| This is an article on bluewater kayaking also known as sea kayaking. This article also includes source information for disabled paddlers. This article is well worth the read. ( Permalink: Bluewater Kayaking is for everyone Submitted by Noel Wed Jun 21, 2006 )| How to choose the right kayak | | Recently my husband and I wanted to purchase an inflatable kayak, mainly for ease of transporting. We have to other Hobie kayaks however I am not strong enough to put them on the car by myself. We found what we were looking for after much research. I hope this article on how to choose and buy a kayak will help you in your future purchases. ( Permalink: How to choose the right kayak Submitted by Noel Thu Jun 1, 2006 )| Surviving a capsize in your boat | | If you are interested in being safe on the water, this is a great article. It tells you how to survive a capsize in your kayak or canoe. I encourage everyone to be safe on the water. In my research lately I have been reading about too many deaths because of lack of safety. ( Permalink: Surviving a capsize in your boat Submitted by Noel Tue May 30, 2006 )| Concrete Canoes?? Don't they sink? | | University engineering students compete every year in a concrete canoe contest. What an incredible thing, I would have never thought they would float. Interested? Build your own concrete canoe! ( Permalink: Concrete Canoes?? Don't they sink? Submitted by Noel Tue Apr 25, 2006 )| The Epoxy Panel after 1 year | "So, it has been an eventful year for the epoxy panel. It has endured everything the New England weather managed to throw at it :) In the summer, it was blasted by pure southern sun for days on end (90º +), it was soaked by acid rain, whipped by dust laden winds and in the winter, it had been encased in solid ice for many days as well as buried under as much as 18" of snow at which time it received no light but was truly tested by freeze and thaw cycles."
Story( Permalink: The Epoxy Panel after 1 year Submitted by Noel Thu Oct 7, 2004 )| Let There Be Light | "My mind flashed back to other favorite times and places; places that at first appeared to be very different than this one: sitting on a beach on St. Ignace Island watching a full moon rise over Lake Superior; paddling past the fall colors on Lake Temagami, Ontario; witnessing the blood-red skies long after sunset on Georgian Bay. These places were sacred in their own way. And it was the quality of light that was the common factor that unified them in my memory with the mountaintop in Nepal, which is where I finally understood that light is what I have been photographing all along."
Story( Permalink: Let There Be Light Submitted by Noel Thu Sep 23, 2004 )| How to RECANVAS An old CANOE | "Carefully remove the rub rails, keel and brass trim cutwaters. (You will reuse these or need them to make patterns). Strip off the old canvas, gently so as to not pry off any hull planking. Repair or replace any damaged wood. West System epoxy or "Git-Rot" can be used to toughen any punky or split areas. At this point it is worth your while to strip off the interior varnish and redo it. Tighten any loose nails that might be protruding; smooth all irregularities and apply a coat of varnish on the outside."
Story( Permalink: How to RECANVAS An old CANOE Submitted by Noel Wed Sep 1, 2004 )| Aft Mounted Balogh Batwing Sail Rig | "In the same Folding Kayaker issue, Diaz described the installation of a 18 square foot Batwing sail in front of the cockpit of a Feathercraft K-1. The installation was made by Hans Rosteck from Canada. Rosteck installed port and starboard leeboards and attached air tubes to the outside of the hull with straps fed through the K-1 perimeter deck line loops."
Story( Permalink: Aft Mounted Balogh Batwing Sail Rig Submitted by Noel Thu Aug 26, 2004 )| Canoe and Boatbuilding for Amateurs | "This class of boating men, to whom, by the way, most of the improvements in boats and sails are due, usually labor under great disadvantages. Their time for such work is limited; they have not the proper outfit of shop and tools, nor the practical knowledge and skill only acquired by the professional builder after years of careful and patient labor; and the latter as a class are unwilling to communicate freely what they have acquired with so much difficulty, and are seldom willing to assist the amateur, even with advice. His only other source of information is reading, and while there are books treating of the construction of large vessels, and others of the use of boats, there are none giving precisely the instructions needed by the beginner in boat building."
