lhunt

Oh, I get it. Looks like gmap-pedometer can output a .gpx file, so you probably can still use it with Google Earth/Maps if you want to.

Hi, Gary, Did you want to share them with others, or just have them for yourself? What device are you collecting the tracks with? I use a Garmin GPS, and upload the tracks to Google Earth on my own computer ("file->open...", choose the "gpx" option. It will take .gdb or .gpx. From there you can save as a .kml file, and get them onto Google Maps ("My Maps") for sharing, but there are limits to how much you can get up there. For example, I just tried it with whatever I happened to have in Google Earth right now, getting this. I got an error that "only 5 layers and 500 features" were loaded. I can see that it didn't load any track that was actually a folder with multiple tracks (like when I made a folder for one day consisting of tracks before and after lunch). Also it just dropped some regular tracks, I guess because there were too many. I have about 64 tracks on Google Earth and it looks like I got about 53 on Google Maps. To get more data onto one map they want me to upgrade to Google Maps "Pro", apparently. Some time ago they upgraded "My Maps" on Google Maps. The new "My Maps" had no GPS support so I was still using the classic one. They apparently just recently added the GPS features back in to the new My Maps, but I didn't know until just now when I tried it. I haven't learned to use it yet. I have to admit it looks pretty neat as it is - I like how when you hover over the name of the track the track itself lights up on the map and vice-versa. Looks like they have also removed the classic "My Maps", at least I couldn't figure out how to invoke it just now. To export multiple tracks from Google Earth as a kml file, you need to collect them into one folder, and export ("save as...") the whole folder. You need to choose .kml (the non-compressed version) from the pulldown. Then get into Google Maps and use the import feature to load the .kml file. Hope that helps, Lisa

I think this is pretty much what we discussed as being the "cowgirl" or "taco" reentry in a previous thread, starting here. Video is the top guy here.

Moving soon, apparently! http://www.paddleboston.com/paddle_shop/moving.php

Yes, I've seen that one before. There are two counter arguments. One is that a good quality rudder or skeg gives you good tracking with much less drag than extra weight gives you. The other is that the longer glide from extra weight is only one side of a 2-edged sword - more than offset by the harder acceleration at each stroke.

Looks like he's got little outriggers.

Hi, Barry, excellent! May your skirt never leak :-) Lisa

You might want to try the Seal Cement mentioned above, especially for a seam. It's really remarkable - you just paint it onto the edge of the neoprene (no overlap). 2 coats, wait 10-15 min. between, then stick the two together and get an instant bond that is very strong. Can then sew half-way through the layers on the outside if you want to reinforce it, can tape over on the inside, too, if it's messy. I have the one with the brush and it worked great. Probably a small disposable brush would be a good idea if you get the tube. If you tape the seam together on the inside with masking tape or duct tape before using the glue, it's easier to line up the edges. You just fold back, using the tape like a hinge, paint the neoprene edges, then fold it back to stick them together. Because you don't get a second chance once it sticks.

Yes, I've done the freezer thing. Not sure of the lasting power based on pure time. I've kept one for, dunno, more than a year I think. It seems mostly a function of whether I manage to keep the tube threads clean (so the top goes on properly). The best way to do this is to squeeze the stuff out onto a paper plate and use it from there with a popsicle stick or something, rather than trying to use it from the tube. Also the gloves already mentioned - change out gluey gloves immediately so you don't transfer glue to the tube. Once you get glue onto something there is no getting it off (until it dries, when you can rub it off, but that's unhelpful if it's the threads that got fouled). If it does happen, wipe the threads as clean as you can with a cloth. If the cap threads get fouled wipe them, too. Be patient about it - the glue doesn't dry that fast so you don't have to be in a panic to get the cap back on. When you're done with the glue, advance it into the neck of the tube and put the cover on then put in freezer. Before using from freezer (or even if not), warm the glue in a cup of hot tap water 10-15 min. Makes it less viscous. If the glue does set in the neck of the tube, sometimes you can salvage it with a deck screw - screw it into the plug and pull it out with a pair of pliers. You will probably need to really warm the glue well to use it after that, so it comes through the small hole you made in the plug. Lisa

I would think a DWR would be a better thing if you wanted to do that. Site here says:

Yes, I'm an Aquaseal fan, too. For neoprene though I like McNett Seal Cement. It's thinner for spreading under the tape. Follow the directions (2 coats, it works like contact cement). I did a wetsuit alteration with it, and it holds like the dickens. -Lisa

Go get 'em!

Way to go, Warren!

Conscience forces me to 'fess up: Conditions were really very fast this year. The tide was going our way for most of the first half of the race and there was no wind to speak of :-) Last year, not so much. Tide was going the other way, there was a steady medium-force headwind on the long back leg, and it was very, very hot. You can see the difference in the race results.

