday

And why won't the board keep my formatting when I post from my IPad?

I always try to be respectful of private property, but its only trespassing legally if you've been warned (verbally, posted etc). Also, the state of the intertidal, at least in ME is a little less clear: http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/maine-high-court-ruling-scuba-diving-6-exclusive-intertidal-zone-0#.UbKFMnhgYLU.email. As I read it, the state Supreme Court affirmed the right to travel across the wet sand for recreation. Phil

Sorry to miss tonight, but have to suffer through a condo meeting. Enjoy. Phil

UV blockers are one form of antioxidants. Absorption of high energy light promotes one of two electrons in a stable pair to a higher energy state, which may allow it to react with oxygen depending on the electron spins. Sacrificial UV absorbers like sunscreen or 303 reduce this reaction. Sorry for the complexity, but I'm actually grossly simplifying it. taking off the geek hat now best Phil

biased by fog and cloud cover, but gives you a good map of surface water temps: http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat_data/?nothumbs=0&product=sst&region=capecod best Phil

two words: bifocal sunglasses. Welcome to the club best Phil

The (absence of) batteries on my compass don't go dead at inconvenient times ;-) best Phil

folks I've paddled with that had them liked them, AND they always asked for help to unzip. Doesn't one of the UK companies now have one with a leg zip? best Phil

I'd argue that the boat still functions without the skeg, drysuit on the other hand....

Al, if you want red and reflective line, the only source I've found is for 4mm Niteline from Blue Water ropes. Comes in a 40' length or a longer spool. IMO, there was little significant difference between the 4 & 5mm in regards to breaking strength, feel in the hand etc. Other's opinions may differ. best Phil

Unless Walden turns in to a muddy farm pond with soil stirred into the mix by farm animals the risks are REALLY small of catching something like this. Now spending your graduate school years working on a cousin critter....... but then I'm still here and the folks who know me say I'm not that much stupider after grad school. best Phil

oh so true, but winter happens

that when you open this years MITA guide to random pages, you know where you are even if it's an place you've never been too? best Phil

My point wasnt that CRCK was paying too little, just that we watersports enthusiasts pretty much have to rely on "the state" for access to river or ocean, as otherwise it's all private property. I dont know the details of the bidding process or what the company or state have been doing in the past. I can speculate that losing the boat house will reduce their ability to carry as large a diversity of sea boats as they do for both rental and sale and that will be a loss to us all. and just for disclosure, while I teach part time for CRCK, I know no more than what I read in the globe article about the whole shebang. best Phil

care to suggest another way to get access to waterfront property? I imagine any cost effective ideas would be appreciated. best Phil

I'll bite. I love poagies for the contact between the hands and the paddle shaft. Yes, there's a trade off that the hands can get cold when outside the poagie. For me, warm gloves add too much fabric in strange places. If it's really cold, I'll use thin 1mm gloves and poagies as compromise. I dont find my hands becoming useless in seconds if they start off warm. And most importantly, when the weather is cold I cut back on activities where I'm more likely to swim, and paddle with folks I trust to quickly get me back in my boat. To each their own. best Phil

Seatow (the commercial non-emergency coastal towing service) has a free automatic radio check. Info here: http://www.seatow.com/boating-safety/automated-radio-checks You do a radio check on one of the channels they monitor (details in the link) and it automatically responds with a copy of your sent message. I haven't given it a try yet but thought others might be interested. best Phil (

Thanks Spider. Passageweather.com works if you're not sloppy and don't copy the final sentence period in to the URL. Phil

Just stumbled on http://passageweather.com. In addition to the near shore forecasts, they have the wind/wave forecast for the entire N. Atlantic basin. Nice if you want to see where the storm is that might generate swell and waves on our coast days later. Phil

Not that anybody is building kayaks this way at the moment, but smooth doesn't alway equal faster: http://intellectualventureslab.com/?p=2567 small scale dimples and ribs can enhance speed by reducing viscous drag Phil