jtmllr

I've had my eye on this area for a bit and am intending to go up. I can't find any restrictions about using the Main Lot at the south end of the beach (mouth of the river) for launching. Is it OK? My book for Maine paddles only mentions the spot up by the treatment plant. Seems the main lot is ideal as you can launch from 3 directions including the river, but must be a reason it isn't listed as a launch site. In summer a PITA but this time of year is is pretty dead, so off season no crowd issues.

I'm bringing two boats so having the car right by the surf spot for easy switchout would be ideal.

jtmllr at yahoo dot crappy product

Thanks Kevin B, I was getting worried I'd worn out my welcome before I got one.

Close! Not enough sleep and yerba mate.

If they haven't kicked me out yet you have nothing to worry about. I find the caffeine delivery of yerba mate minimizes spaz compared to coffee and tea myself.

I lived near Albany for about 8 years and am from the Lake George region with family and friends still there. Portsmouth NH now. I kayak LG several times a year when I head back for more than a few days, and even camp there. My father lives 5 minutes from Dunham's Bay so I can easily do the lake without needing to camp. LG is one of my favorite places. Big water feel as it is a very long lake, and you can get the wind kicking up chop. The high volume of powerboating also generates some fun waves, and the narrowness allows refracting so the terrain can be interesting. With all the mountains rimming it and the State owning much of the land and islands it has a feel you'd expect from coastal Maine but not likely find there. Some decent hills around Acadia but only relative to the rest of the coast. I think I put up a gallery on this board with pics if you want to see for yourself. My main issue is the limited number of places to put in. Mostly a problem when trying to find a place to launch for camping on "remote" island sites. Not an issue if you just want to jump on the lake for a day.

The Hudson near Corinth has a few sections of good paddling for touring boats. Good place to practice skills on calm water too. ADKs are considered to rival the Boundary Waters with the main issue being land owner access and people thinking owning the shore means they can block access up a river/stream altogether, but that's more canoe territory where that happens. Plenty of medium and large lakes in the dacks, and NY is great that they have many motorless lakes. Motorheads have the run of New England from what I've seen.

I have friends (married couple) with touring boats near Glens Falls but I won't volunteer them. I'd pass along your info if you want. I also know a woman there that loves canoeing and kayaking but doesn't have a touring boat.

I think sharing a canoe is great if not helpful, but I'd be apprehensive of tandem kayaks. Civility issues aside, singles will be much more fun and offer you the option to head out when you want and not have to convince someone else to go with you. Lots of people to boat with in that area but nobody has taken it upon themselves to organize a Meetup so I'm not sure how you can find them. ADK is probably your best bet for outdoorsy people as already mentioned. They publish guides for flatwater and whitewater so the organization is definitely involved with the sport. HQ at Lake George too.

My friend near Glens Falls used a local guy for rolling instruction, performed on the Hudson near Corinth but potentially anywhere, if you want me to get that contact info. He's not associated with a shop, just an instructor. I'm not sure if you can get instruction at Lake George Kayak in Bolton but they rent and sell so perhaps they do instruction as well. End of the year sale going on there for new and rental fleet. Mid Spring has a huge Paddlesports show at Old Forge, but first week in April you can go to UNH Durham here in NH for at least 10% off whatever Kittery Trading Post sells, and skip the sales tax to boot! NY is a bit rough with 7% base tax.

Message me if you want me to follow up on any of this for you.

Discriminating against products made there of course means I have a problem with something about it, but every conscious choice revolves around discrimination or no choice would be made. No explanation of why I don't want Chinese made goods leaves for speculation, and interpretation of my stated reasoning probably serves to raise specific questions where none had existed before. I've had a few different interpretations to the posting. Bigotry and one as simply "Buy American." Neither is true. Both are far too superficial to come from me.

