tyson

- Attend the various kayaking/rough water symposiums. - Play in the soup zone - Play in surf - Play on the sandbars in Ipswich Bay - Play in The Narrows at Narragansett - Play in the zipper at Popham It will loosen up your hips and help you relax in those conditions. Two years ago, I would have been white knuckled in conditions that I now put my paddle down and take pictures. ...and occasionally, one I don't see coming will flip me over at which point I drop the camera, grab the paddle, roll up and look for the next picture to take. And never forget that no matter how pleasant and easy a trip to the Shoals can be (our trip this July), it can also change to be a hard core L4 trip while you're out there(out trip last year). This trip is reported to have had 15kt winds. When Emilie and I did this trip last year we had confirmed and sustained 25-27kt winds (reported and recorded) and the tall, steep chop that goes with those winds.

I found glassy water 5 miles out to sea a bit disturbing. I also found our failed "pool roll" in such flat conditions disturbing. Other than that, it was a disturbingly nice trip!

I'd love the chance to try a short boat. I've done a touch of white water in a play boat, but have never surfed one.

Emilie and I are planning to arrive at Jenness around 9:30. We'll need to pull out of the water around 2:30 for an afternoon/evening engagement. We may put in at Rye Harbor and paddle over to the beach.

Level 3 or Level 4?

Wonderful! Amazing! ...and inspiring! I think I need to go camping again.

...and that is the most important criteria!

Looks like a great event!

I'm sure you were suffering terribly. Though the surf wasn't big, the waves were reasonably well formed and Popham has some great contours to for making the best of them. So, yeah... it was definitely fun! That was only my 2nd time at Popham and first with an appropriate boat. The zipper makes for some fun bounce. We ended up parking at the beach/park on the SW corner. It was a VERY short carry from there to the low-mid tide stream and a short, shallow paddle out from there. If I got any good pictures, I'll try to get them posted tonight. Cheers! Ty

Great! Thanks!

Looks like my "Back" button/history had the whole thing. lets try this again: ------------------------ You can do a wide variety of things close to shore. While, I suspect that Leon's perspective is a bit more speed biased than most, if you want to be able to cover distance, that kayak will may prove to be on the short and wide side of things. That said, I paddled a 14ft x 24in kayak for 3-4 years and covered a good bit of open ocean with it. I now paddle a 17ft x 20in kayak. Do you want to do relaxing tours in sheltered water? Do you want to do reasonable distance tours, possibly in unprotected waters? Do yo want to surf? Do you want to play in rocks? You mentioned rolling. Don't sell yourself short if you present confidence and skill level make any of the above intimidating. There are plenty of ways to build the needed skills. ...and this board is a great place to find those ways. The kayak you are looking at might be a good fit for you. ...or it might not, as I suspect it won't be much faster than the one you had. Length is not all about carrying capacity. That 15 footer you are looking at has all the capacity and displacement of a well designed/balanced 17-18 footer. It achieves its capacity with a wide beam and probably a high deck. You mentioned rolling. I doubt there is a kayak out there (that you can stay in when upside down) that can't be rolled. However, if you want to make rolling easier, find a kayak with a lower deck, esp. the rear deck. Given the carrying capacity of that kayak, I suspect that the deck is higher than ideal for rolling. Ideally, when sitting in the seat, you can lie back onto the rear deck without lifting your butt (much) out of the seat. Two of the reasons I upgraded my 14 ft kayak were its wide beam and high deck. A "high volume" kayak gets blown more in wind and is harder to roll (relative! Yes, I learned a very reliable roll in it! ...but it was still harder to roll than most kayaks). Don't buy the kayak you need now. Buy a kayak with some room to grow in with respect to skills and activities. First decide what sort of paddling activities you see yourself doing in the future. Then ask about which boats are suitable. My poorly informed guess is that the Merlin won't be as fast as you hope and picture of the Merlin and its load capacity suggest to me that it won't be the easiest boat to learn to roll in. However, if you paddle it and are happy with its speed and other factors, any boat can be rolled and it should be easier than the one I eventually learned in. It is worth noting that the Merlin looks a lot like the Eddyline kayak that I happened to be paddling next to a few weeks ago. The guy was looking to upgrade because he felt it was slow. I was able to easily out-pace him with my Valley Anas Acuta which is not known for being fast. Cheers! Ty

Uhhh... I had typed a LOT more than that. Where's the rest of my post?!

