NateHanson

Thanks Ed. Seeing my post above, I'm struck by how long it got! I'm glad you think there might be something worth saying in there somewhere. Maybe I'll employ an editor the next time I'm tempted to post while eating my lunch.

I like basking in my one-ness with Mother Ocean as much as the next guy, and I'd suggest it to anyone, but I'd agree with Rick that there are certainly times when it's better to get back upright sooner rather than later. And there are places where laying back, shoulders to the sky, paddle extended 6-feet to one side of the boat, isn't a realistic position to be in. My opinion is that I'd rather have my first roll technique be the one that works in tight spaces as well as wide-open spaces, rather than deciding which one to use based on the last thing I saw before going over. So for me, I've found that non-extended rolls work better. There is also a certain fluidity and conservation of movement that comes with executing a roll just as one would any other stroke - without special set-up, hesitation, or adjustment. I find that attractive. You're absolutely right that "slow it down" is often the best advice for anyone when they are working on rolling. It's helped me many times, and I've seen it help students many times as well. And rushing is never a good thing. But there's a middle ground. I think it's good to get to a point where a roll can happen fluidly - without pause or hesitation. Minimal effort, and smooth technique is the goal. This is not incompatible in my mind with executing a roll efficiently, without any extra time for adjustments or extended paddle sweeps. To be clear, I'm no enemy of Greenland techniques. I've taken lessons with some long-bearded gurus (and even one without any beard at all!), and those perspectives have made me a better roller and paddler. I have taught some students greenland style rolls because it was the best thing at the time for that student. Currently my go-to roll in conditions is the Storm roll, and I like working on a (fairly modest) list of the greenland rolls to pass the cold winter months during pool sessions. When practicing, I agree that having comfort and patience underwater is important, and of course focusing on body technique, rather than paddle force is the main idea. On this one I really agree with Suz, that de-emphasizing the role of the paddle is key, and for some that's best done by learning rolls that use less paddle or no paddle at all. That way, when you do use a paddle, really solid underlying technique makes the paddle itself an unnecessary aid. I don't chuck my paddle, and hand roll in conditions, but practicing handrolls when playing around really disciplines upper and lower body technique, to make the paddle rolls require less effort.

Personally, I like to roll in regular hand position because it's faster. Setting up before the roll takes no extra time to shift hand position. Also the roll itself is faster without extended position. Sweeping that extended paddle takes longer (and that's part of what makes the pawlata roll more supportive too). In strong current or breaking waves, I think it also eliminates a maneuver where you might lose your grip on the paddle. All small differences i'm sure, but that's my preference. Do what you like, and practice what you do. Nate

The Goretex one packs smaller and is ligher, which was a priority for me. It also breathes better, but that's not much of a concern, IMO, for a Storm Cag. The idea is to block heat loss, and either fabric will do that.

Hey Warren, I believe we met a few years ago at John Carmody's. I'm an ACA instructor, and a BCU 4-star, and I work as a coach at Old Quarry in Stonington, ME. I'm happy to help you out with this stuff, (though perhaps not quite so far south). We could set up a L3 skills assessment, or a day just to work on those skills if you'd like, either up in this direction, or maybe somewhere in between. Drop me an email if you'd like to discuss. nathanielrhanson@gmail.com Nate

For what it's worth, I have had WFA, but I took the AHA classes recently to keep my certification current for a couple months until I can take a WFR course. Never again. The First Aid. "Class" was just a 3 hour video, with no skills at all, and all geared towards workplace accidents. It was boring, useless, and a waste of time and money. The CPR course was much better, but I wouldn't recommend the FA class to anyone. Do yourself a favor, and find a WFA course from SOLO or WMA. Nate

Whether Bass Harbor Bar might pose problems for someone depends on what they're comfortable with, but it's certainly an area where any of us should pay attention to where we are in the tide cycle. Slack current at the bar corresponds basically to high and low tides, and floods west. On a recent day with 5-10 knot easterlies, a 1-foot swell, and only a moderate tidal range (under 10 feet) there were 3 foot breaking seas across the entire bar from the light to Great Gott at the middle of the ebb. There are small tide races between all of the islands just south of Bass Harbor, and on springs once, a friend was suprised to find himself getting sucked into a suprisingly large overfall between the Sisters, east of Swans. Great fun or holy terror - you decide. But either way, worth keeping your tidal planning hat on.