To be clear, my issue is not with people making the products (in this case Chinese people.) They'll make something as well or better than anyone else, but it is the management that controls quality and policy so that's what I'm targeting. I do have political issues with the government, but I have plenty of issues with ours. The difference is a nationalized economy directly supports the government, especially when it isn't democratic. I have concern that by purchasing products made there I'm perpetuating the abuse of their environment, waste, their unconditional support of abusive regimes, blah blah. I don't need nor want people to care about this part but it is the part most easily misconstrued if I don't address it. I'd rather keep my postings to direct reasoning rather than underlying indirect intangibles but don't want to alienate anyone by remaining ambiguous.

Although it is starting to shift, my objective beef and main concern is companies tend to manufacture there because it is The Place to make inexpensive things, factoid. Inexpensive things often correlate to being cheaply made. This is where my issue comes from as I've been burned too many times with things I thought were made by good brands but ended up being junk in a short time. There are many other countries where things are inexpensively made, such as Bangledesh, but for the most part only apparel is made elsewhere and that isn't what I'm posting for. I'm having some trouble with seams coming apart on many of my clothing articles (I don't think they were made in Bangledesh) but I'm posting for a helmet not a shirt. The rest of the products are generally made in China so that's why I singled it out. In fact every helmet I saw in the stores was made there.

I wanted a helmet and couldn't get the information I needed from the company sites or online stores. Only a few brands are on the shelf around here and they didn't meet my origin criteria. I'm aware that the quality aspect to a plastic helmet is pretty minimal compared to that of a coffee maker or TV, but there is the possibility that a company striving to make a product as cheaply as possible would have a lesser design, and this thing is supposed to protect my head after all. WRSI was conceived for the explicit purpose of creating a helmet that would do the job and address design flaws in existing helmets that could render them ineffective under certain circumstances, mainly in the whitewater environment but maybe I'll do whitewater some day.

I have beefs with companies too so my issue isn't limited to China by any means. Since Verizon doesn't make helmets and Walmart probably doesn't carry them I didn't list them on my helmet blacklist. The other specifications of interest to me I was able to find on my own, leaving "not made in China" as the single loose end.

I didn't join NSPN to be a troll, so please either assume the best, find humor, disagree openly, or just write me off as an idiot but don't get offended. If you think something is potentially offensive let me know and I can rewrite. I don't think in terms of offense so I normally don't pick it up as a nuance in my writing. However I'm now recalling a potential slight towards Palm dry suit wearers as I stated I didn't understand the sizing dimension choices when shopping them online and being cheeky proposed the body type they were made for. Having since met several of you with them, I can see at least the top half of you is normal. We'll leave what's under the skirt a mystery. I may or may not buy a product made by you but rest assured it isn't because of your dimensions. I probably just don't like you because you have a different boat than me.

I didn't want to update and continue to incite since it wasn't my intention to generate a bow line conversation in the first place, but clearly it is an important topic. Conversation and debate are the greatest!

I believe the rear overhang concept is based on motion, and a similar effect as with a flag in the wind? I.e. if you are moving then it will plane with the direction of the car. I put my boat on the side, so ignoring the car component the effect of the airflow would be neutral as the boat on the car is positioned symetrically to the motion of the car. The chaos of the air movement due to weather at near ground level would be mostly limited to the horizontal plane in two dimensions, but can't be anticipated or compensated for because it isn't constant enough by definition. Plus, in my experience that wind effect of concern is transverse and the bowline has little effect on that other than if the rack fails to keep the boat tethered to the car. Anytime I've been worried it has been because of side wind, not drag or lift.

Bringing the car's aerodynamics into the equation, which of course varies on every car model, there is strong potential that the airflow over the hood and windshield could add lift under the boat due directly to pushing against it rather than airplane wing type lift. That's lift against a 60lb secured object, though. Ignoring sudden updrafts due to wind in general, it is also possible that the added airspeed under the boat as it has to travel faster over the contours of the top of the car would create a pressure deficit under the boat, and therefore generate a degree of downforce. If it does, I'm sure it has a minimal net effect but I'm just exposing additional principals to factor into the total equation. I'm also not sure how it would affect it. It should provide lift on the car, but I'm not sure what effect it has on something riding over the "wing". Working on the assumption the lift effect on the boat itself zeros out, would that low pressure on top of the car and under the boat pull it down or would that only affect the car? My car is reasonably aerodynamic and I don't have a wind deflector on my rack, so I would hope much of the volume goes under the rack rather than vector up against the boat. I would not base a decision on either of these things as the forces that I think matter are those experienced when driving behind a truck, going on a bridge over a valley with crosswinds, breaking and turning.

