Show Us Your Canoe and Kayak Pictures!

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by njpaddler

This is how people get into trouble year after year. You want a boat that will handle conditions that are not ideal. Bays, especially shallow bays, are more dangerous than the ocean in wind. The windswept waves steepen faster and higher because it's shallow.

Shallow waters...definitely get "interesting" in a stiff wind.

Originally Posted by njpaddler

Put it this way: when I'm riding, I am ATGATT. I don't dress for the air temperature, I dress for scraping on asphalt and blunt impact.

For comparison's sake...I don't ride atgatt. I am just not that safety-conscious. I ride in loafers & slacks all the effin' time.

But I don't consider getting whacked by a car to be anywhere near as common as random summer squalls. Not even close. They come quick, and you don't have to be standing anywhere in particular to get whacked by the winds...let alone the disorientation when you can't see shit. Next thing you know...you're a half mile out from where you were!

Originally Posted by njpaddler

That unidentified little boat is for calm lakes & rivers, as was pointed out. Take it onto any bay, get far out enough and caught in a sudden squall and you are severely screwed.

Hey...if you're farting around Sandy point, paddling up 'n down a few strokes from the shoreline, then really, your risks are pretty small. Have a blast. But if you're 15min out, don't for a minute think you can out paddle the changing weather.

[AKDuc]

Originally Posted by njpaddler

If I sound alarmist & preachy it's because I used to work in a paddleshop, had lots of training and trip-leading experiences and saw lots of preventable mistakes ruin people's days. I also made the same stupid lack of judgement mistake one day on the Hudson and was given up for dead by all when a 53 MPH storm rushed on top of me during a quiet, sunny, sleepy drifting afternoon. I never saw it coming, and should not have survived it, but I did.

I still work in a paddle shop and this sounds like a story I'd like to hear. I love tales of epic adventures that have a good ending. Please share.

I think 50mph gusts on Resurrection Bay across from Seward, Alaska has been the biggest I've paddled in and NOT very far! Did it just for fun with an experienced paddling bud. He said at one point he saw the entire underneath of the Nodkapp I was in. I don't remember what boat he was in as I've had a number over the years. Good times.

Another time I was in a double with a less experienced relative who's a longtime commercial fisherman in Southeast Alaska. I talked him into going out in my double Klepper upwind and blowing down the bay a ways just for fun. He wore his survival suit. It was blowing a steady 45 that day. Man, did we travel some distance quickly! More good times.

How about some other good tales of excitement while out on the water from some of you other paddlers out there?

Below are some little three footers on Resurrection Bay. Some day I really oughta start shooting video. Have fun, Mark H.

[badweatherbiker]

Would love to have a tandem kayak or a couple solos to take my daughters out from time to time just cant make the purchase right now (actually been trying to buy one for 4 or 5 years).
I do have a couple project bikes I could trade if anyone is looking for that next project!

[lobsta]

Originally Posted by AKDuc

I still work in a paddle shop and this sounds like a story I'd like to hear. I love tales of epic adventures that have a good ending. Please share.

I think 50mph gusts on Resurrection Bay across from Seward, Alaska has been the biggest I've paddled in and NOT very far! Did it just for fun with an experienced paddling bud. He said at one point he saw the entire underneath of the Nodkapp I was in. I don't remember what boat he was in as I've had a number over the years. Good times.

Another time I was in a double with a less experienced relative who's a longtime commercial fisherman in Southeast Alaska. I talked him into going out in my double Klepper upwind and blowing down the bay a ways just for fun. He wore his survival suit. It was blowing a steady 45 that day. Man, did we travel some distance quickly! More good times.

How about some other good tales of excitement while out on the water from some of you other paddlers out there?

Below are some little three footers on Resurrection Bay. Some day I really oughta start shooting video. Have fun, Mark H.

