Frederick Goodman

It's not an occasional drip, Jim. It's a whole lot of water sloshing around after an hour on the water.

Thanks, Mike and Janet. With enough gentle encouragement, I eventually got the slider block free, Just in case someone looks at this thread later for advice, let me say that the trick to getting the skeg control block free was to hook a tool (*) behind the plastic tube and pull the assembly a bit out away from the boat before wiggling the skeg block to the left (in the picture below). This allowed the block to clear the fiberglass protrusions that you see in the picture, while lining up to clear the brass ring on the plastic tube. I was really stuck for a while before I figured this out. Re-assembly was completely straightforward. The set screw needs to be tightened just until you feel a little resistance; it hits the plastic tube just aft of the brass ring. (*) I used a dental pick.

Just bumping this to check if anyone has experience with the skeg slider on newer Valley Kayaks. It has a slider block secured into a recess on the deck with 4 screws and also a set screw that clamps to the tube through which the actual cable is threaded. I thought that if I removed all the fasteners I could slide the block forward out of the way, but the block won't budge. The block is closed in back, so it's not going to lift out of the way either. Force is not a good idea here, as the tube is terminated with some sort of brass ring bonded to the tube (according to info on the web) and if that brass ring doesn't want to slip out of the slider block, then it might decide to un-bond from the tube instead, forcing a much more complicated repair.

I have a Valley Sirona with wire operated skeg. The wire is threaded through a poly tube. There is a leak where the tube penetrates the hull, from the cockpit to a skeg control box on the deck. I am looking for advice for sealing the leak. In particular, what is an appropriate sealant, and how was the thing sealed in the first place? So far I have not tried taking apart the skeg control slider, which apparently has several parts and fits into a recess on the side of the deck. Like everyone else, I have had experience taking things apart and discovering they are more complicated than I thought. I think I may need to take it apart, because it may be that the poly tube is not being held properly in place and its movement has broken the seal.

I’m in.

More tips: Tie a wiffle ball to the grab loop to make it easy to find in an emergency. Practice releasing your spray skirt on land, with your eyes closed, one-handed, with either hand. Make it part of your mental checklist for launching to make sure the grab loop hasn't got caught inside the boat. Also try squiggling out of your boat (in a swimming pool or lake, with a safety person standing by) without releasing the spray skirt; either the skirt will release from the boat, or you will leave the skirt behind attached to the boat, assuming sufficient motivation.

I'm not going to make it tomorrow. Have fun out there! Thanks for organizing, Jim.

Interested

https://helmet.beam.vt.edu/whitewater-helmet-ratings.html?fbclid=IwAR3EkxDfdFWbkYgmyB-mfXKWPZxkmgtmu82CeE7c84s27gWbi3gwjGH-QZk

Lunch on a gorgeous day.

Me too

I'm in. Will also PM float plan info.

Mike, it's likely I'm just being a bit stupid about using the site, but even being a paid member and being signed on, I have not found a way to search for a particular member, find their profile (plural pronoun as singular inserted to annoy you!) and message them, unless I can find an already existing post by that person. and even then I might need to know what obscure screen name is attached to what real name. For example, if I had just met you at a paddle and wanted to connect, and you had never posted, I would not be able to find you by name. And if you had chosen the screen name MikeH or KayakHero I wouldn't be able to find you through one of your posts either. Are there some global settings that could be a little less protective of privacy?

I'd like to go out tomorrow, Aug. 24, but I don't think I should organize (and be the de facto leader) of an official WLP. Please contact me if you want to go out, and maybe if someone more experienced and competent joins in, it can become a WLP.

I'm in, thanks.

Several people volunteered to give up their spot in case the group is getting too large. I would suggest as an alternative that we break into pods if the group is too large. There's plenty of parking there, and plenty of ocean, and plenty of experienced paddlers to insure safety for a second pod.

I’m in.

Yes, maybe a little late

Interested, thanks.

Interested

I'm in.

Thanks, everyone, and happy new year.

David, I’d like a chart, thanks.

Yes

I would prefer to choose the better weather day, Friday or Saturday. Boston inner harbor sounds like a fun idea.