Like Barb, I have paddled around MDI, but not all at once. (It's on my to-do list) The easiest parking I know of is Hadley Point, at the north tip of the island. When I checked with the BH police 2 years ago, overnight parking was allowed here, but I'd recommend checking with them again to make sure, (and to let them know your dates, so they don't get concerned.) The key to getting around MDI is campsites - fairly plentiful around the western side, and almost non-existant around the east side. There are public and MITA islands near Bartlett (also MCHT islands in the general area), and then you need to get to the MITA island that is south of Bass Harbor. From there it's not a long hop to another MITA site in the Cranberries, but then you've got a fairly long haul to get back to Hadley Point. Without reviewing a chart, I'd guess you're talking about 20+ miles. (There is a very small MITA island off Grindstone Neck, which requires a fairly bold crossing, or a longer coastwise route from Bar Harbor, but I wouldn't camp there if I had a choice. It's low, exposed, and very small.) Pay attention to current directions, and where the wind will oppose the current. And as Barb said, choose your days carefully when negotiating the section from Seal Harbor to Bar Harbor. It's often rough, and can have no-landing zones for long stretches. Good luck! Nate

When I was replacing my radio last year, I considered the Standard DSC-GPS enabled handheld (Icom hadn't released their DSC offering yet). It was much larger, and had a much smaller-capacity battery than the Icom M72, and that seemed like too many compromises to the critical VHF functionality. A gps-dsc handheld makes your VHF function a LITTLE like a PLB, but not quite. There are plenty of areas where any VHF distress signal won't reach the good guys, whether it's a digital DSC signal, or a verbal Mayday. I decided that for my purposes, I wanted a really strong, long-battery life VHF, that's easy to carry in my PFD. (In the near future, I expect such a radio will incorporate GPS and DSC, but that wasn't the case last year). For more remote or higher consequences trips where a VHF is not sufficient for emergency calling, I want a true satellite PLB, so I think two dedicated devices (or three if we're talking about a GPS for navigation as well) is the way to go. One other warning for DSC shoppers - there have been DSC enabled handhelds on the market which rely on external GPS interface. These are only useful on a yacht, where they can sit on a cradle, recieving GPS info from another instrument, until you pick it up to make that distress call. But in a kayak, that DSC (without intergral GPS) functionality is not useful, so kayakers should make sure they are only looking at DSC handhelds that incorporate a GPS reciever.

The best way to do this might be to take a paddling class with a coach that has boats from various manufacturers. That way for $150 or so, you get the opportunity to genuinely test paddle a couple boats in conditions, plus you'll improve your technique. Money worth spending, in my opinion, when you're considering a few thousand dollar purchase.

I'm your size, and I wear Kokatat size Large. Large would be perfect for me if everything were about an inch longer (torsos, and sleeves), but I've never custom ordered because the regular Large is close enough. I tried XL once, and the length is nice, but everything's too baggy, and the neoprene arm gaskets are too loose.

You will not find any salt-water ice in Maine in December. Water temps are near 50 that time of year. My experience paddling year-round up here (downeast maine) is that ice is only present on protected bays and rivers, and even then mostly during cold snaps in January and February. The ocean temperature isn't below the mid-30s in late winter, so ice can only form when water gets isolated in a bay on a calm night, and the air temp gets very cold and freezes the surface of the still water. Then we'll get an inch or so of ice on the surface, and in bays with any tidal current, that ice breaks up and is flushed out to sea with the next tide. In island camping, you will not likely encounter any snow on the ground in December, but the nights will be cold, so I agree with the above poster, that clothing and appropriate camping gear is probably the biggest concern. As to meals, personally I'd never camp in winter without hot meals because I find cold food on a cold night demoralizing. And from a safety perspective, I'm never without a stove and thermos during cold-weather or cold-water paddling, even for day trips. You need to be able to warm people up.

Hello neighbors to the south. I've got a day to kill in Boston next Thursday, and maybe Friday morning too. I'll have my Delphin with me, so I'm wondering what are some good paddling spots close to East Cambridge. Despite growing up in Belmont, and doing extensive sailing in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay during grad school, I don't have a paddler's knowledge of put-ins, landings, and good play spots. I'll be alone (unless others are interested in joining), so nothing too crazy, but a little light surf on a friendly shore line would work. Nahant? Nantaskett? Or a tour of the outer harbor islands? Remind me which you can land on? The Brewsters, etc. Stuff out beyond Georges and Gallop. Or feel free to make suggestions aside from the stuff I've mentioned above. Thanks, Nate

To complete my narrative arc, Icom replaced my M72 under warranty. They noted that after use, I should remove the battery, and don't charge it until everything is dry. Not sure that explains the water intrusion problem that killed the radio itself, but there you go. Nate

Yes, Second what Barb said. Chris Lockyer.

I won't restate the well-articulated positions already represented in this thread, but suffice to say I'm definitely in the not-voodoo-black-magic-ninja-art camp of rolling philosophy. If it's taught as a basic skill, by a great instructor, as a simple progression of exercises, then people will have an easier time with it. Unfortunately, too often it is portrayed as a highly complex master-level trick, that young fools should watch on youtube a few times and then go hack away at until they finally figure it out on their own. I'll also add that as someone who paddles almost exclusively with a Euro paddle when I'm out doing stuff that tends to get me upside-down, that taking Greenland instruction, and working on many greenland rolls during winter pool sessions has paid great dividends for making me a more intuitive and flexible Euro roller. Learning forward finishing greenland rolls will make you a far better combat roller when you apply those skills to your usual Euro blade.

As Ed guessed, I was referring to BCU (or similar ACA) skill standards. Since I'm merely an interloper on the NSPN boards, and am not involved with the club itself, I don't know anything about your trip-level ratings. (By the way, I do appreciate the useful conversations that occur here on NSPN, and I hope my occasional tagging along as an outsider-to-the-north is okay with everyone.)