I also prefer my boat positioned so that the bulbous part is between the bars and straps, so that it can't easily slide forward or back. If I were to position it more aft, I would then be relying on the bow line to accept the load that the rear strap was no longer providing against slippage rather than just being a backup. My boat is plastic, so I'm also careful how I secure it because I don't want warping. Positioning the bulkheads nearer to the jbars takes advantage of the most rigid part of the boat, in that orientation. I also think if the stern were overhanging disproportionally that the gravitational effect and leverage would make the boat more likely to warp in hot weather.

Without testing these principles, which I'm not going to do with my boat or car, I won't impart any validity to what I'm saying. I'm just favoring my experience over adage.

I don't need it to be American - US made products don't have a particularly good reputation or history - I just try to avoid Chinese if there are alternatives. The lengthy search usually digs up some really great things I'd never have found if I just took what was on the shelf.

I don't need others to care about country of origin, I was just asking for leads since it matters to me. I do buy Chinese if the most appropriate product is made by a company I have good experiences with. Squeezebox, Macbook Pro, Mountain Hardwear gear, and probably a few other decent things in my place were made in China. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not obsessive about it. If I had to pay 200 dollars for a carbon helmet just to avoid Chinese, I probably wouldn't have done it. 90 bucks was bad enough.

I never got a response from WRSI but bought one of their helmets. No country of origin on the box or helmet, so I assume US or they would have to specify? I own it now so moot.

Nice feature is that it comes with 3 sets of pads you can interchange to fit your head size and shape, wherever it varies. 3 or 4 pieces makes up the lining, and each piece can be selected from the three thicknesses. Note there are two size ranges in helmets rather than a single one-size-fits-all.

You can also add ear protection if white water usage. Comes with a mesh sack for storage and transportation.

http://www.outdoorplay.com/store/Product.a...p;SKU=EHE_WICUR

To potentially close the loop I opened, I found some webbing loop straps that have a grommet you attach to the chassis just under the hood, so the loop peaks out and you have an attachment point for the strap hook. I haven't put them on yet, but might be my most elegant solution for my particular situation. Instead of visions of my bumper ripping off and going through the windshield or driving over the strap and ripping my boat and rack off, now I have visions of my hood popping up at 65 mph. I'm also wondering how effective bow straps are if the boat is longer than the car as the strap will angle forward, not back. My 16' boat hangs over, and I'm looking for an 18' which will be worse. I have a compact car. I guess the hope is to keep it tethered, rather than stable.

http://www.outdoorplay.com/store/Product.a...p;SKU=ARR_SSHOO

I think a subsidized cost, whether paddling or hiking, would be a great compromise. People should be able to take reasonable risks and get help if they need it. They should also pay some of the bill, be it a reasonable charge or a donation to the emergency services that took part in the rescue. Expecting someone to pay 25Gs is a bit unreasonable, especially if they intended to get themselves out.

I imagine the helo use is what costs the most, as there aren't many volunteers with choppers. Do you keep the helo in reserve to avoid unnecessary costs, or send it out right away to maximize the chance of a successful rescue? Unfortunately you can't ask the missing what rescue package they want. Sounds like a jury of peers as a billing panel would do nicely, as would a fee tube at the main trailheads where you can buy travel insurance on the spot.

The CG and military to a large degree use rescues as training so they aren't as concerned about recouping costs. On the water a self rescue is pretty minimal, too. People have crawled or hobbled their way out of the woods, spent a few nights, but the ocean is a different place and exposure is much more deadly. As stated in previous posts, these are two very different situations. It is much easier to be in control of the situation hiking than paddling. I do the vast majority of my hiking solo, including winter when I prefer to hike, but am far more conservative when paddling - the entire point of me joining NSPN!

