josko

Dan, maybe the question is: what are you trying to put in them? Walt-mart sells three assorted-size small dry bags for ~$10 that seem ideal for much of what I carry. Small (blue) just fits an air mattress, small down sweater, etc. Mediums (red) go for daily lunches, toiletries, emergency signalling,etc. Large (yellow) are for first aid/repair kits, camp 'essentials' etc. Then I got clothes and a sleeping bag (SeatoSummit eVent compression sacks), and then it's food which goes in either Sealine 20l bag (in front of footpegs) or SeatoSummit 'Hydraulic' for the back deck. The rest of my gear doesn't need dry sacks. I find I can deal with just one compression sack per (front/rear) compartment; everything else is either small Wal-mart bags or no bags at all (tent, stakes, stove, fuel, ... Heaviest items go in the bag just ahead of footpegs. Incidentaly, Wal-mart bags last longer than Sealine bags. Sealine tends to split at the top fold, and Wal-mart buckles come off. I can get ~70 lbs of stuff in a 65l SeatoSummit 'hydraulic' bag on the back deck of a loaded Explorer before primary stability is gone. It's easy enough to compensate trim by loading all the heavy stuff up forward. I'll talk more about this at our upcoming talk.

kayak tow lines are all about handling, floating, and overall ease of use. That Dyneema is very slippery and has virtually no stretch. I've seen Kevlar/spectra lines do some horrible things to ships and people by their lack of stretchability.

Patagonia's been incredibly good to me wrt delamination issues. Just drop it off at the Boston store and get either a replacement off the shelf (if they have it in stock) or one mailed-in within 3 days. I have a rain jacket back from the 80's they've already replaced twice. It's seen a LOT of use, although it seems to delaminate eventually in the neck/collar area. As to favorite kayaking raingear, I find the Kokatat Gore-Tex Cagoule hard to beat. I've had no delamination issues with mine to date, however, although I practically lived in it for a month this summer.

I've been dutifully carrying around a paddle float for years, and it occurs to me that I have no idea what to do with it. My go-to rescue is a reentry-and-roll, with a decent cowboy as backup. I know it can be used as an inflatable bag to help with holed compartment, camping pillow, etc, but wonder if it's worth the space and effort to carry it in a sea kayak. Thoughts?

Thanks Cathy. It'll be great to finally match some faces to NSPN online names.

My primary blade is a 215 cm bent-shaft Ikelos, and my spare a 215 bent-shaft Cyprus. I use the latter as primary early in the season, with loaded boats, and when paddling into a headwind. An alternate might be to get a variable-length shaft, and just shorten up for conditions above, but I find this pair suits me very well.

I have chronic issues with forearm tendons, particularly early in the season and in cold weather. I've learned to downsize a paddle (Ikelos to Cyprus), and just take it easy for a bit if I'm out of shape or just starting to train up for the season. It taks me about 60 hrs of paddling (early in the season) before I feel comfortable the Ikelos won't hurt my forearms. I've also noticed I'm more prone to this injury in the cold, although I believe asket tightness has little to do with it.

I once saw Todd Wright and his whole class with their paddles upside down.

I was out paddling in 6000+' of water on Sunday (Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas) and realized it's the first timer I've kayaked in water over a mile deep. That set me wondering what's the deepest water other folks have been in? Anybody been in over a mile?

I feel I've never paid due attention to cockpit padding. This winter, I'm game to go buy some foam pieces and have at it, but realize that I don't know how, or more importantly, what I'm trying to achieve. How tight do I want my butt in the cockpit/ What about thighs, knees? I've also heard the 'new' school advocates a looser stance and fit than the old 'wear your kayak' adage, so want is the latest line on thought of padding out a cockpit? If anyone has some advice on how to do it or can point to a useful link, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

Do two broken ribs and a cracked stenum count? It was a classic: 'Oh, this wave can't do anyrthing to me' gone very wrong. Knocked the back of the boat almost clean off.

Looks like NAM and GFS just (1200Z1130) wobbled the storm a bit seaward, so the trip looks tractable to me. Mel and I would like to come. Let us know a meeting time (Odiorne?). BTW, she's shopping for a boat and intersted in briefly demoing a Cetus LV and/or MV. Any opportunity for a brief demo would be very welcome. Oh, and could anyone suggest a breakfast place near Odiorne?

Do folks typically get together for dinner before or after the talk? This might be a good chance for me to finally put a face to some of the nspn handles.

Let's pick a date in January.

GSI makes an aluminum 10" Dutch oven that fits into a 10" hatch and nests nicely with other stuff. They work well with charcoal briquettes, which are sort of halfway between a stove and campfire. I understand they're a staple of dude WW rafting trips out west, but not so common for sea kayaking.

I went kayak camping with a Dutch oven master and we ate like kings. It wasn't that much bulkier than 'standard' camp cookery. So now i bought a 10" aluminum GSI Dutch oven and am trying to build up some recipes and related wherewithal. Does anybody here take a dutch oven kayak camping? If yes, I'd love to hear about it: briquettes vs campfire embers, favorite recipes, staging multicourse dinners, etc.

I thought it was a stronger and smoother, although heavier, blade than the Ikelos, and had no problem whatsoever switching back and forth between the two.

Tried one out last spring as a potential replacement to Ikelos, liked it, but had a hard time dealing with the company, so went back to the Ikelos. They're really pretty similar. IMHO Lendal USA's having some birthing problems.

Beautiful, clean and elegant, John.

Lorrie, mostly tiderace surfing/maneuvering.

We drove by Manicougan on the way to Labrador, and it definitely caught my attention. The Taiga forest surrounding the lake is either boring or beautiful, depending on one's perspective. There is a put-in just north of Manic5 dam reachable with only a few miles of good dirt road, and another one about 100 km (of good dirt road) north. It's a 1.5 day drive from Boston. Definitely on my list.

Maybe it's just our learning styles, but I LOVE to figure out the theory behind whatever I'm trying to do.

FWIW, I'm intimately familiar with the Croatian Adriatic. If we can assemble a group interested in going, I'd be glad to work out logistics. Time to go is May-June and/or Sept - Oct.

Charles river Bylot island Andros

FWIW, I tried a pair of Astral 'Rasslers' and they fell apart on me the first weekend. Astral (sort of) admitted they're having a problem with them and replaced them with a pair of Brewers.