Releasability under load is an important feature for any tow system. Instead of using carabiners for that fore-deck tow strap, consider using "spinnaker shackles" from a marine store. With a short loop or lanyard attached to the pin of each shackle, you can release the tow, even when under a big load. That might be a nice feature when your contact tow suddenly finds itself wrong-side-up, and you'd like to roll up sooner rather than later.

Yes, like Ed says, wind is almost always more of a factor for kayaking up here than the height of the seas. Seas mostly are a factor if you're planning to rock garden or surf, and for finding safe, suitable landings. Otherwise, swell just goes up and down. Ed also makes a good point about "Coastal" vs. "Intracoastal" forecasts. The "Intracoastal" forecast for the MDI, and Penobscot Bay areas encompasses everything all the way out to the tip of Schoodic Peninsula to the East, and Port Clyde to the West. So when you see seas 4-6 feet, that's what you might encounter 10-15 miles south of Stonington, or out near Monhegan Island. Even though that forecast also covers Mount Desert Narrows, you'll not likely see even a fraction of that forecast in much of the forecast area. Not that I want to give the impression that folks should discount the forecast and just go regardless. Rather, paddlers should learn to integrate the forecast in their trip-planning process, and make some predictions about what the local conditions will be in certain areas, given the zone forecast for that day. The forecast usually doesn't have a go/no-go threshhold, as much as it informs my decision of where to paddle. On a 20 knot day, I might still go out, but it could be a good day to explore that winding estuary I've been wondering about for a while. Nate

I had an Icom M32 that lasted me over 10 years before finally flickering out last winter. In February I bought an M72 because I was totally convinced by ICOM quality, and loved the small size and big battery capacity. However, after only 6 months of moderate use, this radio has stopped working! First I had trouble with corroding battery contacts, so I cleaned them up, and applied some dielectric grease to keep them clean. That appeared to solve that problem. Next I noticed a substantial amount of corrosion flaking off the paint near the bottom of the radio. And then one day last month, the radio wouldn't turn off, no matter what I did with the knob. That lasted a couple days (I removed the battery when I needed to turn off the radio). Then soon after, I had the opposite problem - the radio won't turn on, despite a fully charged battery, and copious fiddling with the volume knob. I miss my M32. If I could get another one of those, made new, and with a LI battery, I'd do it in a heart beat. No corroding aluminum case. No knobs whatsoever, and the battery contacts are securely sealed inside the radio. <grumble>

Things look fairly manageable up here for the weekend. Some moderate swell, but that will be felt most on southern ends of the most exposed islands. So someplace like the south end of Isle au Haut, or Thread of Life off Boothbay, would have some fairly big stuff happening. But any area like Stonington, or Casco Bay, or Frenchman Bay, etc etc etc, where lots of islands break up that big open-ocean swell before it reaches you, should have plenty of areas with good protection. Suitable for folks with 3*/4* sorts of skills, anyways. Of course, what is safe all depends on the paddlers.

I have reported dead seals to Allied Whale in the past, and they are in fact very interested in getting the information. I expect that with the current die-off they are all the more interested in tracking deaths, so give them a call. Nate

When you say you used a bright light and a mirror, and could see the cracks from the inside, do you mean that you had the light outside, and could see some light shining through the gelcoat cracks to the inside of the boat? Or do you mean that with a bright light inside the boat, you could see physical cracks in the inside layers of fiberglass? If you just see light making it's way through the gelcoat cracks, but see no damage to the fiberglass layers, I'd guess you don't have any damage, and would suggest you forget about this and go paddle. Press on the outside of the boat, to see if the area with gelcoat cracking is any softer than the rest of the boat. If there's damage, you'll probably feel it. Nate

I've had the same problem. I sweat and eventually the sunscreen ends up in my eyes, blinding me. Try using children's sunscreen. I've had no problems with that. Also the Coppertone Sport Stick sunscreen never seems to run. It's pretty waxy and seems to just stick to my forehead instead of washing into my eyes.

I think it's not the covers and rims that are tough to put on and off, but in particular it's the recessed area around the rim on some of Valley's installations which creates the difficulty. Since NDK doesn't recess their day hatch rims, they're perfectly easy to put on. My Pintail day hatch is the same - it's not recessed and is easier to put on and off. (It's also the only hatch on that boat that occasionally leaks a few Tbl spoons.) That said, I mind the recessed valley hatch rims and covers. I keep them 303'd (which definitely helps) and by starting at the bow or stern of the ovals, it's easy enough to get them open. After putting the covers on, I can seal it by running a finger around the groove in the cover, to press that bottom lip down into the recess. The day hatch on my aquanaut is recessed, but I don't seem to have any problems getting that one seated by just slapping it back on. (And it's more watertight than the non-recessed Pintail dayhatch). Considering that the watertight integrity of these compartments is vital to the seaworthiness of our kayaks, I really don't mind taking an extra minute to open and close them. (Or a few extra minutes, when it's cold!)