Paddling and Sailing

Surf Lessons from the Sea

Throwing your weight around can be a good thing.
Foot straps and foot plates really help to shift your weight forward and back.

The foot straps in the picture above are actually re purposed handles rivets in place on my Cobra Revision. So far it has worked well for me. On my next project I am thinking of installing a pulling bar on my Kestrel 140 like some of the racing paddlers use for even less floppiness and more secure footing.

Surf straps save hands. I never let go of the boat soon enough. Surf straps made of 2 inch webbing with a knot in it can be a real hand saver when attached to the bow and stern. They drag in the water and can look a little dorky, but they really help when you are trying to lead the boat on your way out or in from the surf.

Playing in the white wash can really help your skills.
Maria calls this playing in the weenie waves, but it really help to be very comfortable here. Working to be able to take these little white waves right on your side has really helped my bracing skills. I've also learned a lot about the easier ways to get out by not trying to get out. I learn move about paddling and boat handling here than anywhere else. It is also nice that you are right near the shore so you can just stand up when you get dumped. You can get dumped a dozen times in a day here before you are worn out. It's a lot easeir than learning on a deeper break where each capsize or failed roll can result in a long swim accompanied by multiple beat downs from breaking waves.

Winter Surf

It was in the upper 70's this January Saturday which made for a perfect day at the beach!

It was mostly a small surf day which was perfect for me to start learning about my new boat. I really liked the way it handled. I learned a lot about using the foot straps, if I didn't use a lap belt or thigh straps, then I could really shift my weight forward and back on the boat. This helped a lot. Weight forward helps to catch the wave. I think weight back helps you turn diagonally so you don't dive nose first into the sand. And once the wave closes out, weight forward lets the boat swing out facing the sea so you can paddle out.

Mostly the rides were really short with only time for one or two quick strokes before the waves broke, But we had a few good rides each.

I think this is the best shot of the day. All pictures were provided by Hank, who we met for the first time that day on the beach. I hope he comes out every time we surf. He takes wonderful pictures!

Cobra Revision - First Impression

Well I finally got a Cobra Revision. Thank's Maria for such a wonderful Gift!

The nice folks at Savannah Canoe and Kayak helped me outfit it with deck lines and help me rivet in handles to be used as foot straps. They also lent me a back band as I had left mine at home.

I got to try it out in flat water for a while and found it does not stand a chance of keeping up with the sea kayaks on flat water. It is slow just like the old whitewater boats are slow. However once you get on a wave it planes easily and surfs quickly. Flat turns are easy, but you need to use the paddle to rudder so you stay on the wave. Using a bracing rudder turns you off the wave or at the very least turns you backwards on the wave. I had a lot of fun wearing myself out in the small stuff near the edge of the inlet on Tybee Island.

The boat is very stable with a unique bottom that is flat in the middle, then become slightly rounded, and at the edge has channels that make for really hard chines.

Seems like it will be fun in some of the mildwater I run, but it may be tricky avoiding catching an edge.

I'll let you know more as I learn more. This is my first new boat in many many years, but I definitely think it will be a keeper.

Core Sound near Sea Level

Ramming Speed!

Trituradora de Canoa - Damage Assesment & Repair

A close up of the bottom with tape added to the most flexible part of the keel. I put a short strip right over the crack, which looked much worse than I had thought after sanding. It is too bad, I cannot reach this part of the sit on top from the inside of the hull. After the short strip I added a 1.5 inch strip and a 2.5 inch strip about 3 feet long.

Here is a long shot of the hull after sanding reveals all the old repairs.

To make tape by cutting fiberglass cloth in a straight line, I remove a few threads. This makes a path I can easily see for the scissors to follow.

I save the left over threads and twist them up and add resin to them to repair the stern wear on the keel.

Here is the stern repair. After the epoxy set a bit more I used my fingers to form it and smooth it out. I will do minimal sanding on the sides of the repairs and the rest will get smoothed by rocks and logs.

Now I'm wondering if a composite boat is actually better than a plastic boat. I drag the plastic boats everywhere except on pavement and they last a long long time without ever needing repairs and painting on the bottom.

Fat Frank or Trituradora de Canoa

My old Watertribe name was Fat Frank, but based on my boats maybe it should be changed to Trituradora de Canoa.

Anyway, I was very optimistic about the Current Designs Kestrel 140 repairs after coming back from all the rocks in UP Michigan. I thought I would not need any repairs until this winter, but the oysters in Core Sound were more than my light hull could take.

Mostly I just have scratches in the paint and epoxy.

These scratches look bad but it is the paint that was removed.

Here some of the epoxy was worn down to the old gel coat.

The scupper hole has these weird cracks around the epoxy here. I just smoothed out what the previous owner did and filled it with paint. It never leaks here so I think this will be fine for a few years.

This crack will need repair. It is just forward of an area where I stiffened the hull by adding more layers of glass. I think I need to extend the glass stiffening layers forward given the abuse this boat is subjected to at times. At this rate it will be as heavy as a Kruger Canoe in the coming years.