tyson

I came across a couple of clips demonstrating they are useful in conditions.

IMHO, those videos depict rather mild "conditions".

...certainly a context where one could get caught off guard in some manner and end up out of their boat. That _can_ happen anywhere. So the demos are still useful, but I wouldn't really call that "conditions".

Cheers!

Ty

The phone version already exists and works great with the touch screen.

My bad. I missed that there was two sizes when I looked at the web site.

Thanks!

Ty

http://www.drycase.com/ The bag will keep my kindle safe and because of the vacuum technology, I will know when the bag isn't sealed.

Does capacitive (multi-touch) touch screen work through that case? ...is there any chance they will make a smaller, phone size version?

Thanks!

Ty

Tyson, you know the fumes from burning carbon fiber aren't good for you, right?

Phil

The more expensive paddles are lightweight and will tire the paddler less. A good paddle is also balanced and is therefore a pleasure to use.

A really good paddle can be used to keep you warm and cook a fish when things get really bad.

I have paddled many miles in a 14' kayak, both light and heavily loaded. As others have said, the Tsunami has the needed bulkheads and can do it. However, there is a reason that I no longer paddle that boat. A wide beam may feel comforting at first, it results in the kayak being pitched more by rough seas. It is also harder to learn to roll. ...and finally, it is slower.

You asked for opinions and there are many to be had here. Mine is that I'd first suggest a used kayak. For anyone who is going to do a lot of kayaking, the first one they buy is certain to not be what they ultimately want. For anyone who isn't going to use the kayak a lot, there is no reason for a new one. Keep the initial cash out-lay down until your friend has more experience and can make a better informed choice.

Second, I'd suggest making certain that it is an appropriate size for the paddler. A boat that is too large will catch a lot of wind and can make life miserable, esp. for an inexperienced paddler.

Third, I'd suggest test paddling a wide range of kayaks before choosing one. This includes kayaks you think you might not like for one reason for an other. They may not be what you think. You should paddle significant distance and time in each. Though it is a lot of work for someone to bring an extra kayak to a paddle to let someone else try it, there are folks in this group who will do so from time to time. I came most grateful to those who have done so for me. For my 2nd boat, I wanted something fast (my 1st 14 footer was slow). After trying several kayaks generously offered, I ended up buying a pre-loved Anas Acuta which is known for being slow. ...yet it was still much faster than my 14 footer and had a feel and fun factor that I just couldn't live without.

Cheers!

Ty

I think it would be great to have an electric pump in addition to your hand pump. In this case you would:

[...]

4. Paddle and watch the pump take care of the water. If the pump fails then:

5. open up a piece of the sprayskirt, insert hand pump and pump out.

I'd _MUCH_ rather have a nice foot pump than depend on electric gear that has been submerged in salt water and depends on maintaining a battery. ...a battery that can run dead on a long trip. Sadly, I've yet to find a foot pump setup that seems practical and available.

Ty

Been there, done that, posted the video. ...in 4+(?)ft breaking waves.

What you outlined is pretty much what we did, except that we paddled the rest of the way out past the breakers before doing any pumping as that seemed closer than shore. In our case the the kayak had only a single bulkhead behind the rear paddler and some air bags in the bow. We still ended up with the bow under water, the front coaming at the water line and the rear coaming barely above. Spray skirts were attached except for opening one side on the rear to get the pump in and edged away from the opening.

I have become a BIG fan of a sculling brace for stabilizing while getting a 2nd paddler in or out of a tandem. It is very powerful and provides you with a useful paddle and no awkward time getting the float on or off where you have neither a float, nor a paddle. With a sculling brace and our "racing tandem", we can get Emilie in and back out of the water when "needed" because there is no land with-in a mile or more.

I have a video clip of us nearly going over while playing in a minor spill-over from some tidal currents. Emilie was so certain that we were going over that she setup her paddle for a roll and leaned right over the edge of the kayak. Even with all that going against me, I was still able to prevent capsize with a strong sculling brace.

...when the boat didn't go over, Emilie looked back to see why and then sat up again and returned to paddling. ;-)

In the case of our "un-assisted" reentry, I did use the float to stabilize the slight edging as the boat was quite unstable and I needed to hold the edge very accurately. I was able to steady the edging by leaning on a paddle+float while pumping.

Cheers!

Ty

Register a car up here and you will see what I mean.

Yup! ...every year.