I don't get out as often as I'd like to at night, but I have one of those suction cup LED mini towers I put on the back so I'm seen, and it doesn't affect my vision. I also have a Petzl MYO headlamp, because it is extremely bright (LED so it does well with batteries), has a well sealed battery compartment, a flip up/down lens for spot/flood, flash mode, and isn't made in China. I'm a fan of headlamps, especially when you need your hands for other things like paddling. For backup I have a Hydrostar Sub http://gizmodo.com/5099184/hydrostar-sub-f...ightning-review that is dynamo charged and submersible, so I'll always have a bright light no matter what. I keep it in my bag I take paddling so it is always there. Has laser pointers, which I assume is used for pointing out things to others in a group (?) and a flash mode as well. Very well built but made in China

Not much helps with your vision, i.e. headlights, as the light reflects off the water and you'd need something very bright to illuminate it for travel. The headlamp is great for landings though. I suppose the lasers would be good for detecting trees on shore out of the range of a headlamp, and feeling around.

Displacing responsibility doesn't seem civilized to me, quite the contrary. I would suggest that's the downfall of any society. Forcing others to compensate for the bad decisions of people isn't appropriate. And yes, parents should definitely be held accountable for their children beyond what is reasonable to expect the children to be accountable for themselves (a lot.) They insist on raising their kids they way they want to, so therefore they should accept accountability. There are certainly circumstances out of people's control, but the vast majority of life is causation, and usually because of choices and there are plenty of facts out there these days with which to formulate decisions. I consciously make some inappropriate decisions, but I proudly take full responsibility for them. Propping up irresponsibility is the main cause of its continuation. I reject any philosophies that impose accountability on anyone other than the self, outside of negligence of course, and any philosophies that force me to take part against my will. Should we have to lose hard earned money to taxation so that others don't have to pay their way? Should we have to pay excessive insurance bills so that others don't have to buy insurance at all? Society cannot replace reality, so it is best to have one that works with it. Freedom has its price, and that price should not be imposed on others.

If someone can afford a smoking habit they could instead afford health insurance. If they choose to not cover their necessary expenses in favor of funding vices, I say "screw them" unapologetically. When I got out of college I was paying student loans, health insurance, and full auto on $10/hr because it was the right thing to do. It didn't leave me with much money but that's life. So's working two jobs for awhile (each of which I HATED, one of which was in order to get health insurance), when extra money is desired. I didn't do all of that just to cover some lazy person. We aren't talking about things out of people's control here, like a refugee situation, natural disaster, or disease outbreak. Someone hikes alone and gets into trouble requiring rescue. They could easily have hooked up with a group with which to hike, assistance would have been largely at hand and quite possibly outside rescue avoided. There are many ways to go about doing things. That 260G/yr has to come from somewhere; the NH Forest Service isn't some rich uncle.

This worked out rather well. Ferry to Islesboro, park up the road on the side for free. Very short paddle to Warren, where we had a site with our own beach for launching and landing. Kept the boats by the water rather than having to pull them up to the site. Noseeums used the beach a lot too, though.

Loons, osprey, seals, ducks, geese, deer, etc. Not much boat traffic, which was unexpected. Some route1 noise on occasion though.

Lobster & ice cream stand at the ferry terminal. Small but well equipped (good food) grocery a bit up Islesboro, easily accessed since the cars are parked on the island. Dark Harbor boatyard, on 700 Acre Island, has ice, showers, and laundry and is a short paddle from Warren. Firewood on campsite for 2$ a day, all you want. Ranger station on Warren, and has a closet full of things to borrow like food left behind, games, and even crab traps. You can get mussels from the shore at low tide and cook on site.