Hi, Sir Christopher... Yes, HPK is High Performance Kayak. FSK is Fast Sea Kayak (4" waterline length to width ratio > 9.25:1 and < 11.5:1, and SK you know :-) SS20+ is a new class just for surf skis with an overall width of 20" or more, for example the Epic V8. Basically equivalent to FSK usually, this has been steadily diminishing the FSK class as people switch over to the dark side :-) When I evaluate my own results I usually combine FSK and SS20+ classes. There are so few women in these races that I am almost always alone in my class, and it's depressing to compare myself to the men. Achilles International has their own class - they have an excellent program for athletes with disabilities paired up with volunteers in a tandem sea kayak. And "OC" stands for Outrigger Canoe, "OC6", for example, is a 6-person OC. (I think Oscar and Joe Glickman were 2:30 ahead of the next tandem) Hope to see you soon out there! Lisa

Thanks, guys. It was fun!

Seems like you should be set up with whatever the Coast Guard would expect. These guys seem to agree on "Degrees, Minutes, Decimal Minutes, as in DD MM.mm". I didn't find an official site, but I didn't look all that hard :-) Then if you have to make that call we never want to have to make, at least you have the correct format for the data. Lisa

Paddling near the breakwater might not work that well - some racers swing in very close as they make the turn. You could sit in open water on the West side of the harbor, past the end of the breakwater, that might be OK. If you wanted to put some mileage on you could launch from Lane's Cove and paddle the rest of the route at your own pace, keeping well into the coves and passing the points briskly. That would be about 15 miles, I think. The racers would go by you. Might be confusing for the timers at Straitsmouth and the breakwater, though. You could avoid that by paddling outside of Straitsmouth and way to the left of the breakwater, but that would add to the distance. Or you could go early and watch the start, then paddle around the Annisquam and environs for an hour or so, then go back to the harbor to catch the finish. Just stay well to the west side of the harbor, away from the Greasy Pole and the timing boat. -Lisa

Barry, Just a clarification - my bars are also 50" long. Before I gave the measurements of what is between the towers, since that's the only usable space to mount J-bars on. What really counts is the width of your roof. My rear towers go onto the factory rack, which is what makes it so narrow. You will notice that my red boat ("Mustang Sally") is pretty squished in there, and that boat has a 20" beam. However, I have put wider boats (22.5") in there by positioning them so that they take advantage of the shape of the available shape (deck down for example, since the J-bars slant in, or up on the side). It takes a little experimentation. It would be hard to put a 24" boat in there, I think. Maybe a plastic one where one isn't worried about scratching, dunno. I would think that if a stacker works for you that would be more flexible in boat sizes, and make it easier to load. I already have the J-bars, and don't put 3 on very often, so this works well enough for me. Also maybe your truck is wider than my little Vibe. Lisa

Hi, Suz, are you getting Hull-a-port mixed up with Hullavator? My J-bars are Hull-a-port... -Lisa

I do three sometimes on my Toyota-Matrix-like Pontiac Vibe. I use two regular J racks (one on each side), and put the 3rd kayak between them. Orientation of the 3rd is upside up, upside down, or on its side, have done all three. Picture here. The pink thing over the bars is a pool noodle, slit down one side and squeezed onto the crossbar. If I'm worried about one of the kayaks rubbing on the metal part of the J-bars, I slip a piece of pipe insulation over the offending bar. If the kayak is on its deck or its hull, I tie a rope or webbing under the crossbar, then over the center kayak, then under the other side of the crossbar, then back over the same kayak. Like that on both crossbars. If the center kayak is on its side, I tie it to the back of one of the J-bars. Since one of my J-bars folds down, two people can put the center kayak up from that side pretty easily if the side kayak has not been loaded yet - in fact I've done it by myself easily enough. Alternatively, I sometimes put a blanket up on the windshield and slide the boat up from the front. Can't do it from the back because my car is much narrower in back than in front. It's a tight squeeze and a bit of a production but it's not that bad once you get the hang of it. Recently I swapped out the pool noodle for one of these things, (I didn't pay anywhere near that for them though) forcing the oval channel over my square crossbars, but it's not really any better than the pool noodle, and the foam tends to rotate and fall off when sliding the boat onto it. The usable part of my crossbars (the part between the towers) is 40" in the front and 34.5" in the back. Hope that helps, Lisa

As of yesterday, I am entered (Wahoo!) Almost didn't because of back problems (which also messed up training), so this time my big goal is to finish the race. But I'm looking forward to it anyway :-)

I've used self-stick velcro for things like that and it seems to work OK. You could always try it and then glue it back on if it fails. In a case where the velcro adhesive isn't strong enough (as happened to me when I used it to hold in my seat), adding more adhesive doesn't work as well as you might think, because you still have the old adhesive on the velcro side. For that I had to buy velcro with no adhesive. Then I used Aquaseal. I like Aquaseal because it's removable. Yes, I know it's hard to work with, but that can be overcome (store in freezer, warm tube in hot water before use, outline area with masking tape, never use straight from the tube so the cap threads don't get gluey, always coat both sides, then wait, then glue, like it says in the directions, use popsicle sticks to spread, use cheap disposable gloves and change glove if you get glue on your fingers, have paper plate and trash nearby to put gluey stuff on/in). I mean, it's not like epoxy is all that easy to work with, we're just more used to it. I don't like the idea that my kayak is filling up with bits and bobs left over from "bright" outfitting ideas that didn't work out, and Aquaseal comes off reasonably well with some patience, a hair dryer, a utility knife, and something to rub with. Lisa

Thanks, Katherine -- You're an inspiration! -Lisa

Awesome, thanks, Katherine!