Emilie and I are headed up to the Popham area tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to arrive there between 9:00 and 10:00. I'm not expected a lot for conditions, but we will be seeking what ever fun we can find. If interested, drop a message and leave a contact. We will have phone/web/email until we bag the phones to get on the water. Question: Can we park and launch at the fort that is up the street from the beach? Ty

You can do a wide variety of things close to shore. While, I suspect that Leon's perspective is a bit more speed biased than most, if you want to be able to cover distance, that kayak will may prove to be on the short and wide side of things. That said, I paddled a 14ft x 24in kayak for 3-4 years and covered a good bit of open ocean with it. I now paddle a 17ft x 20in kayak. Do you want to do relaxing tours in sheltered water?

Jellyfish have been found in Walden pond. The other interesting item is that in the video clip, none of the folks in the canoes are wearing PFDs. That includes the guy in a DCR uniform.

Winter?! ...that's when I'm busy skiing!

I find four differences between sea kayak camping and backpacking: - I have to bring about a gallon of water per day (never sure I will find fresh water) - I bring more clothing because I like dry, salt free clothing at camp. - Everything in dry bags takes up more space than stuffing straight into a back pack - The opening of my backpack is bigger than some of the the hatches on my kayak Does an Anas Acuta qualify as a "typical sea kayak" in your mind? Or are you thinking of something higher volume? On our recent Casco overnight, we took our tandem because we couldn't fit some of the items through the front hatches and the rears weren't large enough to hold everything. We fit everything into the tandem, but its a bit low in volume also and so it was tight. I'm always left feeling that I must be doing something wrong when things barely fit, but have not figured out what it is. I suspect packaging and organizing is a large part of it as I don't think I take all _that_ much crap with me. I would love if NSPN had a "packing you kayak for camping" clinic where I could bring all my crap and someone could show me how they do it and how I should change my ways. Cheers! Ty

As the others said, just slower. In fact, because the boat sits lower in the water, it can be somewhat easier if your form is good. Emilie and I just did an overnight in Casco with our tandem. We launched from Portland. On our way by Fort George, we paddled near its shore and practiced a few tandem immersed side sculls and rolls.

There is no doubt that many paddlers like the hydration backpack solution. However, I often wonder if there is any correlation between those that use the hydration backpack and those that lack confidence in their roll. I am certain that there are those that use the backpack and are confident in their roll, but are they anywhere near the center of the curve? Sadly, I never think of it in a context where I might collect some data. It is my decision that I will not wear a hydration backpack because I my roll to work when I need it and the pack has to hurt those chances. My rather unusual solution is to install a hydration tube that goes through the deck and has a quick disconnect. This permits me to secure my hydration bladder inside the boat on the floor where its weight is down low. The installed hydration hose comes through the deck near a front "corner"of the coaming. This solution is also not perfect, but it is the one I prefer. Cheers! Ty

The PFD's that most of us wear will not achieve item (2). They are not designed to keep you face up. In any context that you would freely and safely swim, I see no reason that a PFD is needed for kayaking.

John Carmody carries the minimum of current Orions (cheap, but not trusted) and some number of a brand he trusts even when expired. Now I need to ask him again what the brand was that he trusted.

That sounds like a likely source of Pintail's problem. IMHO, that is a major PITA. Because I hop between an Android phone and a couple computers, plus on and off of VPN's, my apparent IP address hops around. Getting bounced and having to log back in is rather annoying. Other sites don't feel the need to do that. The rather strict "flood control" that triggers at just the 2nd message is rather a bummer also. It would seem that something that permitted responding to more than 1 message, but locked out longer if it really triggered, would be more effective and less obstructive. My comments are meant as constructive feedback. It is a well run board and I thank those that administer it. Cheers! Ty

OS? Browser? Cookie settings? Have you tried a different browser? I don't know the answer, but these details may be relevant.

Is this new case available or visible on the 'net yet?

I think you'd be fine with any size. With some care, large one can be used in a small compartment. However, you don't have to completely fill a compartment. I would have considered a smallish one for convenience, and if it ends up in a compartment that is larger, so be it. Ty