Being far up the bay it was very sheltered water, even with wind coming across the wider sections south of Warren. In many ways it was a bit too easy but you take those trips when they happen. We could have done two weeks easily. Three thunderstorms rolled through on arrival day, with sun in between. A few storms throughout the week but that's why they make gore-tex for the entire body. Mosquitoes not as bad as I thought, but I also came with a friend that they prefer over others, so he took the hits rather than us.

As prophesized we went north to Belfast to Three Tides (Marshall Wharf) on the last day before heading home. 3 IPAs as well as a Barley Wine, left me with an APA to round out my sampler. Full hops ensemble! The measure of a brewery is how many hoppy things they produce. Three Tides opens at 4pm, FYI. We had to kill time but it was a great sunny day and Belfast has a nice downtown and waterfront park. We were going to hit GLB on the way through Portland but my fortitude was not matched and we just came back home. Portsmouth is next door so no shortage of places to hang out here, and spent the remainder of the weekend downtown and on Little Harbor. Blurred line between vacation and home, which is the way it should be. Clean gear, repack, and head off to the ADKs Weds for an undetermined amount of time with hiking, more paddling (Lake George? Sacandaga? Lake Placid?), and plenty of hoppy things to keep the line blurred through July at least. I don't know where I'm going, when I'll be back, don't want to and don't care, so no rescues please!

It sounds like he didn't have flotation (snow shoes, skis, etc) which is absolutely required for hiking up there when there is snow. In the spring you can get away without it if you stick to the trails.

Snowshoes/skis are not only for safety, but trail etiquette. I believe we should charge barebooters for post holing the trails, and 25G sounds good to me. People that have no regards for others probably aren't going to be prepared for themselves, either. There's a correlation between lack of etiquette and lack of understanding/common sense, as they are usually ignorance based.

If someone initiated the search, then I see no problem with charging. If he didn't initiate it, then charge the person that made the call, but he probably had some arrangement with friends/family about his plans, implicating him in the rescue if he didn't come back on time. NH doesn't have a lot of taxes, therefore not a lot of $ to make everyone safe and happy, or other forms of socialism. Free or Die, after all. NY and MA are right next door for people that want society to take care of them.

We make a choice when going into the woods or on the water, and we are therefore responsible for whatever happens. If people want backup they can go with a group. If people want a rescue they can have the appropriate means to signal for it. I never tell anyone enough that they would be inspired to call for my rescue, as I go outdoors for the freedom, challenge, etc. and don't want anyone looking for me. I would have to miss a few days of work before anyone would think something is wrong, and that's the way life should be. Otherwise there are malls and casinos and such.

Insurance would be a good idea, but people without health insurance get to scam the rest of us and get care anyway, so I see no reason the rescue uninsured wouldn't demand saving too. There shouldn't be any gov't rescues anyway. People should have to hire a firm rather than expect automatic saving. Privatization of search and rescue would give rural areas an economy boost. 260Gs could do a lot of conservation and enforcement. Trailhead parking. Launch sites. Or signage: NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY, NO SERVICES NEXT 100000 ACRES, etc. Not to mention that when you enter the wild you become part of nature, and we're hardly an endangered species. The herd is overrun with the less fit, we shouldn't be spending money to promote their longevity. We all die someday, some how. People seem to forget this.

The nice thing about the lasso or other cable locks is you can also lock it to other things, like a tree, post (one you can't lift the cable over), etc. If you are beached and want to leave your boat to wander around by foot and don't feel comfortable leaving the boat behind for long. Someone could easily pop it into a power boat, etc. Many places are crawling with people and nobody would likely notice someone walking off with a boat. Who knows if you'd ever do this but I like the option, given that it exists. Beats swimming home. Not unlikely to be paddling Maine and want to stop in a harbor and get something to eat, since you can. Or, if for some reason you have to land where you didn't initially intend to and leave your boat unattended for awhile to go get your car, you can lock it to something and it should still be there when you get back. I drop the cable in the hatch and I don't have to take unnecessary chances.