I don't carry milfoil. I don't need ramps. I don't need to be rescued if I capsize.

...does he REALLY need a rescue if he capsizes?!

What was the source of this article?

In the DVD "Sea Kayak Safety" produced by two L5 BCU Coaches in the UK, they noted that in doing the filming of various rescues for the DVD they came to appreciate the value of tethering paddles to the boat. It seemed it was something of a revelation for them after many years of doing it another way.

I suspect most would agree losing contact with a paddle or boat in wind, wave and current is not a good thing and something to assiduously avoid by developing some technique or skill or kit to reduce the risk.

Ed Lawson

Who likes to keep it simple

Did they carry spare paddles that were easily accessible? It seems that even with a leash, you are still going to loose your paddle and thus should be ready to easily deal with a lost paddle.

It might be worth noting that GP's are particularly good at securely stowing on and deploying from the front deck. ...perhaps to recover the paddle you just dropped.

Cheers!

Ty

\\snopes.com, which flushes out fake photos etc, gives "true" status to this photo - which comes pretty close to certifying that it is, indeed, real -

pru

Thanks for the check! I often check Snopes for stuff that shows up via email. Somehow I didn't think of it for this one.

Cheers!

Ty

Check out this picture!

My first reaction is that its fake. ...many others have the same response, but this one might be real?

The distance looks simillar to Isle Of Shoals and many go there every year. I am unsure if I am interested but I just find it interesting that these two are so close to each other yet no one seems to go there.

If weather and schedules worked, I'd be up for that. ...think of it as a warm-up for Mount Desert Rock.

It didn't work out too well for him, but I wonder if he would be willing to live a different, "safer" life if he knew his was going to be short:

Often there is no clear right or wrong option, only the safest one. And if safe was all I wanted, I would have stayed home in Jinja.

Field testing next. Lets go paddle!

A different data point/experience:

Emilie's Tahe Greenland has the "hard", round Kajaksport hatches. They have been both easy to operate and absolutely water tight.

...they have been rolled, submerged, dumped on and otherwise "tested". ;-)

Cheers!

Ty

Great article. ...one that should be shown to any paddler who doesn't yet know.

They also can be fitted with a tunnel that your pump could fit through to pump out with spray deck in place; closes with a dry-bag-like roll up. (its like having a big "innie" in your spray deck)

Why isn't this a common feature? If done well, it could make pumping out a boat in rough water a whole lot more productive.

...does anyone have a web site for Reed? ...or a vendor who's web site lists all their skirts and options? My (short) attempt at google'ing turned up a number of places that only carry a couple of items and few options.

Thanks!

Ty

Emilie special ordered a Snap Dragon for her Tahe through CRCK. We also ordered a "stock" on through CRCK for the Avocet RM. Both are great.

We've had Seals for the Tandem and for my old plastic rec boat. They've worked great on the Tandem and worked quite well on my rec boat, but after 3 years, it was wearing holes around the coming. I think that is more a vote for reinforced edges than a complaint against Seals.

Cheers!

Ty

2007 Peter Brady: (caved-in hull on rocks flowed by barnacle abrasions on hands).

...is that the cause of the patch in the bottom of my Anas Acuta?

Phil, I just noticed that since the web site update, your "Don't I wish I was" comment doesn't work as well anymore. It was quite clever! ;-)

Jason can answer more definitively, I'm sure, but I think new content means new to whoever is clicking on the link....once you've viewed it, it's no longer new (to you).

...that is why I prefer the "past 24hrs" and "past week" options over "new content".

Cheers!

Ty

Someone tell me how to sign out! Any "sign out" that was there on my page is no longer. This cannot be right? If you write and tell me to look in the top right-hand corner and click on where it says so -- that is impossible for me. There is my little Pintail profile box -- could the sign out be below <that>?

I don't understand what "impossible" means in this case. In the upper right I have this which includes a sign out link:

(click the image to get the full size view)

Does yours look differently?

Cheers!

Ty

btw, I don't understand why we make distinctions between using a stick or a Euro here. A stick is not a handicap. Obviously.

Emilie and I get a lot of comments about taking sticks out in surf or rocks, doing the Blackburn with sticks, or paddling a (almost) racing tandem with sticks. ...or taking a racing tandem into surf and rocks with sticks. There are a lot of people who are surprised that these combinations work well and tend to think that sticks and qajaqs are only for rolling.

...I still need a qajaq.

Cheers!

Ty