With my thanks to all who
have helped and taught, including that great instructor "The
Hard Way", here is a haphazard collection of things learned
over the last few years of paddling, I hope some may be useful to
you. Also a special "howdy" to all the new friends I
make when launching and landing, I do enjoy talking about
kayaking and especially my boat. Keep in mind I have always and
only paddled an Ocean
Kayak Scupper Classic open cockpit boat.
It is 14'1", weighs under 50 pounds empty, and can carry me
and up to 125 pounds of cargo in the hull. (no longer made,by the
way):
Old News Now! I
finally got run into by another boat! After almost five years of
paddling in busy waters, dodging jetskis, container ships, and
drunken sailors I got squashed on
July 20, '03, by a Catalina 22 while I was tied up at a
guest dock changing radio batteries. Go figure. No
harm done to either craft or skipper other than a little terror
on my part and great embarrassment on their part. All I remember
is a woman's scream "there is someone there!" and
turning my head to see a bow coming right at me..aren't you
supposed to look at the dock when planning to tie up there? Now
onto the tips, etc:
New toy:
I ordered a rear view mirror
from thePerformance bicycle catalog, about $15 delivered.
This little jewel snaps onto your sunglasses and allows
you to see almost 360 degress simply by turning your head.
I used to hate hearing something coming up behind me and
not being able to turn my head far enough to see what was
approaching and if I was in danger. It doesn't block your
forward vision as it sits high and off to one side.
Semi-new toy: My
Bride got me a Platypus
Kayak Hydrator for my
birthday. It holds 60 ounces of liquid (I use bottled
water), (one ounce for each year of age), and has
extended my time in the boat significantly
Speaking of radio
batteries: I have a Standard
Horizon marine 2-way radio,
model HX260S. It is submersible and has two battery packs:
one rechargeable and the other takes ordinary AA's. I
carry it in one of the four pockets on my PFD. Not only
can I listen to all the emergency and fishing traffic, I
can call up the police, Coast Guard, lifeguards or any
other boat, and make telephone calls using the marine
operator. This gives me great peace of mind, and some
entertainment. It weighs about a pound and a half. I paid
less than $200 for this great piece of equipment.
I also carry aGarmin eTrex GPS,
also waterproof. This little gem tells me more than I
want to know about my position, speed, time, bearing,
heading, etc...six ounces, strapped to another PFD
lashing, uses two AA's. Now I can't exaggerate about how
fast and how far I went.
I am a photographer
of sorts so I always want to have a camera with me. I
have found most waterproof cameras and housing to be too
expensive for the limited use I would give them, so I
search for cheaper versions. I like the single-use
weatherproof and submersible Kodaks:
at about $9 not too bad for a special trip. Speedo
made a little point-and-shoot that had a dedicated
housing, got it for $60 at their store, now it is $73,
the picture quality was so-so (see the Photo Gallery
underwater shots) but it was light and waterproof. I
found another no-name import waterproof point-and -shoot
at Big Lots,
$20, OK quality. The only time I took my good camera out
was on a lake, and I cradled it like a baby in my PFD. I
will post the photos soon.
About my PFD:
it is from Marine Technologies International, model MBU-C.
It has front and rear lash tabs, 3 front Velcro and snap-clasp
pockets, and one zippered pocket. I have a little C-Light
lashed on my back, and have a separate pocket secured to
the front tab. All in all I have enough storage space on
this thing to jeopardize its bouyancy. I got it from some
internet site and I can't locate the manufacturer on the
web. I hope it never wears out.
It is better to jump
out and walk the open-cockpit boat in through a
surf landing than to risk becoming
it's Captain Ahab in your paddle leash, (or camera
tether, or binocular tether, or water line...maybe I have
too many toys on the boat...)
Adding foam pipe
insulation to the hatch lip can make the boat almost watertight.
Readily available, cheap, easy to cut to size, and nearly
weightless...the trick is finding the right diameter...
Battery operated deck
lamps made for inflatables
are easily adapted for mounting on any kayak: one bicolor
front and one white stern will set you back about $40.
Makes warm night cruising safer...
Need an absolutely dry
space within reach? Get a
small (8"x5"x3") black Pelican box, remove
the liner, drill a few rivet sized holes through the box
and the boat simultaneously for registration,just below
the cupholder and between your legs. Don't drill too
close to the box walls or the rivet tool won't fit, even
so it is a tight fit; goop up the rivet area with marine
sealant, when done, replace the liner, and here is your
cell phone and wallet dry box!
Spoons: I have new,
lightweight paddles
from Pacific Designs, and they are great. Check out their
site at:http://www.pacificdesignspaddles.com/.
Steve Wilce even customized them for me because I use a
modified Greenland-style stroke with the paddle
unfeathered.
Safety and visibility:
I got a bicycle flag,
fiberglass rod with an orange DayGlo triangle, and
installed it in a spare drain plug by drilling a matching
diameter hole, gluing it in, then drilling a paperclip
diameter hole through the plug-&-flagpole end to
insert a piece of wire, to secure the pole in the plug. (My
first one wiggled out of the glue and hole and now
resides off Harbor Island near the Sheraton in San Diego
Bay...) I use the flag in busy waters, and have had
several sailors call out to me that they like my
visibility....me too...I plan to come home after every
trip...
More spoons: every
winter I used to drill out the rivets holding the shaft
on the business end of each paddle half, pull out and
replace the styrofoam flotation, and re-rivet with lots
of clear marine sealant. Before I started this the shafts
were getting full of water. I won't be doing this with my
new Pacific Design paddles...they are one piece ends, no
place to come loose and let in water. ..
Spoons and safety:
I got some reflectorizing tape from an auto parts store (
the boat stores also have it) and wrapped a bit around
the paddle up at the end of the shaft. One little bit
more of flash to find me on the water. (This was for my
old paddle, my new ones have a bright white blade so I am
not going to add the tape.)
Every other winter I
drill out all the rivets
on the boat (and there are more every year) and re-rivet
with gobs of clear marine sealant. Makes me think I can
have a dry boat...
Another thing that
stops wicking of water into the boat is to soak the hatch
straps in tent waterproofing
stuff at this time. I think I worry too much about water
in the boat...if I was a sit-insider I would go nuts...
More on my stroke:
I read an article that outlined a modified Greenland-style
stroke that requires an unfeathered paddle. At entry the
upper part of the blade is tilted forward in relation the
the lower edge. The paddle slips into the water at this
angle, and stays this way through the power stroke and
lifting out of the water. It is awkward at first if you
have paddling conventionally, but the stroke is more
powerful and less tiring than any other way I have tried.
I added to this technique another I read about in Canoe
& Kayak: slack-paddle turning. This involves holding
the paddle loosely to allow it to slide through your
hands so that it is longer on one side. When this longer
end is powered through the water, your boat turns in the
other direction. Pretty simple.