I know there is a rear place to hook but I think the front is more important. Although the A3/A4 shares the same chassis as the Golf/Jetta, mine is an earlier generation (00) so the style is different. The 04 might be the same gen but I suspect not since most manufacturer generations last 3-4 years. One of the ways they distinguish between makes using the same chassis is by different bumpers (you want your Audi to look different than a VW.) Probably similar body points though. I'll have to get down there and look again. Tough to see as it is low and all the guards. I can also search the net, lots of info there.

A flask of Oban, eh? Hey, can I come paddling with you?

You know where to find us, generally. It won't be a part of the paddling though! Evenings or rain-ins (I've got cards and a huge vestibule too.) I suppose it would be OK to keep in my PFD in case I get washed out to sea and I'm waiting for death or the Coast Guard. After all, you can't drink the salt water.

Florrie and Ed, there's your answer! C'mon along!

Rob

Oh geeze, the pressure... I swear I'll do my best not to hold up the group. (I did 19 miles last summer and was fine, this year so far 11 has been my longest trip) Jeff, why don't you stay in Maine Friday and join us? I'll need someone to talk to at the end of the pack. (and think of the beer)

- Florrie

We're heading up Monday, that's as far as we've planned. I compile info and options but don't usually do itineraries. I like to make it up as I go along, plus two other people to consider but they are easy going too - they'll just be glad to be here. We all have the summer off so anything goes Friday. Chances are we wouldn't be back down to Casco very early. We're likely to side trip to Marshall Wharf's brewpub http://www.3tides.com/ as we tried the Big Twitch IPA last time we were at GLB. I see they have an imperial IPA and a Scotch ale too. Speaking of Scotch, a flask of Oban 14 y/o needs to be on my packing list. Honor thy ancestors, yo ho ho, and all that.

Have fun.

I did MDI the first week of June (remember the good weather?) I stayed at Seawall campground since I don't like to spend money on a room I'm just going to sleep in, but Seawall doesn't have showers, something to consider if being there for a week. Easy access to the south, west, and Somes. Getting to the east is a drive since there aren't any bridges over Somes. Hardly anyone at the cg then, and free firewood so I was loving it. I second the comment about not worrying about being on the water since there are places to try all over the island.

I did Seal Cove up Bartlett. Tours do that so you will probably see other kayakers. Wind was fierce on the way back, coming up from the south with little to block it or the waves it generated. Not many places to get out of it either, but you can land on Bartlett. Pretty Marsh is an option too. I didn't circumnavigate due to the afternoon wind.

I also did Hadley Point in the narrows down to Bar Is and Sheep Porky. Porpoise surfacing near me, and TONS of jellyfish in parts of the narrows and Frenchman. Longer trip but generally protected although Frenchman is wide and could potentially get big wind and waves. The ovens are along the narrows so that's something to see along the way. Nobody was at MDI but some seniors so no real boat traffic at that time. Probably much different now.

I only did the two paddles since I was there to hike and bike too. I was alone so I didn't do the southern islands. It was a scouting trip so I was trying to sample it all. I put some of the pics up in galleries if you are interested. My avatar is Frenchman looking south at Sheep, I think. I have pics of the launches I can email you if I didn't put them in the gallery. Hadley is a beach while Seal Cove is a ramp but you can use the shore too. There's a place to launch just north of Bar Harbor but I didn't use it this time. Closer to the islands in the bay if you don't want the jaunt from the narrows.

I used Kayaking the Maine Coast and AMC's Discover Acadia National Park (kayak, bike, hike) to plan my trips. The AMC guide has a map - topo not chart - which is decent for near-MDI paddles. It has the launches on it and many of the islands.

It is VW specific, unfortunately. At least on the beetle, golf, and jetta (maybe the new Fox, but I'm not sure about the new generation cars - mine's a MKIV). Under the rubber strips covering the "gutters" they put what I can only describe as pins in the locations the rack is to attach. Small rod-tabs with a flat head. The rack has scissor hooks that tighten around the tabs to lock on. Some pressure on the feet on the roof of course, for load bearing. The doors are limo-style in that they wrap over the roof a little, which secures over the scissor mechanism. Therefore even if someone breaks the foot end covers to defeat the locks, they still have to open the car doors to release the rack. My main interest in the rack is that I can quickly remove it and put it on, whereas the standard Thules were best left on so that stupid screw wouldn't get cross-threaded. At least the older Thules I had prior to getting my VW. This VW style affects the door closing less, so less wind noise but still some.