Never been in a kayak but this was our excitement for a day.
Salmon trolling north of Salisbury Sound Alaska (nasty crossing/huge currents/square waves) after a 3 day storm we heard people calling for help on a beach.
A young couple in a custom hand made wood double had been pinned down on an island for days short on supplies.
Gave them a 30 mile lift back to town swapping adventure stories.

[bwalsh]

Originally Posted by Noreaster

I first posted to a local fishing forum and the Safety Nazis came ou of the woodwork! I was terrified to take my kayak out on the flats. I went out and bought a special kayak! I got every safety thingie that I could think of. Only then did I venture out. The end result is that I am, to this day, terrified of that river, top to bottom and I miss out on a lot of fun. What makes it worse is that I see, every single time I go out, people, some of the very same people from the fishing forum and "civilians" all over the place doing thins and in craft that I was assured would have me swept out to see, drowning of hypothermia. Caution yes, paranoia, no.

Posting in a fishing forum was your first mistake. You should have looked into a paddling forum. You would have gotten good advise.
Listening to them was your second mistake. Not too many fishermen are experienced with paddle boats. I know, I see them come out every spring, summer and fall paddling crap boats and they don't have a clue how to paddle.
Why would you be terrified if you have all that safety equipment and that "special kayak"?
Paddling on a river is "slightly" different than paddling out in open water. They all have their different hazards. You aren't that experienced yourself but you call someone that is telling someone to be cautious a safety Nazi? Really? No offense but I'd listen to njpaddler before you.

njpaddler was a little harsh but that boat, which may well keep the buyer happy as a clam for years( I really hope it does), is NOT the ideal boat for that type of paddling, period. The idea that any boat will do whatever you want is just like saying any motorcycle will do whatever you want.

[njpaddler]

Hey, I didn't mean to piss on anybody's flowers, just trying to save some grief. I've seen enough blood, broken bones, ravaged flesh, near-misses & recovered bodies that I am safety-conscious. That's my choice, not to say that I don't still take risks, I do. I manage them, so far, so good. I live to play another day.

[Noreaster]

Originally Posted by bwalsh

Posting in a fishing forum was your first mistake. You should have looked into a paddling forum. You would have gotten good advise.
Listening to them was your second mistake. Not too many fishermen are experienced with paddle boats. I know, I see them come out every spring, summer and fall paddling crap boats and they don't have a clue how to paddle.
Why would you be terrified if you have all that safety equipment and that "special kayak"?
Paddling on a river is "slightly" different than paddling out in open water. They all have their different hazards. You aren't that experienced yourself but you call someone that is telling someone to be cautious a safety Nazi? Really? No offense but I'd listen to njpaddler before you.

njpaddler was a little harsh but that boat, which may well keep the buyer happy as a clam for years( I really hope it does), is NOT the ideal boat for that type of paddling, period. The idea that any boat will do whatever you want is just like saying any motorcycle will do whatever you want.

I'm sorry, I should have specified Kayak Fishing Forum and I don't think that I urged any one to ignore safety advice, I certainly didn't mean to! What I DO advocate is taking the advice of strangers of unknown skill and ability with a grain of salt and applying it to your specific situation at hand. In my particular case I could have done fine with the boat that I already had IF I had gotten the most basic of advice: stay away from the mouth and out of the main channel on the rising and falling tide unless you are going in or out as the tide is. Sadly, this was accompanied by a TON of other, well meaning, safety advice that I am glad to follow. The counterpoint is that I see tons of people who don't know the first damn thing about Internet Kayak forums out on the river who DON"T DIE every the that I go out. You CAN have fun on the water IF you are cautions and IF you use common sense. If you are gong to start challenging yourself or your environment at all then yes, you should employ all safety measures that are prudent!

[Mudflaps]

I like the water like this:





Lousy pictures but good times after really bad weather.

[ChuckS]

I like my water on the lumpy side. Here's a video of the first time I had my replica qajaq in Lake Michigan surf. FUN!!

