billvoss

I hope everyone has fun without me this week.  I do not expect to attend. Hopefully, I'll be in Maine that afternoon.

Leslie and I saw a LOON!  It was less than two boat lengths away.  First time I've ever seen a loon on Walden.  Magic evening with wonderful blue sky until suddenly thunder chased us off about 20 minutes early.

Sure, we don't have to cross the lake if people don't want to.  If the clouds look ominous, staying fairly close to the put-in makes sense.

P.S.  I'm going to try my new kayak again today, this time with a different skirt.

Sure Tim, I'll plan to be there.

Who's up for braving the weather?  Usual plan, show up 4:30pm or later, off the water about 7:00pm.

Yet another of those beautiful Wednesdays when light showers clear leaving blue sky and a lovely uncrowded Walden.

Thanks everyone, I had a great time.  We even saw the elusive Dan this week!

I'm leaving home in a few minutes.  Hope I'll see everyone there.  I'll paddle in rain, just not during a thunderstorm.

Arrive around 4:30?

As I write this, the forecast is 40% chance of rain with a chance of thunderstorms.  Looks like a week to decide at the last minute based on the latest forecast.  Though I'm up for going if the forecast doesn't get any worse.

Thank you friends for joining my latest kayak's maiden voyage.

6 hours ago, cope07 said:

@nchill I'm curious why you went with the shoulderless Akiak instead of the shoulder Nukilik paddle?

I don't know why @nchill went shoulderless.  Personally I find sliding strokes, including setting up to roll, paddling off-center to manage wind and waves, and simply adjusting my grip width for variety or conditions are all more comfortable with a shoulderless GP.

See you at Walden!.  Looks like a 60% chance of rain, but only a slight chance of Thunderstorms this evening.

3 hours ago, Inverseyourself said:

Beautiful boat, Bill! What are the specs? What brand?

I built it at the Delmarva Paddler's Retreat last fall.  Anders Thygesen ran the workshop.  My kayak is 5 meters long (just over 16 feet), and about 23" wide.

This Wednesday as I launch my latest skin-on-frame at Walden I need friends to share the joy, photographers to document the event, spotters to keep me safe while I wet exit, mentors to help me roll it, and dinner companions to join me at Comella’s afterwards.

Hopefully the bad weather forecast will keep the crowds at bay. 

I'm aiming to arrive around 4:30pm.  Off the water around 7pm if all goes well.  Though I will head to Comella's earlier if the weather or my new kayak do not cooperate.

Warning, some sources say the parade starts at 10am, others say it starts at 11am.  Have fun!

Another lovely evening at Walden with fine company.

Looks like the weather is going to clear off in time for a pleasant Wednesday evening on the pond.  Start arriving around 4:30pm?  Off the water around 7pm, out of the parking lot by 7:30pm.

-Bill

My limited experience is with nylon skin-on-frame skins.  For that I've used Acid Dyes from Dharma.  While I've had issues with dye blends, I see that Dharma is selling 413 True Black (Primary)* which should do the job.  The * means they recommend using that dye at 4% of weight of goods.  It is a Primary which is a good thing, since sometimes blends don't result in uniform colors.  See the Dharma link above for instructions and tutorials on using dyes.  Their instructions will be far more accurate than any details I can provide.

Good luck.

Great. See you there Peter.

Still looking for a 2nd paddler to join me this week at Walden pond.

On 7/5/2018 at 9:41 AM, Joseph Berkovitz said:

My question is more about a good compromise to fit a collection of varying boats, not about how to best fit a single boat. 

Make it adjustable.  This is a commercial example for indoors, but there are lots of similar home built approaches for adjustable height supports.

https://www.talic.com/boats-boards/starter-kit-2-narrow-boat-paddle-storage

-Bill

P.S.  I just installed their https://www.talic.com/boats-boards/starter-kit-1-tilt-boat-paddle-storage in my basement on July 4th to hold my two skin-on-frame kayaks.  I was very glad I went with their adjustable option once I realized my initial plan wouldn't work was less than ideal.

No drysuit for me this week at Walden (I think).  Based on last Tuesday's temps at a pond up here in NH, I think that heat wave has warmed most fresh water up to down right comfortable.

Anyone care to join me this week?  I'm thinking off the water around 7pm, drive away by 7:30pm.  For me that suggests arriving around 4:30pm, but I could vary that a bit.

Have fun.  Sorry my kayak doesn't have any bulkheads.

I probably would have asked for a bulkhead exemption, but getting up two and a half hours earlier than normal was just a wee bit too early for me this week.

Looks like Walden will meet at 8am this week.  (Sorry I won't be there.  Too early for me.)

Should we cancel the July 4th session because it is July 4th?