My only beef is that due to the built-in design I can't move the rear bar back farther. I have a 4 door hatch vs. the 2, and I think they could have spaced the bars more on the longer chassis. That would be great for a kayak so it would be less possible for the boat to slide forward or back, being on it's side with the wide part between the bars, but the lasso takes care of that. Having it built-in avoids having to fine tune the spacing when putting the racks on. Put on, tighten, and you are done. You can do it fast enough not to get bitten by mosquitoes!

I use the Prijon Jbars which are very basic solid steel strips shaped to a J, covered in vinyl. Not much padding but most Jbars seem to have a firm base even if they use thick padding elsewhere. Durability decision? The bars bend so you can adjust the angle of your boat, plus there is a little give so when tightening the straps you get a bit of extra conforming due to the elasticity. The boat will wiggle a little, which is somewhat unnerving but absorbs stress. Probably no net advantage there but my suspension is firm and the roads to most great paddling spots are rough. All roads in Mass are horrible too Pretty inexpensive since they aren't high-tech. I do like how they have welded steel loops for the straps, so you don't have to do that weird wrap you do with some Thule/Yakima Jbars, and the strap doesn't slip down in the back - less hassle when putting your boat on as everything stays in proper place. Not lockable other than maybe Loctite, but if the boat is locked to the rack that's not an issue. They don't look fancy so probably nobody would want to steal the Jbars anyway. No particular recommendation for them, just one Jbar option among many. Always take a hard look at anything German, they know engineering and don't seem to prioritize marketing.

Long story when the bars won't work for your vehicle but maybe they will for other people. I don't know the load limit off the top of my head but probably less than 165. I can probably only fit 2 boats on anyway. There may be other cars that employ this option but I don't know. I'm a turbo diesel convert (insane mileage in any style driving, coupled with great low end torque to take hills fully loaded) so I don't look at many cars, being that the US market has so few diesels. Rumor of Honda thinking about it, and a diesel Element EX would be incredible! If only they had locking diffs for snowy trailheads.

Due to VW using guards and covers everywhere I couldn't find a secure place to attach a bow strap hook. Plastic covers aren't secure and they block access to possible chassis points. I'm sure I can figure something out if I really try, e.g. the tow eye. I want the yak on the passenger side so it doesn't block my view of traffic lights, and like my bike on the driver's side so I'm less apt to park it into tree branches (my bike costs twice what my yak did.) Odds are the eye doesn't go where I'd want it. I was very careful initially, and since I have done a lot of highway driving with front and cross winds and everything stays put. I can see a lot of the bow when driving so problems would be indicated visually. No guarantee something can't happen, but plenty of stress testing so far and I check for movement when stopping. I've never seen any. I will experiment more and let you know what I discover. I don't want to be cocky.

It would be very difficult for my rack to come off. It isn't a factory rack bolted to the roof, nor is it a typical Thule/Yakima that rests on feet and clamps to the door jam. There would have to be some serious impact to take the rack off because of the way the car is designed to take this specific rack, and the securing mechanism it uses. If it really bothers people I can look at it again, but if I'm not confident the line won't be a potential hazard I'm not going to use one. There wasn't a secure way to attach a line and I don't want to drive over it if it pops off. That would cause huge problems and the potential was very real. I can probably put the tow eye on and see how that works. I'm not being lazy; I don't want to lose my boat any more than someone wants to get nailed by it. I know how my rack works and that's why I bought it. I'm extremely particular in the choices I make. Sometimes the most sensible thing isn't the conventional but speaking up about the known accidents is good. The more information and debate the better.