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It's a replica of Hunterian #586. It's thought to have been collected about 1800. The museum lost the records in a fire about 1900. It's about 17'4" long and about 18" wide

[Askel]

Sweet!

Looking forward to getting my boat out on Lake Michigan a few times this summer. I've got Superior in my backyard, but Michigan is always my home lake.

Just got back from the Kayak Rolling Clinic, try 2.

In a perfectly calm pool, at a comfortable temperature, with a planned flip, and maybe some soft music playing...

...I can roll back upright....


...about 50% of the time.

Gonna need some practice.

[AKDuc]

Originally Posted by Askel

Just got back from the Kayak Rolling Clinic, try 2.

...I can roll back upright....

...about 50% of the time.

Gonna need some practice.

Try a different instructor. You do have someone helping you, right. Hard to cognize when you're upside down. I've always said that how easily one gets their roll has more to do with their instructor than their own abilities.

The deck of your boat can also make a BIG difference. I learned this back when I had a ww boat that had a very flat deck and I couldn't off side roll it for the life of me. Much much easier when your deck is more rounded or peaked.

Here's another "lumpy" water tale: After spending a lovely night on Caines Head South Beach on Resurrection Bay we awoke to some pretty good swell coming in and breaking onto the gravel beach. It was a steep beach and the smooth grapefruit/tennis ball size rocks were slippery from the cool spray. Just for kicks I decided to launch from the top of the beach about 40' from the water. It went perfectly as I slid down and had to hold my paddle above my head as the crashing waves went over my head as I entered the water. Fun!

I would always MUCH rather launch into surf than land in it. Lucky for me, no real harrowing tales of surf landings altho one time I did almost spear a fellow paddler that got turned sideways in the surf as we were landing and I wizzed on by just off his bow! Poor guy was white as a ghost!

Paddle on, Mark H.

[Askel]

Originally Posted by AKDuc

Try a different instructor. You do have someone helping you, right. Hard to cognize when you're upside down. I've always said that how easily one gets their roll has more to do with their instructor than their own abilities.

The deck of your boat can also make a BIG difference. I learned this back when I had a ww boat that had a very flat deck and I couldn't off side roll it for the life of me. Much much easier when your deck is more rounded or peaked.

Actually, this instructor is pretty good. And even if she wasn't- it's not like I can go down the street to the other kayak rolling clinic in town.

Going back for round 3 next weekend. I make steady progress each time, so that's encouraging. I'll probably bring my own boat too. I've been using the college's rental fleet of tsunami 140s, a little on the recreational side...

And well, I've got this coming up in July: http://downwindsports.com/glsks/

If I can't figure things out with there, it's probably a hopeless case.

[AKDuc]

Askel, I'm don't know your physical dimensions but those Tsunami cockpits are huge! That, and their stability, are part of why they're crowd favorites at kayak symposiums. Are you able to wedge yourself into it making it tight fit? That can make a pretty big difference in rolling too.

I can roll my ocean boats w/o hip pads but I bring my foot braces back a notch or 2 to really wedge my thighs tightly under deck and lock my lower back into my backband. A backband, as opposed to a hard upright seat back, can help with rolling too. I usually add some closed cell foam to my the under-deck of my boats to make them more comfy on my thighs and it keeps my knees from touching.

Gosh, there are SO many more tips too! That's why I hope you have some good help. Anyway, have fun, Mark H.

[AKDuc]

Enough words. Time for more pics!

Met this crazy Spanish girl at a symposium on Resurrection Bay a few years ago. Comet and I both took a liking to her.

[batoutoflahonda]

I'm looking at getting a Kayak here in the next couple of months. Mostly for the lakes and larger rivers around Easton Wa, and lake Washington. I like the Eddyline boats and have narrowed it down the Sky 10' or Skylark 12'. There aren't many reviews on the 10', but the 12' every one likes. Has any one tried the Sky 10? Any other feed back would be cool too.

Thanks