Story( Permalink: Canoe and Boatbuilding for Amateurs Submitted by Noel Wed Aug 25, 2004 )| The Shape of the Canoe | "The major factors affecting the frictional coefficient are the smoothness of the hull, velocity and length of the hull. Since the builder and the paddler are responsible for the velocity and surface condition the designer's influence is restricted to surface area and length. U.S. Navy studies have shown that, for conventional shapes (i.e. those that are not extreme in dimensions or configuration), wetted surface varies with length, amount of deadwood, Beam/Draft ratio and hull shape, in that order of importance."
Story( Permalink: The Shape of the Canoe Submitted by Noel Mon Aug 23, 2004 )| Paddling a Sea Kayak in a Straight Line | "Most paddlers think that going straight is primarily a function of boat design. Tracking is probably the most sought after characteristic in sea kayaks. Stores are loaded with long, straight keel lines, tippy cross-sections, and lots of rudders. Most paddlers would argue that my rudderless, rockered, rubber kayak is no match for a Kevlar rocket when it comes to tracking, and they would prove it to themselves by paddling both boats one after the other. And sure enough, they would be right -- for them."
Story( Permalink: Paddling a Sea Kayak in a Straight Line Submitted by Noel Wed Aug 18, 2004 )| When It's Time to Punt | "Upstream travel isn't a free ride, but it's not as hard as you might think, particularly in low water. By working the eddies and keeping as near to the inside of bends as you can, it's possible to paddle upriver almost as easily as drifting down. But the riffles—the easy rapids that break up the straights between pools—are stinkers: the water's thin, the current's fast, and the paddle blade stubbornly refuses to bite. It's time to punt (or track, but that's another story)."
Story( Permalink: When It's Time to Punt Submitted by Noel Tue Aug 3, 2004 )| Tips for Woodswomen | "I've been luckier than most paddlers in this regard. I grew up in a rural village, where flush toilets were eyed with suspicion and horse-drawn wagons were still a common sight. I worked in a cattle auction-barn, helped out with early-morning calvings, and spent my spare time in the hills or on the water. I also had a good teacher. Women whose childhood home was a city apartment or suburban house will have developed different survival skills, ones less suited to the demands of backcountry living. For them, and for their male counterparts, too, the learning curve can be terribly steep. Let's look at some common quandaries, taking our departure from Vena's 1958 advice for "Women in the Woods.""
Story( Permalink: Tips for Woodswomen Submitted by Noel Fri Jul 30, 2004 )| The Amphibious Paddler | "Where you go is up to you. Explore. When you travel at only 10 or 12 miles per hour, you'll see a lot that you miss when you whoosh by at 50. Take the road less traveled. Turn off the highway and ride down the roads you drive past every day. Look for water. Any water. A stream. A pond. A swamp. A bay. Check out possible put-ins. Be alert for Posted signs, and jot down the landowners' names so that you can ask permission to carry your boat across their land later on. Take in the view from bridges. Get to know the neighborhood."
Story( Permalink: The Amphibious Paddler Submitted by Noel Thu Jul 29, 2004 )| Whispering Death— Strainers, Sweepers, and You | "Ledges and abandoned cars notwithstanding, the commonest strainer on most rivers is the fallen tree. It's a familiar story. Spring floodwaters eat away at the riverbanks on the outside of each bend, where the current is fastest. Sooner or later, the undercut banks collapse, often bringing one or more trees down at the same time. Sometimes the trees keep their connection to the bank, hanging down over the water. (Then they're called sweepers.) Sometimes the whole tree is submerged and wedged fast where it fell. Either way, the end result is a thicket of branches. The river sweeps right through. But you won't, will you?"
Story( Permalink: Whispering Death— Strainers, Sweepers, and You Submitted by Noel Wed Jul 28, 2004 ) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