I don't have any good place on my kayak to attach a cable, so I really have to use a Lasso. Whatever I did to try to create an attachment point would probably be the easiest way for them to defeat the cable. For my particular variables it is the best if not only option I have for security. Very quick and simple, but as noted above you need to make sure you don't leave slack that would allow someone to delasso one end. Regardless of what you use you should look for a way someone can defeat it, including taking the whole rack off. In my case that means breaking a window and opening all the doors. Hopefully someone would notice that going on...

I use The Lasso. It is thick cable, and uses loops on the ends to secure around the bow and stern vs. needing an attachment point to the boat directly. I also use it to secure my boat to the supports under my house, so it pulls double duty. Triple if you use bow and stern tie downs when transporting, since you can forgo them when your boat is locked to the rack itself with little wiggle room to come off. I've never had my boat slip in my Jbars but on long trips, especially super highway sections, the added peace of mind knowing the whole rack would have to rip off before the boat can fly away is nice.

More expensive than it needs to be, like everything else, but I like it a lot and trust it as a deterrent.

Just so I don't have to read all the specs, can any take a filter, say for polarizing?

You are looking at that balance between stretching your skills and holding up a group. We have all been in that position, and most of us still wrestle with it from time to time.

Haha, if I were the paranoid type my ears would be ringing...

I can paddle forever through most anything but my pace is slower than many people with longer boats, so my personal aversion to this trip (if I could have gone) would be holding people up over that many miles. My boat itself will naturally take about anything without much effort from me to keep it upright, but but it is only 16ft and I know from Saturday that I can fall to the end of the pack and that's not where I like to be. They didn't seem to mind, but it wasn't a trip based on hard goals. We were just out to have fun and scoot around.

To present my perspective, I'd confidently take this trip on my own but would worry about slowing a group down. Taking a few group trips at a level 2 would allow you to figure out where you stand amongst the others, and with which people your abilities currently match up. There are a lot of people to paddle with and endless places to go to stretch your skills and build confidence. The harbors are great for giving you a taste of all kinds of conditions without being too far away - you can call it quits whenever you are ready and don't have to suffer bad conditions for too long. If you are feeling it, you can poke out of the harbor into the open and duck back in when you think you should.

Maybe you can see if a Group B can be put together with people otherwise reluctant to go, but would really like to? Group B can do something less ambitious then enjoy the brew pub with the entire group at the end of the day. Everyone has a good time, which is the point! Throw it out there and see who bites.

Thanks for letting me tag along, I had a good time and chasing your longer boats all day gave me a good workout. I'm not sore but have that good tight feeling you get from more exercise than usual. Broadside winds all day and a major squall will do that. A bit of a rash from the neo but nice not to need a dry suit for once. The rain did a great job of washing the salt out of me, although I swear for the first few minutes the rain was actually salty too. That's a storm! Hard to tell which way is up when all directions are just as wet, salty, and murky, and paddle resistance is the same in the air as under water. It probably would have been easier paddling upside-down for that 10 minutes.

Accidental swim onto Wallis but that's what beaches are for. Everything got to dry out today for the first time in I don't know how long.

The Great Lost Bear in Portland (not downtown but not far from 295) is the best beer pub I've been to, although I admit I still have many more to get to. http://www.greatlostbear.com/ 60+ taps of mostly regional craft brews and you can experience the rotating selection with samplers so you get to try many, which is the entire point. Great food too. Has a patio...

This is the kind of place you can easily spend several hours in, but if Portland is too far from home for a trip itself, you may want to swing by to scout it and have a taste. You may end up planning kayak trips near Portland just so you have a reason to go to the GLB. Menu and fairly complete/updated tap list on their site.

I won't be able to attend as I'll be coming back from Maine that Friday but wanted to pass along the apres paddle spot in case anyone really loves great beer and hadn't heard of the Bear. Relatively small lot but there is street parking. Not on the waterfront so I don't know if people would feel comfortable with boats on their cars on the street (Lasso lock cable makes it all possible.) Being a Saturday after we get back from a week camping on Warren I wouldn't be surprised if my friends and I end up at the Bear that night. Recivilize the right way!

Enjoy.