Phil Allen

sweet suwin, remind me to give you that 10 bucks for the plug next time i see you

Things like that cost more in my family!

Hoping to arrange the schedule for the early paddle and session this week.

Phil

with minor planning, weekdays are good (too many VK days to use)

pallen661 at mac d0t com

Phil

stuff's adding up quickly today, so I probably won't make it.

Phil

Hows parking that time of day?

Phil

A lobster boat on a lake?

Power boat, night, skipper had "had a few", but no, not a lobster boat.

Are there any statistics for accidents/collisions between lobster boats and kayakers? There's been a lot of talk and hand wringing here about this issue , and I 've heard stories of near misses, but I'm not aware that collisions between the two every actually happen.. I've certainly never heard of any.

Sea Kayaker (mag.) story this month from one on a LAKE in Maine from a few years ago. But stats I dont got

Is it time for more traffic cone orange boats??

or would that really make us speed bumps?

Phil

Joe seems to have gotten what he needs, but for others looking I'll recommend a pyramid type tarp shelter such as a black diamond megamid, Mountain hardware Kiva, Sierra designs origami and golite hex. While more constrained in setup options than a flat tarp, all they require is a central pole (paddle) and anchoring, and they're really quite bombproof. I know many folks who have waited out blizzards in them quite comfortably during winter skiing trips, so a small gale shouldn't be a problem.

Phil

Hi all,

I was looking over my kayaking history, and realize that while I've been out in some "fun" conditions, I taken little formal training or coaching to deal with them. I guess I'm looking for some recommendations on training with good coaches/instructors this summer that would be appropriate training for ACA/old BCU level 4 prep. And if anybody can recommend good safe places to practice in said conditions, that too would be appreciated.

Thanks

Phil

we're definitely going!!! i hope he brings the triton!!! we can all practice yelling at each other in it

Careful, there's a reason they call them divorce boats

Phil

timing dependent, I'm interested.

Phil

Google is your friend (and a great distraction when I'm supposed to be writing a proposal).

There is a watercraft safety bill working its way through the legislature in the State of Maine. Proponents summarize it as gradually requiring a once in a lifetime boater safety edu. course.

Full text can be found here : http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bill...ts/LD206701.asp

A quick scan didn't turn up anything kayakcentric.

Phil

There is a story in this months Sea Kayaker about a powerboat kayak collision. But it was at night, on a lake and the powerboat was going ~50mph by their own admission. Amazingly, no one was injured though the kayak was trashed. Not sure that a flag would have helped.

Thinking about it, if kayakers were made to have a flag 4' off the deck, what would that make us look more, or less, like a mooring buoy or lobster pot????

Phil

WFA-h20 was a great learning experience. I haven't done FA since boy scouts, so I was long overdue for a refresher and Todd and Ryan knew their stuff and were able to convey much of the "why we do this" in a reasonable and understandable manner.

I'm definitely looking to do some incident management work this summer, so Les, if you organize it, I'll come (scheduling dependent of course).

Phil

One feature to mention (though I dont have one of these yet, I've been window shopping) is that the Valley lists zips that provide access to the PFD. The others dont list access to the PFD. Since that's where us yakkers are / should be keeping the majority of our safety gear, this could be considered a strong selling point.

Phil

Hi Alan-

Generally called a "seal suit" or a "storm cag". Vendors/manufacturers I know of are kokatat (waterproof/breathable tropos), Expedition Essentials (windproof/water resistant parachute cloth) and Valley (treated cordua, I think). If you're near New England Small Craft, they had the Kokatat on the rack a few weekends ago.

Phil

Curious as to what happened to it that necessitates replacement.

Ed Lawson

Oxidation. To be fair to the un-named manufacturer, it got left in Osprey's van during NSPN/ACA l2 trip leader training and took a circuitous route back to me last summer. By that point I barely managed to rehab it, but the oxidation caught up over the winter.

Phil

Hi All,

I need to replace the carabiner(s) on my tow rig. Anybody have a good variant they want to recommend? Thanks.

Phil

Gene has the details right.

Kevlar is amazingly tough, but rather flexible. That's one reason it works in things like flak jackets. Carbon fiber is also extremely strong for its weight and rather stiff. So many current light weight lay-ups use carbon reinforced kevlar or carbon reinforced glass to get the best mix of strength to weight. The only downside if I remember my chemistry is that the epoxies used for carbon and kevlar are different, and more difficult to work with, than those used for fiberglass. So doing repairs at home is more challenging. I'm sure others can clarify that last point.

Phil

Stoves....i carry a small kelly kettle....

and i also carry a Neufeld MK1 Woodburning Stove......

a paddler/kayak builder out in vancouver area makes them....

they fold flat....stainless steel....like the KK burns any dry material....LOVE it....

tell him i sent ya...

r

Rob- not sure you got the URL right. No .html and spaces in the name?

Phil

Get in touch with eyeglasses guru Karen Gladstone--she will point in the right direction on the best selection or at least give you expert advise on the most appropriate glasses for your needs--Les

L-

Thanks. What's her Login name?

P

Hi All,

Yes, I am aware of straps that could/would/should keep normal glasses on my head. I do like the chums more than croakies for their adjustability, but have almost lost glasses using both (they were kept in place by the helmet). I'm more interested in some of the variants like Deb's recSpecs as they should provide better coverage, wind protection and might be more abuse tolerant than trad. glasses. Not sure if I will run them as bifocals both as a cost cutting measure and because my near vision is 20:15 (its the near-far transitions that are getting painful).

Phil

Hi All-

Well its time for me to get new sunglasses (prescription) for the first time in several years, so given that I'm on the water alot I thought I'd ask everyone what they like. I've been eyeing some of the newer variants that have integrated straps (like seaspecs )but haven't had any experience with them. Anybody know how well they work for day to day stuff?

Any and all advice appreciated.

Phil

I checked out the Nikon Trailblazer ATB 10x25 binocular today at REI. Not sure how they compare to the model you saw (interestingly enough I could find either the Prostaff or the Trailblazer listed on Nikon's website). Anyhow... I compared them to a Brunton model and REI's own model (both waterproof). The REIs were $40 and the Brunton... not sure what it was but you couldn't pay me to use them. TERRIBLE optics. They were extremely soft when focused and they were about 1.5 stops below the Nikon. The REI binocular was about a stop below the Nikon but the optics were much much better than the Brutons. A worthwhile consideration at only $40 bucks. The Nikons were the best performers though and that extra stop of light over the REI model could make the difference on a foggy day or at night.

Cheers, Joe

Joe-

I assume by "a stop" below, you mean ~2 fold difference in light intensity?

Phil

also, I just discovered "EarthNC". They sell digital charts for google earth, but also have a limited online KMZ layer for coastal navigation (registration required). So if you want to set your GPS to the red nun off of Little Calf Island in the outer boston harbor, its there. I've only just begun to play with it, so more later.

Phil

(ps. no affiliation with EarthNC)